Director: Richard Lowry

Cast: Hunter Alexes Parker, Shane Samples, Justin Lebrun

Production Company: Giant Meteor Films

Runtime: 83 minutes

Better grab the popcorn. This one’s a whole lot of fun! Director Richard Lowry crosses the streams to bring us a genre-bending hybrid that’s part space fantasy, part zombie movie, and totally awesome! You’re going to want to see Apocalypse Rising (2018).

In the movie, survivors from a doomed world come to a futuristic Earth in order to procreate and rebuild their shattered lives. However, they must also protect this new home from the same evil force that destroyed their planet. The undead have come to our world too…

The cast consists of a barrage of talented indie movie veterans. Hunter Alexes Parker from Anomaly (2016), Justin Lebrun from Hell of a Night (2017), Johanna Rae from Psychos (2017), and David Namminga from Killer Holiday (2013) all have interesting roles.

The film is based on the novel “The Dead S.I.T.E.”, by Gregory P. Wolk. Some changes have clearly been made for this cinematic adaptation, including changes to the main character. The screenplay is also by Wolk, so consider the story a work in progress.

The opening scenes successfully capture the grand scale the movie wishes to achieve. It’s ambitious, and reminded me a little of the earliest moments of Army of Darkness (1992). The premise isn’t the same, but the desire to reach legendary proportions is definitely there.

The movie drops us right into the middle of the action, leaving us to figure out what’s going on as events unfold. There’s also an interesting collection of characters that keep things exciting and fun. The dramatic music arranged and performed by Robert Douglas is nothing short of epic.

The special effects are simply amazing. The quality is often beyond that which you would expect to see in a typical independent film. I don’t think this film could get much bigger without ceasing to be an independent movie! That’s part of what give this production its charm…

Biblical references abound, but don’t mistake this for a religious movie. It’s really funny in places, and brimming with simulated sex! The battle scenes are full of gore and spurting blood, often feeling like an over the top video game.

Zombies! Splatter! Space Opera! Apocalypse Rising delivers them all. Only procreation could be more satisfying…

– John Migliore

For more information on the film, check out the links below…

Official Trailer

IMDb Page

Facebook Page

Giant Meteor Films