In the world of zombie films, it’s pretty hard to be original these days. So, for me it is preferable that the film makers push a story rather than the eating of flesh. There is a point when a zombie feasting on a smorgasbord of humans just gets kind of old. Risen avoids the standard trappings of the zombie genre, and has a good time rolling us through the carnage all while developing its characters in the midst of crisis.

Jenny (GiGi Erneta) and Sam Mills (Joe Thackery) are a married couple stuck in the suburbs, separated from their daughter after an industrial accident releases a chemical and causes panic amongst the locals. Their situation is further complicated by the presence of Sam’s irresponsible brother Nick (Jason Harper), who Jenny doesn’t seem to like very much. It soon becomes apparent that the chemical is changing everyone to zombies, and yes ‘ they are eating everybody. Our 3 heroes meet a few people on the way, including AK (Karim Irteimeh), a young Arab ‘ American man and his relative who is trying to steer so and so in the right direction in life. Everyone eventually winds up at a rescue area, where they wait out the eventual coming of the zombie attack, and their strength of will is tested.

Risen is a straight forward zombie movie, but it never feels old hat. It is funny, and entertaining while still maintaining the traditional zombie movie format for the horror masses. With a healthy dose of humor, plenty of blood, character development and a good cast, Damon Crump’s Risen ‘rises’ above the standard low budget zombie film to become something memorable.

This movie is yet another example of how HD cameras are making it easier, and more economically feasible, for independent filmmakers to bring their vision to fruition; and to compete in the realm of ‘visual quality’ that larger budget productions dominate. I saw Risen at the TFW screening, where some of the independent productions looked like they were made a bunch of kids who borrowed a camera for the weekend, so it really stood out from the rest.

Be sure to check out our video interview with the director and cast members from the Texas Frightmare Weekend.