A water-borne virus has led to a widespread outbreak of zombies in San Francisco. A group of survivors, including Dr. Lynn Snyder and others, create a refuge on Alcatraz Island. Snyder receives communications from Dr. Arnold, a scientist conducting experiments to create a cure for the virus. Meanwhile, Dr. Dan Halpern, another of the refugees, is studying parts culled from the bodies of the zombies, but he is unable to make much headway because he only has access to 'dead' zombies. His research is further hindered when Caspian and other refugees burn the zombie corpses being stored on the island. A horde of zombies are washed onto the island by the tides, causing panic in the camp. While they are defeated, many of the refugees are killed, and two are infected by the virus, one of them being Halpern's daughter, Julie. The survivors decide to set out for the mainland, while Halpern stays to study the two infected victims. Later in the film, Halpern is forced to kill himself by detonating a grenade when his daughter bites him, before the virus can claim him as well. The group on the mainland splits in two because of conflicting goals. Snyder wishes to find Dr. Arnold, as she believes he has found a cure, while Caspian's group instead wants to find supplies and ultimately reach what they believe to be an evacuation point. Caspian and several others are soon infected, and the group's numbers dwindle. It is eventually revealed that the 'evacuation point' has already been overrun by the zombies, rendering escape seemingly impossible. As the group siphones gas from a car, Ashley commits suicide on a trolly by rolling it down the street colliding with a bus. The last survivors of the group - Snyder, Kyle and Marshall - discover Dr. Arnold's refuge, the water treatment plant where the outbreak began. Arnold reveals that he has indeed discovered a cure, based on his tests on animal subjects. As the five flee for a chopper on the roof of the plant, both Kyle and Marshall are attacked, but Arnold's vaccine saves them. The group escapes the city, and Arnold requests a laboratory to manufacture his cure, expressing optimism that anything is possible.
In July 2012, it was announced the completed film would screen in October as part of Syfy's "31 Days of Halloween" programming block.
Reception
Critical reception
New York Daily News compared the film to The Walking Dead, offering that it was more bloody and grisly, and that in comparison, Rise of the Zombies "makes Walking Dead look like Dora the Explorer." They also noted the film's "remarkably accomplished cast", and of the script wrote "their lines aren't Shakespeare, but they fall into the spirit, at least until most of them get chopped in half, eaten alive or whatever." Mike Hale of The New York Times felt that the film was "largely in the venerable horror tradition of movie-as-extended-chase-scene" and that The Walking Dead was "gentle by comparison." They wrote that the film had "credible action sequences" and that the script offered "tiny flashes of wit".
Ratings
Rise of the Zombies premiered on October 27, 2012 with 1.28 million viewers. 15% of 241 audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes were positive, with an average rating of 1.9/5. 2139 IMDb users have given a weighted average vote of 3.7 / 10.
