“Dead Rising: Watchtower” will not only appeal to fans of the video game series but for those who like zombie films in general. I expected the worst but instead, I felt that the film was one of the much better video game to live action film adaptations out there. And I can’t wait for the sequel! “Dead Rising: Watchtower” is a film worth giving a try!
TITLE: Dead Rising: Watchtower
YEAR OF FILM: 2015
DURATION: 118
DVD INFORMATION: Anamorphic Widescreen (2:40:1), English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
RATED: NOT RATED
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Released Dated: October 6, 2015
Directed by Zach Lipovsky
Written by Tim Carter
Executive Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tomas Harlan, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, Kiichiro Urata
Producer:Â Tim Carter
Associate Producer: Gary Hawes, Mike Jackson, Andy Levine, Zach Lipovsky, Mahlon Todd Williams
Music by Oleksa Lozowchuk
Cinematography by Mahlon Todd Williams
Edited by Mike Jackson
Casting by Libby Goldstein, Monica Kelly, Junie Lowry-Johnson
Production Design by Tony Devenyi
Art Direction by Carlos Bolbrugge
Set Decoration by Jonathan Lancaster
Costume Design by Barbara Gregusova
Starring:
Jesse Metcalfe as Chase
Meghan Ory as Crystal
Virginia Madsen as Maggie
Keegan Connor Tracy as Jordan
Aleks Paunovic as Logan
Dennis Haysbert as General Luons
Gary Jones as Norton
Carrie Genzel as Susan
Rob Riggle as Frank West
Back in 2006, video game company CAPCOM released their survival horror game “Dead Rising” about a photojournalist named Frank West, who was trapped in a shopping mall in Colorado infested with zombies.
A total of three games have been released since then and now writer Tim Carter (“Sleeping Dogs”, “The Chateau Meroux”) has written a film based on the events of the video game titled “Dead Rising: Watchtower”, which was directed by Zach Lipovsky (“Leprechaun: Origins”, “Sunshine Girl”, “Ingress Obsessed”).
The film would star Jesse Metcalfe (“Dallas”, “Desperate Housewives”, “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”), Meghan Ory (“Once Upon a Time”, “Vampire High”, “Dark House”), Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”, “The Number 23”, “The Haunting in Connecticut”), Keegan Connor Tracy (“Final Destination 2”, “Chaos”), Alex Paunovic (“This Means War”, “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters”, “Personal Effects”), Dennis Haysbert (“24”, “The Unit”, “Heat”), Gary Jones (“Stargate SG-1”, “Stargate: Continnum”, “Stargate: The Ark of Truth”), Carrie Genzel (“Watchmen”, “Jennifer’s Body”, “88 Minutes”) and Rob riggle (“21 Jump Street”, “The Hangover”, “Dumb and Dumber To”).
The film would be featured on Crackle and with a sequel to the film being announced (and also a TV series in pre-production), “Dead Rising: Watchtower” will be released on DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
“Dead Rising: Watchtower” is set between the second and third video game. Online reporter Chase Carter (portrayed by Jesse Metcalfe) and his camerawoman Jordan (portrayed by Keegan Connor Tracy) are trying to make a name for themselves.
As they cover stories in the walled-in quarantined area in Oregon, FEZE (Federal Emergency Zombie Authority) are trying to contain a viral outbreak by injecting people with Zombrex, which should prevent the virus from those infected.
But when Chase films a doctor giving an injection, the person suddenly turns into a zombie and immediately who received the injection have turned into zombies. While Chase and Jordan are separated during the chaotic melee as innocents are being bitten/eaten by zombies, Jordan makes it to the outside of the wall (the only person to do so), while Chase escapes with a woman named Crystal (portrayed by Meghan Ory) and a mother named Maggie (portrayed by Virginia Madsen) whose daughter has turned to a zombie.
As the three try to survive from the zombie onslaught, Chase notices that Crystal is injecting herself with Zombrex and has not changed. While he uses his smartphone to send messages to a local news company, outside, a gang of hoodlums led by a man named Logan (portrayed by Aleks Paunovic) is feeding off the chaos by the zombies.
Back in the safe zone, Jordan keeps in contact with Chase and through research, discovers that the Zombrex injected in people, may not be to save lives…but something possibly more sinister.
Will Chase and the others survive in the quarantined zone?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Dead Rising: Watchtower” is presented in 2:40:1 anamorphic widescreen and English 5.1 Dolby Digital.
Picture quality on DVD is very good as it can get on DVD, but was hoping that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment would have released this film on Blu-ray. Audio quality is good with clear dialogue and music and good surround for the action sequences. I did not notice any significant artifacts or any problematic issues during my viewing of the series.
Subtitles are in English SDH
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Dead Rising: Watchtower” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Commentary – Audio commentary featuring director Zach Lipovsky and writer/producer Tim Carter.
- The Epic “One-ER” – (4:03) How the long one-shot segment was created.
- The Weapons of Dead Rising: Watchtower – (4:02) The weapons of “Dead Rising: Watchtower”.
- The Making of Bonzo the Zombie Clown – (2:45) The making of the Bonzo the Zombie Clown sequence.
- Rob Riggle Outtakes – (1:00) Improve sequences featuring Rob Riggle as first video game protagonist, Frank West.
Having watched my fair share of badly done zombie films, let alone indie horror films and to be truthful, bad video game to film adaptations, I watched “Dead Rising: Watchtower” with the lowest expectations.
But expecting the worse, “Dead Rising: Watchtower” was a popcorn action film that wasn’t as horribly acted, nor was the visual effects super lame and surprisingly, this film features noticeable names, rather than people that were brought back from ’80s films.
But I won’t go so far as to proclaim “Dead Rising: Watchtower” as one of the greatest zombie films, but I will say it’s one of the better video game to film adaptations that tries to maintain a connection to the original source material.
For those who have played a “Dead Rising” video game, will know how over-the-top the film is when it comes to weaponry and ways to defeat a zombie. There is always a survival element and there are no doubt challenges that make the game enjoyable and yet frustrating all at once.
But there is no denying that “Dead Rising” is about survival against zombies and using any type of weapon to beat the enemy and with that second game, the dreaded Zombrex anti-vaccine.
“Dead Rising: Watchtower” features both. Finding whatever weapon is necessary to beat the zombies but most importantly, trying to survive in an area infested with zombies. You’re literally outnumbered, trying to survive whichever way you can.
And of course, it helps to have Frank West (portrayed by the over-the-top Rob Riggle) as part of the news commentary.
But it was great to see Jesse Metcalfe playing a character unlike his loverboy characters that we have seen him in “Desperate Housewives” and his earlier soap opera years. It was also great to see Meghan Ory in a strong kick arse role and both do a great job as two trying to survive by the zombie outbreak.
The film has its veterans such as Dennis Haysbert and Virginia Madsen and aside from zombies and political corruptness against you, the protagonists also have to worry about a crazy gang trying to rule the streets.
As for the DVD, you get an audio commentary and several special features included. Picture and audio quality is very good but as mentioned, I wish this film released on Blu-ray.
Overall, “Dead Rising: Watchtower” will not only appeal to fans of the video game series but for those who like zombie films in general. I expected the worst but instead, I felt that the film was one of the much better video game to live action film adaptations out there. And I can’t wait for the sequel!
“Dead Rising: Watchtower” is a film worth giving a try!
