Rise: Blood Hunter (2006)

33% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
25% of users liked it
(7,903 ratings)

A woman who joins the undead against her will seeks vengeance against the ghouls who transformed her in this thriller. Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) is a journalist who becomes acquainted with a group of beautiful but doomstruck partiers while following a story, led by the charismatic Bishop (James… More A woman who joins the undead against her will seeks vengeance against the ghouls who transformed her in this thriller. Sadie Blake (Lucy Liu) is a journalist who becomes acquainted with a group of beautiful but doomstruck partiers while following a story, led by the charismatic Bishop (James D'Arcy). While Sadie is taken with Bishop's good looks and sinister charm, she senses there's something dangerous about him, but it's not until she wakes up in the city morgue that she learns his secret -- Bishop is a vampire, and Sadie has joined his underlings as one of the undead. Angry and betrayed, Sadie is determined to stop Bishop and his compatriots, and she prowls the city with bow and arrow, ready to stake them from a distance when she spies them. Sadie finds an unlikely ally in her crusade in Detective Rawlins (Michael Chiklis), a police investigator whose daughter was transformed into a night creature by Bishop. However, Sadie is finding it increasingly difficult to resist her growing thirst for the blood of the living, becoming the sort of being she has grown to hate. Also featuring Carla Gugino, Robert Forster, and Nick Lachey, Rise: Blood Hunter received its world premiere with a special midnight screening at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Sebastian Gutierrez
Written By: Sebastian Gutierrez
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

In Theaters: Jun 1, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Oct 9, 2007
Studio: IDP Distribution

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Many scenes are set in dark parking lots and dirty city streets, but you sense the locations were chosen because they were inexpensive. There is some pleasure to be had counting continuity mistakes.
Kamal Al-Solaylee, Globe and Mail
[Director] Gutierrez sustains a heightened mood of sex and violence that, without breaking new ground, entertains in the way Gothic flicks do: a combination of cheap thrills and a good old-fashioned crusade against evil.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
You can thank a capable cast led by the estimable Lucy Liu, and work by writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez that succeeds in making the formulaic seem fresh.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Lucy Liu is always welcome on my screen, an actress who marries intelligence with feminine mystique, bundled with a dry wit and the ability to make action roles credible.
Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media
Torturous vampire bloodbath is a waste for all.
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com
A tedious Blade rip-off. No suspense or scares, but lots of boredom.
Keith Breese, Filmcritic.com
While Rise: Blood Hunter isn't a terrible film, it's a predictable one.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
far from perfect, but it's better than most direct-to-video horror you'll find out there. Heck, it's better than some of the theatrical releases we've seen this year
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a far more effective piece of work than one might've expected...
Scott Collura, IGN Movies
It's a blood-red affair thrown together in a dash, a little number that will ultimately get the same kind of treatment from audiences as it did from those who made it: something you might cue up in the DVD player on a whim and forget just as easily.
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
A dry and dreary little affair, one that's almost shamefully beholden to B-flicks that are a lot more energetic and a lot less intent on being taken so seriously.
Mark Palermo, Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Rise is middling, but not by doing things the wrong way. It's not wild enough.
Brian Orndorf, eFilmCritic.com
Mix Blade, a dash of Point Blank, and one of the worst movies you could imagine, and that's pretty close to capturing the experience of viewing Rise: Blood Hunter.
Kevin Williamson, Jam! Movies
There are worse things than waking up in a morgue. Like, say, waking up and realizing there's another hour of Rise: Blood Hunter to go.
Angela Baldassarre, Sympatico.ca
I wasn't expecting much from director/writer Sebastian Gutierrez, considering his last writing effort was the dismal "Snakes on a Plane." But in "Rise: Blood Hunter" he offers absolutely nothing new in terms of vampire stories if not a lush noirish atmosp

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

Rise is fun trash. It's nothing amazing, but totally watchable if you're in the mood for a erotic vampire detective noir. Also watch for the Marilyn Manson & Robert Forester cameos. Did I mention it's shot by John Toll. Yes that John Toll.
Jeff "

I'll be quite brief in this review for I feel that this movie fails to provide good scares and a good story. First off, Lucy Liu is plainly a bad actress. She can't act. This movie still proves that. I'd figured she'd retire after the lame Charlie's Angels… More
I'll be quite brief in this review for I feel that this movie fails to provide good scares and a good story. First off, Lucy Liu is plainly a bad actress. She can't act. This movie still proves that. I'd figured she'd retire after the lame Charlie's Angels movies. Anyways, getting back to this film, the movie is full of flaws, the dialogue between the characters is completely utter garbage and the plot borrows alot of from the Blade franchise, which in my opinion was terrible. On a high note on this film, Marilyn Manson makes a cameo as a bartender. Which I found was amusing to see. At least he was better than Lucy Liu, and he had less than 5 minutes on screen. I thought the movie was bad and with Lucy liu attempting the Buffy the vampire slayer routine; it just didn't work.
xGary X

A reporter is turned into a vampire and she sets about tracking down and killing her attackers. The opening scene of this film is one of the lamest Playboy style pseudo-lesbian scenes I have ever seen in a "serious" film and that just about sets the level of the entire… More
A reporter is turned into a vampire and she sets about tracking down and killing her attackers. The opening scene of this film is one of the lamest Playboy style pseudo-lesbian scenes I have ever seen in a "serious" film and that just about sets the level of the entire movie. It's basically just Lucy Liu and her cheekbones wandering around with a mindlessly disinterested look on her face, occasionally getting naked and dousing herself in fake blood. There is no action to speak of, the disjointed timeline is pointless and does nothing but mildly confuse in an attempt to make the plot look a lot more clever and complex than it actually is. The casting of Lucy and Robert Forster in a cameo are clearly a deliberate ploy to give this softcore TV movie standard bag of cliches a Tarantino flavour but its total lack of invention, humour or excitement make it a real chore to sit through. And any film that manages to make Lucy Liu in the nip seem like a bore is going SERIOUSLY wrong somewhere...
_kelly .

