Rise (2007)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Sebastian Gutierrez

Writer (WGA):

Sebastian Gutierrez (written by)

Release Date:

6 July 2007 (Turkey)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

They didn't leave her alive. They left her UNDEAD.

Plot:

Supernatural thriller in which a female reporter wakes up in a morgue to find herself a member of the undead. She vows revenge against the sect that put her there and hunts them down.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Morgue | Goth | Female Reporter | Undead

Cast

Robert Forster	...	Lloyd
Cameron Richardson	...	Collette
Lucy Liu	...	Sadie Blake
Allan Rich	...	Harrison
Samantha Shelton	...	LA Weekly Editor
Kevin Wheatley	...	Ethan Mills
Margo Harshman	...	Tricia Rawlins
Cameron Goodman	...	Kaitlin
Holt McCallany	...	Rourke
James D'Arcy	...	Bishop
Carla Gugino	...	Eve
Michael Chiklis	...	Clyde Rawlins
Paul Cassell	...	Detective Easton
Mako	...	Poe
Sam Cooper	...	Coroner's Assistant

Also Known As:

Rise (USA) (working title)
Rise: Blood Hunter (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, sexuality, nudity, language, and brief drug use.

Runtime:

USA:94 min | 122 min (unrated DVD version)

Country:

USA | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 (cut) | Malaysia:18SG | Australia:MA | UK:18 | Germany:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-18 | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mandate Pictures

Trivia:

This was Mako's last live action film. TMNT (2007) used recorded dialog Mako had performed, making it a voiceover role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sadie is thrown on the bed by Bishop the bed is covered by a green duvet. In the next shot when they pin her to the bed it is covered with black plastic.

Quotes:

Sadie Blake: [asking Clyde to kill her] Finish it. I can't live unless I kill, and I can't live that way.

Movie Connections:

References Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

Much better than expected--nice "graphic novel" type genre film

Note: these comments refer to the "unrated" 122 min. cut of the film.

Went into this DVD expecting the worst--lame horror/porn. What a surprise! It's not only good, it's one of the better of the genre over the last 10 years or so.

The vampires are never referred to as vampires, it's simply called a "condition". Typical mythology like mirrors, immortality, drinking human blood, arrow through the heart, and "daylight problems" still exist. But these creatures are not super human, their only true gift is immortality.

The characters are well designed around the actors who play them. Lucy Liu plays a reporter looking into "goth" cults and finding more than she bargained for. Her performance shows some nice range, especially during the early part of the story during her discovering the truth about herself. Michael Chiklis plays a tough, vengeful, hard drinking cop--a role he's all but perfected. Carla Gugino has a small role as the femme fatale (surprise, surprise) but gives us a taste of the human being behind the monster. And long time character actor Mako, in his last role:(, portrays a disturbing and charming familiar-like character who's part butler, part mentor. Even Robert Forster shows up for a cameo, I really wanted more of him in this film. The rest of the cast works well, no real turkeys here.

The plot is really the weakest link, a typical revenge thriller. But the out-of-sequence editing (the director's unrated version) is spot-on. And the production values are quite strong. Writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez, the guy who wrote "Snakes on a Plane", gives us cliché-ridden, hokey dialog and we forgive him for it because it's often tongue-in-cheek funny. The nudity/sex is downplayed, much less of it here than in the Underworld films. I prefer these less romanticized versions of vampires, they're creatures who take what they want--love never factors into it. All in all a good "graphic novel" type movie--with average substance but great style.

What sucks is that theatrical release was apparently poorly cut, and it performed badly at the box-office. So the nice set-up for a sequel is probably wasted.

So final verdict--7 out of 10. Better than Underworld 2 and Blade 3. Underworld and Blade 1 and 2 still trump it, however. A good rental for genre/Lucy Liu fans.