Writer: David Talbot
Director: Damon Crump
When the dead have risen, some things are more important than your own survival
Risen (aka Armageddon of the Dead) is very much a film of two halves. Neither half bears much resemblance to the picture on the DVD box, nor to the only slightly less misleading trailer.
The setup is simple: a train has crashed in Bellville, Waco and released an unknown gas which is reviving the dead. Our main characters have left their young daughter with her grandmother and once they hear about the undead rising they try to cross
town and get back to her. This domestic, parental plot driver is effective but nothing like what you’d expect from the film’s publicity!
The first half of the film looks like it might be heading towards the bloody zombie onslaught depicted on the DVD cover. There are various set-pieces, some nasty and others funny. Unfortunately these never seem to gel together and the whole movie feels
like something that’s lost its way. Is it meant to be scary or funny? A homage or a parody? This is probably the reason for Armageddon of the Dead getting so many negative reviews.
Well, one of the reasons. The other is the acting. It’s always a warning sign when a movie trailer lacks dialogue. The acting here generally varies between “acceptable” and “awful”. In general the support cast are better than leads, with Oliver Luke impressive as Chris.
Just as most people are probably thinking of giving up, the movie suddenly shifts gears as our heros join a refugee shelter. From here on most of the action is interpersonal and happens indoors. There are a few massed zombie shots, but the story becomes much more human and small scale. I don’t know if this was a deliberate plan or just a result of the budget running out, but it works. The second half of the film is claustrophobic and emotionally unpleasant, far superior to the first section.
Had Armageddon concentrated on the human aspects and not tried to be a gore-soaked action movie then it might have worked really well. Unfortunately an uneven and unconvincing first half lets down a decent finish.