Alyssa Dawn

Alyssa Dawn is the main antagonist and secondary protagonist of The Rise of the Dead, as well as the main protagonist of Rise of the Dead: The Undead Heart. She is portrayed by Alyssa Lightner. Introduced as a zombie in the third installment of the saga, she would go on to become one of its most important figures. She took the Zombie Antidote and the immunity it gave her was shared with the undead, leading to the creation of half-zombie. It was Alyssa that would end the apocalypse, fulfilling the mission that had been begun by Jack, Ryan, and John.

Personality
Alyssa has very high moral standards, often feeling incredibly guilty over the people she unwittingly turned to zombies. She is also very compassionate, as she took time to calm Annika down as she went through similar emotional turmoil. As a zombie, she is a remarkably skilled fighter, capable of high kicks and unusually aggressive considering her status as one of the undead. She is intensely romantic, showing fierce loyalty to her lost love Molly.

Background
Alyssa was born in the year 1995. She is the older sister of Ryan Dawn. Around the month of May 2013, she began dating Molly. The two would be in a happy relationship for about five weeks, a relationship that at some point resulted in Alyssa declaring her love for Molly. Shortly after the Zombie outbreak began in June of that year, she and Molly attempted to evacuate New York City, in which they went to school. They had planned their next date as sightseeing from atop a parking garage, but these plans were cancelled due to the outbreak. Alyssa purchased the last ticket out of the city and to safety, but forced Molly to take it, electing to stay behind so her lover could live another day.

Alyssa recalled that because her mind was focussed on Molly as the train passed, she did not even notice being bitten by a zombie. As such, it can be assumed that Alyssa was turned into one of the undead the same day she parted with Molly - sometime in June 2013. Alyssa was likely a vicious fighter, as she bit many other humans and turned them into zombies. She was confirmed to be one of the zombies at Dr. Gutter's Apartment during the Battle of New York, and was briefly reunited with her brother, Ryan. He intended to use the Zombie Antidote to save his sister, but Jack and John stopped this from happening.

She roamed North America over the course of the next six years, and wandered to the Safe house on May 23, 2019. She found Annika in her makeshift cemetery, and bit her after a brief pursuit. The minds of the two were linked and a bond formed between the two. Alyssa telepathically guided Annika away from her zombie self, and it was these communications that made Annika realize that zombies were still conscious humans deep down and felt remorse for killing so many. Alyssa manifested as a hallucination to Annika, and provided her with comfort and advice - saying that it was an understandable mistake and encouraged her to keep living. Alyssa revealed to Annika that she still had people out there she cared about, and urged her to take the Zombie Antidote. Annika returned to the Safe house and after a final confrontation with the Zombie form of Alyssa she reached the antidote. Alyssa begged Annika to take the antidote, but in a moment of compassion, Annika sacrificed herself to give the antidote to Alyssa and cure her.

The next day, Alyssa was commemorating Annika when she came into contact with Ryan, now a zombie. She held up a container of honey, a food that she had discovered zombies could survive off of, in hopes of surviving the encounter.

Alyssa was now fully human once more and completely immune to the zombie virus. She would live in the garage of the Safe house for the next two years after it was abandoned by Annika. At some point, she would decorate the walls with artwork that reminded her of Molly, and would spend each day using the art to reminisce on her lost love. She also met George Gutter at some point during this period. On May 21, 2021, Molly discovered the safe house and returned to her old lover. Alyssa barely recognized Molly. They were both born in 1995 but Alyssa had her physical aging halted for six years while she was a zombie. Alyssa's touch restored a bit of humanity to Molly, beginning the process of her becoming a Half-zombie. Alyssa contacted Gutter and the two resolved to use Alyssa's blood to fully heal Molly - at the cost of Alyssa's life. That evening, Alyssa tried and failed to rekindle her romance with Molly.

The next day Jack was chased into safe house by Ryan and a group of zombies. Alyssa intervened, and unintentionally gave Ryan the same partial rejuvenation she had given to Molly. Later that day, Alyssa prepared to leave with Molly for the procedure, but decided to spend one final romantic moment with her, walking her past all of her paintings. Molly, now with increasing consciousness, refused to follow Alyssa to the procedure, giving her the same train ticket from all those years ago. Alyssa understood what this gesture meant - that Molly did not want Alyssa to sacrifice herself after she had already done so all those years ago - and left. Alyssa imagined herself atop the parking garage she had always wanted to see with Molly - but now feeling happy and free despite being alone. She then tore down the artwork off the wall. Alyssa would soon leave the Safe house behind and devoted her time to spreading her touch to zombies all across the world. Over the course of the next five years, a new society would begin where humans and zombies would live together in peace.

By 2026, Alyssa was seen as a celebrity and participated in this new society. A Little girl met her at a photo op and asked what it was like becoming human again. This prompted Alyssa to visit the top of the parking garage and to write a letter chronicling her journey to becoming the person that would heal the world.

Concept and Creation
Alyssa Dawn was initially created for 2019's The Rise of the Dead by Jack Hillebrecht. She was conceived as a sort of counterbalance to the character of Annika - to humanize the zombies and also to provide her character with guidance. 2021's The Undead Heart greatly expanded on the character, making her the main protagonist of that film. It also established Alyssa as a lesbian with a romantic history that was crucial to the character, elements absent from the previous film.

In their review of The Undead Heart, The Film Festival Network specifically praised Lighter's performance of the character, with the depiction of "real heartbreak" being commended.

Appearances

 * The Rise of the Dead
 * Rise of the Dead: The Undead Heart
 * Endgame