I watched this movie, but I don't remember ANYTHING from it other than I was thinking "well this isn't nearly as bad as most people claim it is". Available for free viewing at http://www.crackle.com/c/Rise_Blood_Hunter
Cassandra M

It pleases me to report that RISE works brilliantly in its original 122-minute version. The use of non-linear storytelling is handled masterfully by writer and director Sebastian Gutierrez, and along with the beautifully lush cinematography of John Toll, these devices go a long way in… More
It pleases me to report that RISE works brilliantly in its original 122-minute version. The use of non-linear storytelling is handled masterfully by writer and director Sebastian Gutierrez, and along with the beautifully lush cinematography of John Toll, these devices go a long way in giving the film an edge that most other horror films can only dream of. But then, RISE is so much more than a "mere" horror film, as it is just as heavily rooted in gritty film noir and hard boiled revenge thrillers like KISS ME DEADLY and POINT BLANK, and Gutierrez effortlessly mixes these different genres into one helluva potent cocktail. He is also greatly helped in making this sell by Lucy Liu, as her acting in this film is completely off the chart. This is without a doubt the finest and most daring performance she has ever given, and the raw emotion she dishes out in certain scenes is nothing short of astounding. So... in the cinematic tradition of vampire films like THE HUNGER, NEAR DARK, and THE ADDICTION, Sebastian Gutierrez's RISE is most definitely a worthy addition to the list.
Nani V

For some reason, I actually watched the whole thing...not really knowing if I would enjoy it or not. Obviously, I did. Better than I had expected.
Dean M

Average bloodsucker hunting movie as well as what I think it's familiar to The Hunger. I see Lucy Liu didn't use her own martial arts skills in the scenes while fighting and slaying the twisted vampires.
Al S

Seductive, sexy and very exciting. One of the best and most dazzelingly original vampire films in years. Clever, well-constructed and unique. Lucy Liu and Michael Chiklis give firm, strong and dedicated performances. Liu is teriffic. Chiklis is brilliant. When their two characters… More
Seductive, sexy and very exciting. One of the best and most dazzelingly original vampire films in years. Clever, well-constructed and unique. Lucy Liu and Michael Chiklis give firm, strong and dedicated performances. Liu is teriffic. Chiklis is brilliant. When their two characters meet the chemistry is undeniably outstanding. Chilling, gripping and memerising. James D'Arcy gives a charasmaticly evil and great performance.
Justin Y

It seems these vampire flicks never get old. This time around we have the lovely Lucy Liu doing all the dirty work.There is nothing really original about the story. Women turns into vampire and wants revenge on the people who did this to her. When all is said and done this… More
It seems these vampire flicks never get old. This time around we have the lovely Lucy Liu doing all the dirty work.There is nothing really original about the story. Women turns into vampire and wants revenge on the people who did this to her. When all is said and done this felt like Blade, with less action, less vampires, and a slower pace. It is more gory though. Where this movie really lacked was the beginning. It moved way too slow and took a while before the real story kicked in. In fact, it was almost the 40 minute mark before the hunt was on.There is a bunch of recognizable faces in here, but the acting could have been better. Lucy Liu is not bad, but I've seen her in better roles. Michael Chiklis is great, but is way too underused. Especially in the beginning when he could have used more buildup. Carla Gugino is also underused and could have benefited with more airtime. James D'Arcy plays the villain, but he seemed to lack that extra something to make me hate him. The Arturo character, who is sort of similar to Whistler from Blade, had no real background either. He seemed to be an important person, yet he is nearly non-existent in this film. On a side note, this is also the last live action role for Mako, from my understanding.The action in this film is minimal as it tries to focus more on the suspense factor. Although these types of movies work well with suspense I felt that it could have used way more action. Maybe even more vampires for that matter.In closing, this movie is just another typical vampire movie with nothing really spectacular, but nothing really bad either.
Yinalí R

It wasn't what I expected.
Adam M

Pretty decent vampire film about a womans revenge on the people that made her a vampire.Lucy Lui puts in a pretty good performance as Sadie Blake,the infected journalist who gets to close to the murder scene when investigating the death of a local girl.This film is gory at times,scary… More
Pretty decent vampire film about a womans revenge on the people that made her a vampire.Lucy Lui puts in a pretty good performance as Sadie Blake,the infected journalist who gets to close to the murder scene when investigating the death of a local girl.This film is gory at times,scary at times and sexy at times and you never see any fangs or messed up faces like in other vampire films which makes it different but it never seems to jump out of that "this is a pretty good film actually" view into the "fuck,this films great!" one but its still worth a watch.
Nicky M

Vampire revenge flick. Not bad and a suprisingly good cast that is underused. The unrated DVD feels a lil long but overall this one is somewhat entertaining. Lucy Liu is the star of this and it doesn't hurt that she can't keep her clothes on.
Chosen 7

Decent cast, not very entertaining. The writing could have been a lot better. I probably wouldn't have finished watching it if it weren't for Lucy Liu and Michael Chiklis.
Leo L

A great movie!