Rise of the Dead


 * Not to be confused with the series of the same name or the similarly named third installment. 

Rise of the Dead is a horror-comedy feature film written by Jack Hillebrecht and Ryan Woods and directed by Hillebrecht. It is the first installment in the Rise of the Dead series. Serving as Hillebrecht's feature film, Rise of the Dead stars Hillebrecht, Woods, and John Manfredonia as a trio of young friends who embark on a perilous adventure during a zombie apocalypse.

The film was released on July 7, 2013, and would go on to kick off the Zombieverse. A sequel, Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse, was released three months later - after which the series went into hiatus for six years before being revived in 2019. A concluding entry, The Undead Heart, will be released in 2021.

Cast

 * Jack Hillebrecht as Jack
 * Ryan Woods as Ryan
 * John Manfredonia as John
 * Jay Woods as The Guy With The Car

Plot
A boy named Ryan informs his friend Jack of a zombie invasion, and the two decide to set out to find a safer shelter. After several encounters with zombies, they find John and they continue their quest. They are soon captured by the mysterious Arthur Beansman Community. It is there Jack remembers a Safe house with a nearly impenetrable security system owned by "Old Man Paranoid." After escaping, they decide to go find the house.

On their travels, they are confronted by The Guy With The Car, but John throws a rock at him, sending him into a coma. The kids steal his car, and drive it to the house, only to find it surrounded by the zombies. After fighting them off, John tells Jack and Ryan to go inside the house, and that he will buy them time. Jack wakes up in the house, and Ryan tells him that they made it to the house and that John is missing. However, Ryan forgot to turn on the security system, and the house is soon attacked by zombies. Jack and Ryan fight them off, make it to the control panel, and activate the system. A bomb is triggered, but Jack and Ryan escape the blast radius.

Once they are safe, the two vow to remember John and that they will continue the fight against the zombies. However, a zombie survived the blast, and continues to lurk about the house.

Reception
The film was universally panned upon release, and is usually seen as the worst installment of the Zombieverse franchise. The film was criticized for its lack of imagination, slow pace, lack of coherency, and poor production values. Compared to its direct sequel, Rise of the Dead 2: Apocalypse, the film contains even less unintentional entertainment value. The film also has little relevance in terms of the larger story of the Rise of the Dead Saga, and is virtually never directly addressed in later films. The music that plays during the "love montage" in Rise of the Dead: The Undead Heart is the same music that plays during the walking montages in the film - which serves as the the most direct reference to the film in later films.