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Dead Rising: Watchtower

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Dead Rising: Watchtower
Release poster
Directed byZach Lipovsky
Written byTim Carter
Based onDead Rising
byCapcom
Produced by
  • Tim Carter
  • Tomas Harlan
Starring
CinematographyMahlon Todd Williams
Edited byMike Jackson
Music byOleksa Lozowchuk
Production
companies
Distributed byCrackle
Release date
  • March 27, 2015(2015-03-27)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish

Dead Rising: Watchtoweris a 2015 Americanactionzombie filmdirected byZach Lipovsky,produced by Tomas Harlan and Tim Carter, and written by Tim Carter. The film starsJesse Metcalfe,Dennis Haysbert,Virginia Madsen,Meghan Ory,Keegan Connor Tracy,andRob Riggle.It is based on the video gameof the same name.Principal photographybegan on September 30, 2014, inVancouver,British Columbia,Canada.Legendary Picturesproduced the picture as its first digital film through its Legendary Digital Media division and it was released onCrackleon March 27, 2015.

Plot[edit]

Set between the events ofDead Rising 2andDead Rising 3,the story follows online reporter Chase Carter and his camerawoman Jordan as they cover the stories of the people inside of the walled-in quarantined area in the fictional town of East Mission,Oregon,as the government (running an organization called FEZA—Federal Emergency Zombie Agency) attempts to contain a viral outbreak that turns people into ravenous zombies.

An anti-viral drug called Zombrex, which keeps the virus at bay, is being administered to those infected. When it becomes clear that the drug is no longer effective and a zombie outbreak purges the town and infects its inhabitants, Chase, Jordan, grieving mother Maggie, and survivor Crystal battle their way out of the city before it gets firebombed.

Throughout the film, it is revealed that the Army implanted defective Zombrex drugs in a refugee center to start another outbreak so that the government can be allowed to plant government-mandated Zombrex chips on the infected to track them, framing FEZA for giving bad Zombrex to the infected. The coin that Jordan gave to Chase to open a newspaper vending machine at the beginning came in handy when she placed evidence of the Army sabotaging the Zombrex inside the vending machine for him to find.

When General Lyons figures out that Jordan and Norton are aware of the Army's actions, he has his men capture them to cover up the truth. In the end, Chase and Crystal manage to survive and get out of city, and Jordan manages to get footage proving the Army's complicity in the new outbreak to Chase, who finds it in the newspaper vending machine; the same footage shows her being taken into custody by the U.S. government, who then implant tracking devices on people who are infected.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

On June 19, 2014, it was announced thatLegendary Pictures' Legendary Digital Media would develop its first digital feature film based on the video gameDead Rising,Lorenzo di Bonaventurawould executive produce, Tim Carter would write and produce with Tomas Harlan through their Contradiction Films.[3]The film is not a part of Legendary's 5-year deal withUniversal Pictures.Instead,Cracklewould handle domestic rights of the film and which would be distributed internationally by Content Media Corp, and it would also be released on SVOD, DVD, VOD and TV after its exclusive stream on Crackle.[4]On August 20, visual effects artistZach Lipovskywas set to direct the film.[5]

On September 29, the official title was confirmed asDead Rising: Watchtowerand the cast announced includingJesse Metcalfe,Dennis Haysbert,Virginia MadsenandMeghan Ory.[6]More cast joined on October 20, includingRob Riggle,Harley Morenstein,Keegan Connor TracyandAleks Paunovic.[7]Riggle would playFrank West,a photojournalist who knows how to survive zombie attacks, Genzel plays Susan, the anchorwoman who interviewsFrank West,Paunovic would play Logan, the head of a biker gang, Morenstein would play his second-in-command, Pyro, while Tracy would play the role of a straight-laced journalist.[7]

Filming[edit]

Theprincipal photographyon the film began inVancouver,British Columbia,on September 30, 2014.[6]On October 21, a photo from the set was revealed by Crackle.[8]

Release[edit]

The film premiered onCrackleon March 27, 2015.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

