Waste of time

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

"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.

If you're into all that goth 19th century poser action and lustful blood gorging of for instance "Interview with a vampire" or films like that you'll be disappointed by this movie.Lucy liu plays the role of Sadie a reporter writing a piece about the Goth people of her town (which are portrayed as "dungeon and dragons posers" :) ) One of her friends finds an address on a website, investigates, and ends up dead. When trying to find her friend Sadie gets caught by vampires, raped and left for dead. She wakes up in a drawer in the hospital morgue and is fairly confused. After making her way to a homeless shelter her vampirism takes over and she "chooses" a weak old man for her first meal (In one of my favourite vampire scenes ever :) ).Faced with the horror of her new existence she decides to kill her self and jumps of a bridge into the traffic below. Here starts the revenge story.What make this a different kind of vampire movie is that it doesn't just copy and paste the ole' vampire stereotype into the story. Sadie may have become a vamp, but she hasn't lost her mind and feelings in the process (That is, except an irresistible need to feed). Murdering people isn't cool at all, she just can't help it, and when it's done she naturally feels quite bad about it. It's not the sexy bloodgasms of other films, she doesn't even have any fangs to help -and hardly any awesome powers at all... It's just UGLY.The director manages to communicate the horror of this existence and Lucy Liu does a very good job acting the role out. 9/10 from me.Oh yes, some people will characterize this film as a "Lucy Liu nude"-film... We're all born naked, so get over it.

"Rise: Blood Hunter" is a rather entertaining, if somewhat flawed vampire entry.**SPOILERS**Working for a newspaper, reporter Sadie Blake, (Lucy Liu) is asked to follow-up on an old story when a recent acquaintance turns up dead. Following up on the lead, she winds up in the custody of Bishop, (James D'Arcy) a powerful figure who leaves her for dead. Waking up confused and disoriented, Arturo, (Julio Oscar Mechoso) informs her that she has become a vampire and she begins a reign of vengeance against his vampire crew. Going through the group draws the attention of Detective Clyde Rawlins, (Michael Chiklis) to her cause. Realizing that his daughter had been a part of their destruction, they team up to get rid of the cult before her vampiric tendencies get the best of her.The Good News: This here wasn't that bad of a vampire film. One of the best things about it is that the film never mentions that it's a vampire film, yet still retains a lot towards the genre. The fact that there's a fair amount of traditional details, namely the wooden-stake-in-the-chest, blood-lust and the ability to be turned into an immortal being after being bitten and surviving. That's a common issue in vampire films, and these are presented in a film like this yet the word is never mentioned once. It's also got the no-reflection gag, and although the by design or accident, they are never out during the daytime, which is another vampire trait. It's really nice to be able to be able to see these come in. There's also some really good suspense scenes in here that are pretty thrilling. There's a really great scene early on when a witness happens upon a feeding and gets noticed and is then chased around the facility. From hiding to a tense encounter in the hiding space and a great, creepy location for it all, this scene really works. A couple of later ones, including a showdown at a motel room and a fight in a bar, which get really fun and provide some more fun to it. The final confrontation in the barn is all of the above, with some really great suspense and atmosphere, a great location and some nice action, which is always appreciated. The fact that the flashback to the turning scene is continuously shown, going more into detail about what happened and it shows that it was a graphic, brutal, bloody scene that is a little uncomfortable to sit through, the way it should be. The fact that there's also a really a really high body count is the last one, which is always great to have in a film, making it fun and really enjoyable. Even though there's not a lot of blood spilled, the fact that a lot get knocked off is really nice. These here are the film's best points.The Bad News: There weren't too many things wrong with this one. One of the biggest problems is that the film goes off on useless tangents that don't serve th plot-line. There's a couple scenes where there's nearly nothing going on connected to the plot. The scene with the hitchhiker in the van is a perfect example of this, a perfectly nice scene that serves no point other than to get what little bloodshed there is in the film. There's several more like this scattered throughout the film, and they serve very little point to be there. These here kill the film's momentum more than anything here. Another problem is the rather dry feeling it gives from the kills. The blood and gore quotient from it's sizable body count is way too low, with some not even offering any despite the brutality of the sequence. That is quite hard to understand and it's a pretty big part of the film's failings. The last thing that doesn't work here is the sequence after the resurrection where they wander the streets, as it's done with a weird, completely out-of-the-ordinary manner of showcasing this, through the camera-affects and it's images creates a really unusual scene which really stands out. These here are the film's flaws.The Final Verdict: A couple of minor flaws here are what keep this one down, but otherwise this one here has a couple of really good points to help it. Give this one a shot if you're into vampire films or a fan of the creative cast, otherwise stick this one into the heed caution category when trying to decide to watch it.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity

I can't say I've seen every vampire film out there, and I don't collect vamp memorabilia or anything, but I consider myself a fan of vampire films and lore; of what I've seen, this is one of the worst.First, I do have to say that the acting isn't bad. There's a good cast here: Lucy Liu, Michael Chicklis (hope I spelled these names correctly), Carla Gugino, Mako, possibly a few other recognizables. Nobody does a bad job, but there are no truly memorable performances here.Now then, the plot: there is one dimension to this plot, and from it there is no straying. An innocent reporter (Liu) is working on a story and gets attacked by a group of vampires who proceed to (semi) gang rape her, feed on her, and try to kill her. One vamp, however (Gugino), decides to turn her into an immortal. Upon awakening, the newly-made vamp goes about to take revenge on those who killed her. This quest involves her stripping down multiple times, faking being a lesbian in one instance, killing a couple of innocent people, and enlisting aid from a cop (Chicklis) whose daughter was killed...until the end when the daughter shows up as a vamp and gets killed. Finally, the lead vamp is killed by both of them, and then the cop kills the anti-heroine. No redeeming plot points.Now let's talk about the vampires themselves: the only indication of what they are is that they drink blood and are immortal. That's it! There are no supernatural abilities that vampires are known to have--they don't even have fangs! The entire vampire experience is done away with, and it is greatly dissatisfying! Plus, the gore and depressing state of affairs is jacked way too high up. There is no room for any sort of redemption, the revenge thing is kinda cheap, and nobody is really worth rooting for (possible exception of Chicklis).All in all, the vampire myth and the film industry together kinda tank on this one. Don't watch it, please; it's not worth your time or attention.