Rise: A Ressurreição

The snoopy reporter Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) is called by her nerd colleague Ethan Mills (Kevin Wheatley) that has deciphered a code and found an address in Koreatown from information of the Goth Tricia Rawlins (Margo Harshman) about a bloody cult. Sadie does not give attention to Ethan, but when she sees on the front page of the news that Tricia has been found dead in a dumpster in Koreatown, she decides to visit the address. She finds an abandoned house with a gruesome basement full of blood and she immediately drives to Ethan's apartment. She finds the place in a complete mess and is abducted by a stranger and taken to Bishop (James D'Arcy), who wants to know what Tricia has told her. Then, Bishop and his mate Eve (Carla Gugino) kill Sadie and they have a necrophilic threesome with her body. Later, Sadie awakes in the freezer of the morgue and sooner she realizes that she is a vampire and promises revenge to her sire.

The low-paced "Rise" is a different vampire movie, with sex, blood and naked women. The screenplay discloses the plot in a non-linear chronology, but there is no unexpected twist or any part difficult to be understood. I expected some surprise regarding Sadie's savior Arturo, but this character has been completely forgotten after his short but important participation. The end gives a hint to a possible sequel and in this case and if Eve told the truth to Sadie, Arturo might have an important role replacing the evil Bishop as the leader of the cult that worships sex and blood as the greatest pleasures of mankind. I have never seen Lucy Liu undressing so many times like in "Rise", but the nudity situations are not free exploitation, being suitable to the context of the sexy story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rise"

Just got home from the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Rise, and it exceeded by expectations a bit. Gutierez was there to introduce the film, and he said something along the lines of 'This movie was shot in 30 days with very little budget, John Toll did a great job with the cinematography, and I give you permission to laugh at cheesy lines even if they're not meant to be funny.' The main reason I went to see the film was that I'm a huge Michael Chiklis fan, and if you enjoy his role in 'The Shield,' you'll love him here. Lucy Liu carries out her role well...I wouldn't normally picture her in this kind of movie, but she actually was convincing even when lines were a bit cheesy (this is a vampire movie!). Gutierrez did a very good job with music selection to help build suspense, there's some scenes in pretty industrial settings that had a lot of the audience hiding behind their fingers.

The movie is a bit bloody and gory, though it certainly could have been more intense, it is not for the faint of heart. Editing and cinematography were great - John Toll, who was cinematographer for Vanilla Sky, The Thin Red Line, and Braveheart - obviously knows what he's doing, and he really contributes to the mood of the film.

All in all, if you're looking for a good scare with some funny lines, this will certainly do the trick.

I saw the trailer of this a while back and thought it could be one of those sleeper hits, as it had a relatively good premise and I've always been intrigued by vampire films, so when I saw it on the shelves I thought I'd give it a go.

As the film was overall a disappointment for me, I won't put any spoilers in this review. I will say however that from the outset, the sequence of events are disjointed and make for confusing viewing. The film tries to be too clever throughout and ultimately ends up being hard to follow. For a vampire film, it doesn't really give much background to the whole vampire genre as most do and adds to the confusion as to who is who and what is what. Apart from Lucy Liu's character, there is no back story or build up to the antagonists, everything just happens randomly, which makes it an effort to keep track of things.

As for the acting, I find it a shame that Lucy Liu continues to make films that don't really challenge her. She spends most of this film looking either in distress or moody, oh and naked. Having seen her in Kill Bill and her earlier turns in Ally McBeal, Rise & Ecks vs Sever really don't do her justice as an actress. The vampire contingent here are pretty poor too, with James D'Arcy playing a poor mans version of every other bad vampire we've seen before (notably Stephen Dorff in Blade). Michael Chiklis is at best, mediocre, looking like he did this when short of a few bob, in his spare time from filming Silver Surfer.

Overall, another addition to the growing number of mediocre vampire-themed films. I would avoid this if I were you, but if Lucy Liu (+ a few others) prancing about naked and lots of blood tickles your fancy, then give it a go.

Lucy Liu stars as Sadie Blake, an intrepid reporter who comes a cropper when she pokes her nose too far into the world of a strange vampiric goth cult. None too keen to have their story told, they abduct the news-hound and suck her dry, dumping her body when finished.

But Sadie is a tough girl and refuses to just keel over. Instead, she joins the ranks of the undead, and sets out to get revenge on those responsible for her current state.

Director Sebastian Gutierrez presents a refreshingly different take on the whole vampire schtick with this low budget shocker that is both bloody and innovative (these vampires may lack fangs, but still pack plenty of bite). Great cinematography, an engaging story, and a decent cast all go to make Rise: Blood Hunter worth seeking out, although the gimmicky use of a non-linear storyline is a little unnecessary (so many films seem to use this idea these days).

A strong, sexy performance from Lucy Liu means that the film is never boring, although, at times, it does come across as a little too earnest for its own good. At times, Gutierrez strives so hard for an effectively moody atmosphere to suit his tale that the resulting gravitas detracts from one's enjoyment. Fortunately, Lucy Liu sees fit to shed her clothes at several points in the movie, so everything balances out nicely in the end.

If you love vampire films of all types, adore Gothic fantasy, or, like me, just want to see Ms. Liu in the buff, then Rise: Blood Hunter is recommended viewing.

It was a vampire flick with a lot of different views on vampires... Lucy Lui was obviously gorgeous in it. The acting was good. But what disappointed me so was the lack of story. Yeah there is a "back story" and a "revenge story" but no... "STORY". You know? They don't explain Sadie Blakes (Lucy Lui's character) job, they don't explain their new definition of vampire, the flash backs are randomly in and out so you don't know which side is up. Its a nice kick back film, but nothing to get excited about. I'm hoping there's a part two to explain all of that stuff... oh and the dude from the Shield, he did a very good job in his role. But again... no plot OR character development.