Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Rise of the Zombies'

Written by Scott Edwards

It is always troubling when you don’t hear from a loved one when some sort of life changing situation has taken place. While most social media platforms have helped in alleviating these feelings with a ‘check in’ feature, what would happen if the entire system took a tumble? Not being able to call, text or message during these times would be the worst for many families trying to contact their loved ones. With so much dependency put on our new-found technology, it would be a shame if it somehow went away and we were left in the dark with only our imaginations running wild about what was really happening.
​
Receiving a message from Doctor Arnold about a possible cure on the horizon to the zombie outbreak that has taken over the San Francisco area, Doctors Lynn Snyder and Halpern are still working on their end to see if they find anything different. Being secluded from the mainland on Alcatraz Island, the research center seems to be out of the way for the zombies to follow, but little does the group know that there is something brewing on the horizon. While yelling at the military men for burying the dead, since she needs the bodies to conduct more tests, Lynn is shocked to see the dead rising from water. Being able to fend off the first wave, the group of survivors decides to make a trip to the main land and try to put an end to this outbreak once and for all.

Sticking behind on the isolated island to continue his studies to find a cure, Doctor Halpern is overall concerned about his daughter who has fallen victim to the virus. Trying to get her to eat normal food, Halpern is forced to watch as she is slowly fading away. But not all is bad in his observations, as he spots that the area around another victim’s arm where a prosthetic limb is attached never succumbed to the virus. Getting word back to his fellow survivors, Halpern continues his tests on the island and while he may not be able to find a way to save all of the victims of the outbreak, he will definitely not become one of them as well.

Arriving on the mainland, Lynn Snyder and Captain Caspian come to an impasse very quickly in deciding what needs to be done next. Wanting to head to the research center to get the antidote for the virus to save lives is what is on top of Lynn’s to do list, while Caspian puts getting food and water and making it to the only safe zone known in San Francisco at the top of his. Breaking the group apart, Lynn is able to locate the old lab that Doctor Arnold was previously broadcasting from, only to find it empty and has to instead move on to a water treatment center where the virus started from, while Captain Caspian finds that the only life he will encounter again on the mainland will lead to his death. Needing to get the antidote for the virus out to the masses as quickly as possible may save the city, but as Doctor Arnold puts its best, ‘What makes you think they want to be saved?’

This is really an action filled zombie movie that leaves it all on the screen. The characters were all great and even though you don’t get the grand back stories into all of them, you get to like them enough that you don’t want them to all die come the end of the movie. The tension that builds between Lynn and Caspian when deciding to split really put priorities into perspective and everyone should know that during a zombie outbreak, the group should never be separated. With some gun fire, plenty of zombies, lots of blood, crawling cadavers, stun guns, a zombie baby and one of the strangest zombie shower scenes anyone could have imagined, it is just a good look at what can be done if you really put your mind to it…and have plenty of ways to defend yourself. Stay Scared.

---