Samuel W Connelly (SamTheWriter) 'Rise of the Zombie', not to be confused with the 2012 film, 'Rise of the Zombies' starring Danny Trejo, is a film that zombie fans, as well as independent film lovers don't want to miss out on. I like it, maybe I love it. Director Luke Kenny plays Neil Parker, a wildlife photographer who, after deciding to spend a few days in the wilderness to clear his head after a fight with his girlfriend, is bitten or stung while taking photos of insects, small animals, and breathtaking landscape. Over the next few days his world slowly spins out of control; a dark and violent journey into what will soon be the incident that gives birth to the apocalyptic spreading of the zombie virus as we know it. Devaki Singh, writer and also co-director, tells a beautiful, terrifying, and believable story while Luke Kenny, co-director and lead actor sells his role brilliantly. 'Rise of the Zombie' is every bit as much a psychological thriller as it is the gory, body-parts-piling-up, flesh eating zombie horror. 'Rise of the Zombie' is not a blood and gore 'quick fix'. It's a film that doesn't replace quality for cheap thrills. It has a real story, real characters, real drama, and a real delivery that you have to wait for. But even with a slow start to the violent ripping of intestines and chewing-off of faces, that we have all come to expect and love from zombie movies, the wait is as much a part of the experience as the culminating horrific climax. It left me fully satisfied and wanting more. Although India has been in the filmmaking business for just over a hundred years, 'Rise of the Zombie' is the country's first zombie film and it will easily land in my top 20 favorite zombie films list. Even without all the subtitles, it's more than worth the ride to see how the beginning of the zombie apocalypse began in the mind of Devaki Singh. Highlights: The artistic way cinematographer, Murzy Pagdiwala uses the cameras and lighting to capture amazing landscapes, the small village traditions, as well as the violent motions during attacks not complement the story and add depth to Neil's emotional and mental decent, but it shares a piece of Hindu culture most have never experienced. Why Not 10 Stars?: The film is not spoken in English and the subtitles freeze up on about six or seven sentences for the majority of the film. I felt that this caused me to miss some of the storyline that I needed to connect with other characters more deeply.Don't forget: In the last few minutes the title 'Rise of the Zombie' appears on the screen. At the screening I first saw this film at, it was stopped there. After I watched it again I realized that it is not the end of the film and you may think the best part is in the three minutes following.

