Genre: Horror| Action | Drama

Air Date/Time: Saturday, October 27 at 9/8c

Network: Syfy

Written by: Keith Allan, Delondra Williams

Directed by: Nick Lyon

Summary: Survivors of a zombie plague escape their island refuge (Alcatraz) when it’s overrun and risk the outside world to find a scientist who is rumored to have found a cure for the disease. Rise of the Zombies stars Mariel Hemingway, LeVar Burton, Danny Trejo and French Stewart.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/aTj9uvtyZoM[/youtube]

Zombie fans, Syfy Original Movie fans, and all those looking for a show to watch on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, definitely check this out. I like the Original Movies, they’re fun. This one, though, has some genuinely OH MY GOD DID THEY REALLY DO THAT?! moments that make it worth a definitely look.

And that’s not the only reason to watch. This particular zombie movie has an interesting take on the genre. One of the great things about monster shows is that there is no absolute rule book. Just as not all vampires have to stay in the dark, and not all werewolves transform into creatures that look like actual wolves, there’s a lot to play with in zombie lore. I won’t spoil all of the twists that this movie takes, but here’s a visual example:

Suffice to say, these particular zombies are active. And there is a lot of zombie action in this movie, right from the very start. And it is gross. Not something to watch while eating anything other than popcorn. Seriously. It doesn’t matter that the effects may not be IMAX-worthy perfection; they are nauseating, with a lovely amount of matching sound effects to enhance the ewwww-ness.

As for the rest, there is a hilarious scene with French Stewart and a chimp that honestly had me laughing out loud. Although sometimes the Original Movies make me laugh because they’re over the top or just too cheesy, this is a meant-to-be-funny scene, and it’s great. Danny Trejo is nicely badass. Mariel Hemingway, bless her, is as slightly wooden as ever but is still always nice to watch. LeVar Burton elevates the drama in some poignant scenes.

There are some genuine surprises and nice twists in this movie, and although it gets bogged down a few times, for the most part it moves along nicely. The zombie action is plentiful. But it’s the scenes that had me literally yelling NO WAY! at the TV that compelled me to get the word out on this Original Movie. It’s zombielicious.

I give Rise of the Zombies Four Out of Five Stars.