Rise: Blood Hunter

The Blu-ray that I have is the shorter 97 minute version (UK) I haven't seen the longer Uncut version, and I'm sure that it has a lot more nastiness in it, but I found this version to be very sharp, well put together and tightly paced.

I've always liked Lucy Liu and I KNOW that not everyone likes her or thinks that she is that hot. I've enjoyed her in the recent 'Elementary' teleseries and she does a nice job here. The thing that makes her character likable is the she is fully believable in the role. She literally plays a normal person who has been thrust into a VERY NON-normal situation. Chiklis is awesome; that guy is a great actor and does an excellent job with a pretty simple role. He injects a LOT of feeling and coolness into the character, more so than you would expect from that type of role.

I thought that the modern Vampire angle was done really well. I frigg'n LOVED the main bad guy; he was SO damn smooth! He was clearly completely Evil, but the way his character was written and the charismatic way he portrayed it REALLY made the role live. What I also really liked and appreciated about the film was that the characters were very believable and had a style of their own; they weren't just stupid, shallow caricatures. They were indeed larger than life Comic Book style characters, but they had a cool vibe to them that worked really well. The story moved along nicely too and definitely carried the audience along with it.

The views about this movie are pretty polarized. I don't know if it is primarily because of Lucy Liu or just the story and the way it was done itself, I'm not sure. But, it looks like about half the people love it and half hate it. I'm most definitely one of the ones who loves it. Not getting into any Spoilers or anything, but I liked the way it ended. The overall mood and atmosphere of the movie were nicely balanced between a very slick, modern approach, but at the same time you still get a real Classic, epic Comic Book feel to the film.

Since people are so divided about the movie, it's kind of hard to know exactly how to recommend it to others. The things that were appealing to me were primarily the director's style, the way the characters were dimensional and textured, and of course... Lucy Liu : ) Seriously though, it was really the tone and mood of the film that I liked. It had a real Comic Book feel to it which gave it sort of a larger-than-life energy which I personally found very entertaining.

I don't like a LOT of the more recent Vampire type films that have come out in recent years. The reason being is probably because I really love the more Classic Traditional approach to the Vampire Story. BUT... when they at least show SOME respect for the Vampire history and lore, even in a modern setting, I personally enjoy it a lot more. In this case, they depicted how Vampires cannot be seen in mirrors, so I kind of liked that little nod to the Vampire Tradition.

I guess I would say that if you like a good Vampire story, and you like a stylized approach where the characters really come to life in their roles, and you don't mind the simplicity of the story, then you might have a good chance of liking this movie. Keep in mind though... that if you are more of a fan of the 'TWILIGHT' approach to modern Vampire tales or if you are really steeped in the more Classic, heavily textured romantic style like 'INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE', you might come away from this film somewhat disappointed. Another thing too that I personally liked about this movie was that it approached the story from a bit more of a Modern Gothic angle. So, to me, the film came across as a nice balance or blend of a Classic Gothic style, but with a more slick modern tone, AND without the dumbed down approach of the 'TWILIGHT' films.

I hope that this helps to give an overall view of what the movie is like so that you can determine whether you want to take the time to watch it...

"Sadie Blake" (Lucy Liu) is a young reporter who has recently received praise for her investigative writing on the topic of weird happenings in the Los Angeles area. One day she happens to stumble upon a case that is more serious than anything she has ever handled before and she pays for it with her life. But then she reawakens on a morgue slab with a thirst for human blood and an intense desire to retaliate against those who put her there. The director (Sebastian Gutierrez) uses a number of flashbacks which, in this particular case, fits in rather well with the storyline. Along with that there is some nudity involved but it also tended to complement the film rather than detract from it. As far as the acting was concerned this was Lucy Liu's film to either make or break and in that regard she put in a decent performance all things considered. In short, I thought this was a good vampire movie and I have rated it accordingly.

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.

I would not call this your normal fantasy vampire story. It doesn't depict the normal horrors of the vampire world as we normally see or hear about from vampire movies or stories. It's a bit slow and tame for a vampire movie but has a lot of big named movie stars like Lucy Lu and Marilyn Manson that add some interesting character elements to the film. Lucy gives her character a very sexy feel, though her character's mind is set on revenge she still gives in to the softness of human feelings of loss and regret. Manson's part I thought was very different, I like it because we know him as a very different person and this role was nothing like anything we know. I credit him for playing something totally refreshing. Though the part might just seem like he's playing a kick back guy running a bar, it was not expected. That's what you want from actors, someone who can play several different roles and be convincing. The film over-all has it lulls; I don't think it would have done well in the theater. It has a potential to do well, if a few unnecessary scenes were removed from the film I think it would be really good and would come together better. As it stands I found it just a tad bit slow.

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"