rangdetumpy Zombie is one such concept which oscillates between two extremes when it comes to audience reaction....either one is crazy about this genre or strongly repugnant to it. From Romero's idea of Living dead to Rodriquez's quirky, pulp zom-com there have been numerous experiments with this genre resulting in a cult following for the same. Totally unexplored in Indian cinema the genre is catching up pace with various releases this year. With a limited audience for this genre majority of the audience has to be educated & then they can acquire the taste for Zombie films which borders between blood & gore.It was a daunting task for Luke Kenny & his team to come with a serious zombie film & that also one which showcases the gradual transformation of a human to a flesh devouring living dead. The film starts with a camera zooming on to different aspects of nature establishing the protagonist Neel Parker's passion towards photography which is also his profession. Being so involved with himself & his love for wildlife photography he starts getting far away from his emotional belongings – love & friendship but he doesn't seem to get bothered by these "minor" jolts as long as his best companion "Camera" is with him. Thus, after a rift with his GF he moves to some jungle in Uttarakhand & indulge in his passion, where his camera, the nature & his thoughts are his only companions. The serene existence within laps of nature has been aptly highlighted with long footage of Parker's peaceful daily life which gets topsy-turvy with a bite from an "unknown" bug..and there begins the transitional journey from a human to a zombie.Through the bug bite the director duo straight away hints on a virus being the root cause behind the catastrophe. The transformation at physical and psychological level has been showed with precise detailing with Parker's gradual denial towards human food & growing interest to consume living animals starting with ants.The strive against one's impression with gradually getting transformed into a monster has been depicted with dexterity. Through back & forth narrative we are subjected to the progressive loss of his earlier memory & at the same time snippets from his previous life could be seen. Here audience could empathize with the fate of this man. At certain point the flashback becomes monotonous & scenes getting repetitive which hampers the pace.Credit should be given to the debutant director duo (Luke Kenny & Devaki Singh) for not shying away from the showing gory part of a zombie's existence. Unlike majority zombie films which focus on group of human blasting away zombie's head to glory; here the focus is on the inner demon as a person gets metamorphisized. From insects to birds to humans the devouring sequences are somewhat graphic which might not appeal to many Indian cine-goers. In one such scene Parker snatches out a heart from a man's body while in another he is squeezing the eye out of the socket from the body of a girl. In fact faint-hearted should strictly refrain from watching this (& those who are still amateurs to cannibalistic films should be cautious).But then those sequences supported with the silent background score creates the atmosphere & ambiance for the eerie setting. Human are most dangerous animal on earth – indeed the cannibalistic sequence have more shock value than any RGV's horror films with screeching background music. Pagiwala's camera captured the essence of the film. From the rejuvenating, calm wildlife to the destructive mayhem scenes are captured effectively. To compliment his camera work the sharp editing & Jhanjhani's make-up did the trick.Devaki – Kenny duo should be applauded for choosing such a convoluted horror script and then showing it in the simplest way possible. The film also takes a dig at human psychology. At core we all humans are nothing less than a zombie pouncing on other living creatures. At one flashback scene Parker is shown to eat some cooked meat & next moment the camera zooms to blood soaked teeth just after having a bite of a living creature – end of the day the crux is the name. Also the film hints on the bottleneck of today's stressed out existence whereby we are getting distant from our loved ones & turning out to be someone else without having any time to feel, think, love & care.The film ends with Parker totally transforming into a total flesh eating monster while his girlfriend (in some nearby metro city) sets out in search of him. The story gets to continue with "Land of the Zombie" (to be released in 2014) whose trailer is shown at the end. Here we get to see the whole town turning into a living dead & searching for flesh. In typical western zombie films the humans are few & they have to kill for their own survival.Luke Kenny did a commendable job with acting as well as direction. Being the captain of the ship he understood the concept & the character to the core which gets reflected in his performance. Towards the end of the film the introvert, quiet, dashing photographer could be seen no more, what is left of him is a flesh eating monster. Kirti Kulhari,Benjamin Gilani,aswin Mushran were adequate in their respective roles.2013 opens new gateways & brings the audience to a new genre – Zombies or the Living deads. With zomcom "Go goa Gone" on the pipeline we are hoping for varied zombie films in near future & more audience acceptance for this genre. As a starter this zombie-origin film did set the mood even though this one was probably (strictly) for a niche audience. Go for the chilling experience!!!

Gavin Gabriel To be the first Zombie Origin movie from India there is a lot of barriers that hold you. Trying something that no one has tried before is difficult when it comes to Bollywood. You have to plant the seed deeply in the minds of an audience that doesn't like much change from the regular. Rise of the Zombie has done just that, beating the regular and is now being accepted by most in the country.The movie is about a Wildlife Photographer Neil(Luke Kenny)who gets infected when he's busy taking pictures in the wild. Then begins his pain and suffering. This infection causes his mind to loose control over himself gradually turning him into a Blood thirsty Zombie. The memories of his fight with his girlfriend Vinny(Kirti Kulhari) and not being able to contact any of his friends makes him more weak and lonely in the wild adding to his pain and agony. The movie continues very well till the end takes you thru every phase of turning into a Zombie. This is unlike any other Hollywood Zombie movie you have seen.Songs are good in the movie and all the Actors have done a good job especially Luke Kenny and Kirti Kulhari. A MUST WATCH MOVIE...

lukenny We are a country that is so rooted in superstitions within the horror genre, we haven't gone beyond the ghosts and spirits.. But at the same time we also realize that we have the new generation that is glued to the international popular culture and zombies are a huge part of it.It was a bit of a challenge as you want to put on screen (a film) that has no connection with the already made zombie films. Mostly zombie films are survival films where a bunch of humans survive a bunch of zombies and all the madness that ensues in between. But we wanted to introduce the Indian audiences to the concept of zombie with the story of its origin. So every zombie has a story of how he turned into a zombie and we tell the story of one such human being and what happens to him and how he is unable to cope with it.