Neil GenzlingerofThe New York Timeswrote that the film may be rewarding for fans of the video game but is otherwise "a time waster devoid of the wit and depth of other walking-dead fare currently available".[10]Pat Torfe ofBloody Disgustingwrote that the film adheres too closely to the video game for non-fans to enjoy.[11]Gareth Jones ofDread Centralrated it 3.5/5 stars and called it respectful enough of the genre to draw in non-fans.[12]Jones and Torfe both praised Riggle's acting,[11][12]but Genzlinger said that it should have been funnier than it was.[10]

Sequel[edit]

Main article:Dead Rising: Endgame

Dead Rising: Endgame,[13]a sequel was announced for Spring 2016 on Crackle with Jesse Metcalfe, Keegan Connor Tracy and Dennis Haysbert reprising their roles from the first film and Sabongui returning in a new role as a skilled zombie killer and video game aficionado who talks a big and crude game to mask his gentle side. New to the cast areBilly Zaneas Rand, a handsome, cruel scientist who was hired by the government to find a cure for the raging zombie infection but instead is conducting horrendous experiments on the infected,Marie Avgeropoulosas Sandra Lowe, a skilled computer hacker and Chase’s on-and-off girlfriend who joins him in his quest to battle the zombie-infested underground and stop General Lyons’ plan,Ian Traceyas George Hancock, the courageous whistleblower who compels Chase and his team to enter a zombie-infested city on a rescue mission,Jessica Harmonas Jill, a news producer who joins Chase and his intrepid crew to infiltrate a secret laboratory and stop the carnage,Victor WebsterasDead Rising 2hero Chuck Greene andCamille Sullivanas Susan Ingot, the CEO of Phenotrans, the manufacturer of Zombrex, the vaccine that keeps the zombie infection at bay.[14][15][16]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015)".AllMovie.RhythmOne.RetrievedJanuary 3,2015.
  2. ^On the Dead Rising: Watchtower Set!.YouTube. March 26, 2015.
  3. ^Jarvey, Natalie; Ng, Philiana (June 19, 2014)."Legendary Entertainment Adapting 'Dead Rising' Video Game for Crackle".hollywoodreporter.RetrievedOctober 28,2014.
  4. ^Graser, Marc (June 19, 2014)."Legendary to Bring Videogame 'Dead Rising' to Life".variety.RetrievedOctober 28,2014.
  5. ^Sneider, Jeff (August 20, 2014)."Legendary Digital's Zombie Movie 'Dead Rising' Lures 'Leprechaun: Origins' Director".thewrap.RetrievedOctober 28,2014.
  6. ^abGraser, Marc (September 29, 2014)."'Dallas' Star Jesse Metcalfe Leads Cast in Legendary's 'Dead Rising' Movie for Crackle ".variety.RetrievedOctober 29,2014.
  7. ^abJarvey, Natalie (October 20, 2014)."Rob Riggle Joins Legendary's 'Dead Rising' Adaptation".hollywoodreporter.RetrievedOctober 29,2014.
  8. ^"First Pic from Dead Rising: Watchtower".comingsoon.net. October 21, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon October 23, 2014.RetrievedOctober 21,2014.
  9. ^"New Dead Rising: Watchtower".DC.RetrievedFebruary 5,2015.
  10. ^abGenzlinger, Neil (March 24, 2015)."Review: On Crackle, 'Dead Rising: Watchtower' Offers Second Helpings to Video Game Fans".The New York Times.RetrievedJanuary 3,2015.
  11. ^abTorfe, Pat (March 30, 2015)."[Review] 'Dead Rising: Watchtower' Sticks to its Source, For Good and Bad".Bloody Disgusting.RetrievedJanuary 3,2015.
  12. ^abJones, Gareth (August 2, 2015)."Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015)".Dread Central.RetrievedJanuary 3,2015.
  13. ^"Twitter".
  14. ^"Timeline Photos - Dead Rising Watchtower - Facebook".facebook.
  15. ^"DeadRisingWatchtower on Twitter".Twitter.
  16. ^Petski, Denise (February 18, 2016)."'Dead Rising: Endgame': Billy Zane, Jessica Harmon Among New Cast For 'Watchtower' Sequel ".Deadline.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dead_Rising:_Watchtower&oldid=1226242474"