So, you like video games and zombie movies? I give you Dead Rising: Watchtower, a movie based on a video game where you’re hacking your way through hordes of zombies. As time goes on, it seems that the old curse of video game adaptations being horrible is finally broken. Both Mortal Kombats, Lara Croft, and Prince of Persia were all financially successful. And there are also all the Resident Evils, Doom, Silent Hill, and unfortunately Hitman. So, here’s another decent addition to that list. I have to immediately say that the Dead Rising movie is really entertaining worth checking out.
It’s got this casual vibe that makes it really easy to follow and watch. There’s also a lot of humor pushing it straight to the horror/comedy genre. The action is quite brutal and there’s a lot of gore. As it should be in this type of movie. I loved the opening scene that plunges right smack dab in the middle of zombie mayhem. Plus you get a zombie clown dragging a large ax behind him, what more to want? Also, the production values are pretty solid although the cinematography is too sharp for my taste.
His name is Chase Carter and he’s one hell of a journalist. Online journalist, that is. We find Chase and his camerawomen Jordan covering their latest exclusive story: the treatment of people who might have been infected. Yes, there’s an infection that turns people into zombies, but don’t worry, American Pharma has an antidote called Zombrex. However, this might not be entirely true…
What a great twist it is to set the story after all the chaos that followed the emergence of the zombies. This eliminates all too familiar scenes that we have seen a thousand times before. And it saves a lot of budget for some really good settings. The acting was good, with Jesse Metcalfe who really looks like he escaped from some video game. However, Rob Riggle (Let’s Be Cops, The Other Guys, The Hangover) stole the show for me here. He was just so fucking hilarious that I couldn’t stop laughing every time I saw him. Plus we get an opportunity to see Virginia Madsen whom you might remember from Candyman and Highlander II.
Dead Rising, the video game, was initially released only on consoles. So, when they finally started releasing sequels for PC, I felt like it was too simplistic and arcady. I guess I played the third part a bit, but that’s it. There were so many great PC zombie video games that I couldn’t keep up. Ahhh, the days I spent playing Dead Island or Left for Dead I remember fondly to this day. In the end, I have to mention a couple of flaws.
First of all, they’ve could’ve done a better job with weapons that feel a bit fake. Secondly, the character development is a bit sloppy, but I guess that’s expected. And finally, the entire storyline is a bit too familiar. After all this, I have to say that Dead Rising is a nice addition to the zombie horror-comedy subgenre. The sequel released a couple of years later is not so good, but if you liked this one, you might wanna check it out.
Director: Zach Lipovsky
Writer: Tim Carter
Cast: Jesse Metcalfe, Rob Riggle, Meghan Ory, Virginia Madsen, Keegan Connor Tracy, Aleks Paunovic
Fun Facts: Frank’s book cover is from the Dead Rising video game box cover.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3816458/
