Even more than the famed scene in THE GODFATHER, Hollywood
has been known for taking a dead horse and beating it to death. Once something
becomes popular every major and minor studio takes that theme and runs with it.
Witness the popularity of TWILIGHT and the deluge of vampire movies for a short
time. Now the craze is zombies due to the popularity of THE WALKING DEAD. Most
of the movies involving zombies can be terrible (see what I’ve written about
NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES online), some aren’t bad and for the most part they’re
kind of stuck in the middle.
DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER falls into the middle of the pack
when it comes to zombie flicks. Based on the hit game for whichever gaming
system you use, the movie takes place after the initial zombie outbreak has
happened. While this means we don’t spend time on how and more on what to do it
makes you feel as if you walked into the middle of a movie rather than the
beginning. It works in some ways but doesn’t in others.
Into the fray jumps Chase (Jesse Metcalf), an online
reporter trying to make a name for himself and jump up to the big time. In East
Mission, Oregon, with his trusted camerawoman Jordan (Keegan Connor Tracy) by
his side, the duo witness an outbreak in the city. A medication to keep the
zombie disease in remission is being administered to those who have been bitten
but unlike the past it doesn’t seem to be working. Soon patients are leaping
from their beds and attacking the medical staff set up in an emergency post.
The pair take off alongside Crystal (Meghan Ory), a young
woman who is infected but has her own street supply of the drug for the moment.
As they escape the massacre of victims who then rise to eat the living, they
come across Maggie (Virginia Madsen), a mother who was forced to kill her
daughter when she turned into a zombie. Jordan gets separated from the rest and
makes her way to the wall placed around the city to contain the zombies. Chase
and crew head in to find the warehouse where the medication is stored.
Jordan finds the head of FEZA (Federal Emergency Zombie
Agency) and tries to find out what’s going on. If he can’t get the situation
under control it will soon fall into the hands of the military led by General
Lyons (Dennis Haysbert). With only a few hours to contain the outbreak if it
fails the General has orders to bomb the city.
On the inside Chase and his group find shelter and prepare
to find a way to make their way to the warehouse and then to the wall. But it
isn’t just zombies they must contend with. A motorcycle gang that looks like
they stepped out of a Mad Max movie is traveling the streets as well, looting
and killing along the way. To get where they want they’ll have to bypass this
group while at the same time avoiding the flesh eating mass in the streets. With
no clue as to the condition of the warehouse that’s what they set out to do.
Betrayals and subplots involving the military, double
crosses on the outside of the wall and one of the longest one take action
sequences filmed the movie offers a decent night’s entertainment for horror
fans and zombie lovers. These are not the slow moving zombies but the runners
so know that going in. Added to the movie for comic relief is coverage of the
story on the local news station discusses what’s happening with added commentary
from Frank West (Rob Riggle), the sole survivor of the last major outbreak who
tosses out advice that makes for some serious laughs.
As I said, the movie is based on the computer game and uses
a number of point of view shots that make it seem as if you’re in the game. The
gore level is up there and the make-up varies from very good to mild. CGI blood
is used throughout but not overdone. It does do a great job of showing how
everyone is affected rather than just your standard zombie when you see things
like police officers and clowns that have changed. Most movies don’t
acknowledge that uniformed workers might be a part of the zombies.
The film had that SyFy channel feel to it and in looking
into it I found that it was on that channel. I’m glad to report that it
surpasses most of what their movies usually offer and isn’t a bad movie. My one
reservation is the length of the film. At 118 minutes it feels long, mostly due
to the fact that they main story consists of running from spot to spot. The added
features of secondary plots and new coverage don’t ease the feeling of it being
too long. But it does offer a nice horror flick, adds a few new things to the
genre and leaves itself wide open for a sequel. But most horror films do these
days. It’s one worth watching for some fun but perhaps not one to revisit over
and over again.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment