Rise of the Undead

Rio Bravo, From Dusk Til Dawn, Assault on P.13, Feast, Dual at Diablo, Princess of Darkness, Rise of the Undead. They are siege movies, several characters trapped together in a singular location, besieged by the forces of darkness. Rise of the Undead is a siege picture at it's most basic. Neither the characters or the monster are given faces. Sure there's several characters running around yelling at each other, but they remain mostly nameless. It's a bold move on the part of the filmmakers to strip the genre to it's essentials. And it's a move that doesn't always work. Leaving out characterization leaves the audiences feeling nothing for the characters, and as a result the movie loses a much needed sense of urgency. What's left however, is a hell of a story. Strangers trapped in a building during an apocalypse, hunted down by an unseen menace. There is also a very off beat and assured sense of humor working here. The awkward pauses aren't bad editing. They are deliberate and often gut busting funny digs at the characters and the genre itself. Anyone expecting a walking dead movie is going to be sorely disappointed, although the middle (and most exciting) section of the movie does feature some zombies. The performance are all handle delicately, the directors tone down the performances to almost non-existent. There are no great thespians here. It's a wise move to underplay.