THE war between vampires and lycans (werewolves) rages on in this second helping of Underworld action.

Vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is on the run with her vamp-wolf hybrid lover Michael (Scott Speedman) after killing one of the world's oldest toothy monsters in the first movie.

Now the only remaining vampire elder, Marcus, has become even more powerful and is itching to release his lycan brother William from eternal imprisonment, so they can rule the monster world.

Vampires versus werewolves should make for a cracking movie.

And both Underworlds would have been had it not been for pesky scriptwriters try to squeeze in over-complicated storylines that don't go anywhere between fights.

Horror fans will love the bucketloads of vengeful bloody deaths and fangs versus talons fights. But they'll be frustrated when it all slows down for scenes of meaningless dialogue.

Underworld Evolution is essentially a great concept.

But director Len Wiseman should have shunned complicated storylines and not been ashamed to leave the movies as they should have been - music-video-style monster gorefests.