Rise: Blood Hunter

Year: 2007
Director: Sebastian Gutierrez
Cast: Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis, James D'Arcy, Carla Gugino, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Mako

Vampire films. Hollywood never gets tired of making them. Their fascination for these bloodsuckers have produced some of the best films ever, such as Blade, Interview With The Vampire, Bram Stoker's Dracula and From Dusk Till Dawn. And now we have another, though this one is quite different, since they don't even use the word 'vampire' in the film.

Rise: Blood Hunter stars Lucy Liu as Sadie Blake, a reporter chasing a story about the punk goth mania among teenagers. One day, one of the girls she interviewed winds up dead, in horrific fashion. And before she can even figure out what's going on, a group of mysterious people kidnap her, then proceed to kill her and suck her blood dry.

Next thing she knows, she wakes up in the morgue drawer, and realising that she has no reflection. She discovers her craving for human blood, which fills her with shame and guilt, so she tries to take her own life, which of course doesn't work. A man named Arturo (Mechoso) saves her and tells her about the people who killed her, and offers to train her with the skills necessary to take revenge on them. Sadie sets out to hunt them down one by one, and runs into Detective Rawlins (Chiklis), the father of the murdered girl, who then becomes her partner in her mission.

If you're thinking this film says 'B-Grade' all over it, you've hit the nail right on the head. With a title like that, and the absence of A-list stars, it's absolutely obvious. Heck, the film doesn't even have special effects; and action scenes, which are usually present in most vengeance stories, are minimal. The closest thing I can find in this movie that counts as an action scene is Liu's fight with Mako, who makes his last live action film here before his death recently.

Liu is the star of this film, as most of the focus is on her character, which she does well enough. But I'm not a fan of Liu's, I'm more of a fan of Chiklis, who acquits himself very well indeed as Rawlins. Pity that he was severely underused in this film. D'Arcy plays the villain Bishop with a lot of British type charm, though he is annoying half the time when he talks too much. Gugino is wasted as Eve, Bishop's accomplice. There are a couple of cameos in here, watch out for Nick Lachey and Marilyn Manson in small roles.

The film's strength lies in the smart dialogue and the emotional drama conveyed by Sadie, as she is torn between killing people to drink their blood in order to survive, and sparing innocent lives. Rise also differs from other vampire flicks by not using the V word and their bloodsuckers not having fangs. However it fails to excite the audience. Gutierrez should have given us some more action scenes, stepped up the production value in terms of sets and lights design and explore more of the backgrounds of his supporting characters. Instead, he resorts to blood and sexual elements to carry the film throughout its short running time. It not only looks like a straight-to-video release, it feels like it too.

Only for fans of Liu, and hardcore fans of vampire films. (2.5/5)