[Rise:Blood Hunter]
Plot:Supernatural thriller in which a female reporter wakes up in a morgue to find herself a member of the undead. She vows revenge against the sect that put her there and hunts them down.

Cast: Robert Forster, Cameron Richardson, Lucy Liu, Allan Rich, Samantha Shelton, Kevin Wheatley, Margo Harshman, Cameron Goodman, Holt McCallany, James D'Arcy, Carla Gugino, Michael Chiklis, Paul Cassell, Mako, Sam Cooper.

My Thoughts:Lucy Liu on a rampage.

Review:In case you didn't get a large enough dose of Lucy Liu wreaking havoc in "Ecks vs. Sever", Sebastian Gutierrez decided to bring us "Rise: Blood Hunter". A film in which a fremale reporter named Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) gets killed by a sect of vampires while she's investigating a story. Although the film is careful not to refer to them as quote unquote "vampires", they drink blood, and die by trauma to the heart, so it's obvious. After her grisly, and untimely demise, she wakes up in the morgue, escapes, and sets out to track down the undead who put her there. If we've learned anything from films starring Lucy Liu in the lead, it's that pissing her off isn't a good idea. She can blow shit up big time, and in the case of this film....be very persistent, and look good doing it. "Rise: Blood Hunter" plays out similar to "Kill Bill", only think of the deadly vipers from that film as vamps, put Lucy Liu in the place of "The Bride", and replace a bullet to the head with nearly being drained to death by a vampire.

I had heard from many people that "Rise" moved a bit too slow for their liking, but in my opinion the film moves along at the pace that it should, and once Liu awakens in the morgue, that's when the real fun begins. The pic opens with Sadie offing a very aged vamp with her trusty handheld crossbow, and then skips back to the beginning to reveal to the audience how the story all began. Liu does an excellent job of playing contrasting characters in the film, Sadie who as a human reporter is perky and very alive and spirited. But once she's killed, as one would expect...she becomes cold, mean, and unfeeling.

It's revealed to her by a mystery man the reason for this, which is that she's filled with "the shadow", but yet despite her transformation..she's still managed to maintain enough of her human-good side to know the difference between good and evil, which is what sets her off on her quest to track down and stop the sect of vampires who did this to her. The vamps are played by Carla Gugino, James D'Arcy, and a few up and comers. They certainly aren't the most fearsome group of vampires you'll find, I mean they basically limit their prey to teenage poser goth kids whom they manage to lure in with the promise of raves at large mansions. This is actually the films one big weak point. Granted Lucy's character is tough, and determined...but she doesn't really manage to get the drop on these vampires ala Blade.

She pretty much shows up right in front of them, and after a few words are exchanged, and after giving them some time to beg for their lives...she pops em' and moves on to track down the next one. At times it almost seems too easy for Liu's character Sadie, and while you'd think as she moves further and further up the vampire chain of command, which is headed up by a vampire named Bishop (D'Arcy), things would get harder for her. Especially considering all she's packing is a small crossbow and limited hand-to-hand combat skills. But they don't. She even manages to easily broker a deal for information with one vampire in Bishop's grpup, in exchange for some "young blood" so to speak.

Oddly enough, the vampire which gives Sadie the most trouble is an older one, who battles her in what is one of the films most prized fight sequences. Amidst Sadie trying to track down her killers, detective Clyde Rawlins (Michael Chiklis) is also seemingly after the same bunch of bad guys after his daughter is found dead in the same fashion as Sadie. But once Sadie returns and begins tracking down her killers one by one, it throws a huge monkeywrench into Rawlins investigation and eventually ets up a scenario where he and Sadie cross paths. Chiklis does an excellent job in his role in the movie, and as a viewer you can clearly see he and Sadie have alot in common despite their very different situations.

Both have lost people close to them, and both want to find and kill those responsible...a quest which it's clearly visible is slowly but surely weighing on both their psyches. "Rise" doesn't overdo it with the blood however, which is one of the many things I can appreciate about the movie, other than Liu's performance, the story, and the nicely gritty and dark set pieces which fit the mood and tone of the film perfectly. Most vampire movies feel it necessary to pack on the plasma, but Gutierrez manages to do well enough with a normal amount of blood in the movie.

The films climax offers up some interesting surprises and twists, and even a Nick Lachey cameo which eventually leads to one of the films funnier and more graphic moments. While "Rise: Blood Hunter" doesn't offer up the scariest or most fearsome pack of vampires you'll ever see onscreen, it does alot of new and unique things with the vampires subgenre which can be greatly appreciated. Couple that with very strong performances from the films leads Chiklis and Liu, and it's definitely a movie worth seeing.

Positives:The gritty, moody nighttime set pieces really helped to set an important tone for the movie. Great acting by Lucy Liu and Michael Chiklis.

Negatives:As I said before the vampires could've provided more of a challenge for Sadie.

Overall:A good film for the most part.





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