Dead Moon Rising (2007) User Reviews

an "A" for effort, but an "F" for execution

[ohsweetheartache · 3/10 · 21 March 2008]

The DVD cover is crazy awesome, so I thought I'd give it a chance. Unfortunately, the DVD cover was made with a hundred times more professionalism than the film it's self. The movie obviously had no budget, which is not a reason to condemn the movie. However, the skills (or lack of skills) of the director are reason enough.

THE BAD: poor film quality (My personal digital cam looks sharper), dreadful and unflattering lighting in almost every shot, very poor editing (not nearly enough cutting), The musical score is both ridiculous and annoying (1976 called, it wants it's music back. PLEASE, lay off the synth !!!! ), sound is pathetic (background noise shifts from cut to cut, pulling you out the film, sound FX are too bad to even comment on), fight choreography is TERRIBLE, most of the jokes fall flat, Blood FX are poor (far to light, light pink isn't very threatening), worst of all is the Zombie make up (what's up with the yellow face paint?!?! If you put yellow face paint on someone, it doesn't look like a zombie...it looks like a person wearing yellow face paint. Not scary, just stupid).

THE GOOD: There are a few nuggets of goodness littered through out this calamity. While most of the cast cant act their way out a wet paper bag, there are a couple that display some talent (the character of Nick was likable). The suicide head shot looked good. While most of the jokes are just stupid and immature, I admit to busting a chuckle a couple times. I was impressed by the number of zombies. So kudos on the gathering such a vast amount of extras. Unfortunalty, the zombie extras were poorly directed and poorly instructed. When the undead mob is running past the camera, most of them lean at the camera (and actually look directly at it) as if trying to get their moment in the spotlight. The director should have done something about that.

A note to the director: Take some film classes, read some books, watch some movies, take notes. Keep trying, you might someday figure out what you're doing. You obviously have tremendous drive, but that's not always enough.

Not the worst Indy film I've ever seen....not by far. However, I can't call it good. I really WANT to like this movie, because it looks like such a labor of love. I'm a fan of gorilla film making, and I respect the film makers for their efforts in overcoming the lack of budget (and I do mean lack of ANY budget). Unfortunalty, the lack of skill and knowledge far outweigh the efforts. As I said in the beginning, the DVD cover is great. But remember, its the product (not the packaging) that you'll be judged on.

This is one goofy little movie

[em89072002 · 2/10 · 11 March 2008]

This is a failed attempt at a humorous zombie horror flick. It's somewhat funny, but not at all scary; it's along the lines of 'Zombie Town', but not as good.

This seemed like a bunch of comic skits, some funny/some not, spliced together to make a movie.

There are a lot of serious problems with this film. The most obvious and annoying is the sound; it's ridiculously patchy --- the sound just cuts out over and over again. The gun fights lack the sound of gun fire. This is especially notable when the lead character comes out with a mega-gun, which he introduces as his "Noisy little friend", and uses the gun to blow away a mass of zombies and yet the gun makes no noise.

The special effects are lame. Half the zombies just have their faces painted yellow --- it's not scary, just really weird. The scenes where victims are devoured look as if the zombie characters are just snacking on some red licorice. The acting is a mix; some of it is okay, but too many times it's stiff.

After reading the comments of other reviewers, there is some obvious bias that shows how this movie got a rating higher than it deserves. One of the reviewers appears to be Jason Crowe, one of the main characters in this flick. From him it sounds as though everything was warm and fuzzy on the set --- good to hear Jason, thanks for sharing. But, no one really cares; it's the final product that matters --- and this turd is still steaming.

Ehhh...

[archofark · 2/10 · 16 March 2008]

Well, the cover looked really cool. I guess when you see a guy holding a mini-gun with two hot babes beside him it is only normal to get your hopes up, but I have seen porno's with better production values than this movie sadly. Somewhat random tangents told be the main character just drug the movie out, most of the zombies were just yellow-ish with pink stuff on their clothing, and lets see, bikers versus zombies... yeah crappy ending.

Good notes, lots of blood, babe on babe action (kissing only), and a mini gun. (That is about it... really) Bad acting, bad camera work (watch reflective surfaces), and just about bad all around. I even like indi films (Bubba Hotep, Toxic Avenger), but this movie was a waste of my money to rent.

Okay if you're open minded and like cheesy horrors

[laserdragon · 5/10 · 2 September 2007]

I won't say this is the worst film ever (I've seen Dark harvest 2) but in spite of the fact that it was made in my hometown, I can't give it a glowing review either. I kept having to stretch my sense of the believable a little too far in order to accept certain scenes (especially one where the bikers and monsters meet in the supposedly "deserted" city, while you can see a busy intersection up the road.

However, the women were pretty hot, and the movie sometimes came off a little bit humorously, which I understand was the point - so I will give it a halfway decent grade. But this movie is probably a lot better if you've had a little to drink first.

They've got to be kidding

[mdarmocida · 1/10 · 11 March 2008]

I didn't even last through the first ten minutes. My stepson who shoots movies in our backyard with a home video camera and no discernible plot makes better movies than this.

This was horrible, and would certainly have been a made for TV reject. The camera work looked like it was done on a $100 camcorder, the lighting was horrible and the acting even worse.

Unfortunately, IMDb wants at least ten lines of text in this review, but the movie is so horrible there's nothing else to say so I will close by telling you not to waste your money. The only thing redeemable about this movie is the semi-hot looking chicks on the cover but I didn't last long enough to see them either.

Scraping The Barrell...

[Nightmare-Maker · 1/10 · 15 May 2008]

OK, somehow I just sat through this turd of a film.

I'm telling ya, this is bloody awful.

I love zombie films, but not this one.

The reasons are as follow:

1. The acting borders on embarrassing...you get this one guy who keeps talking into the camera as if he's talking to you (the viewer), just makes you wanna reach into your T.V and punch him

2. The gore, well sort of gore is made up of Blackcurrent and Raspberry jam...plus some sausages covered in something red to look like guts!

3. Running time - 91 minutes...90 minutes too long!

4. On the DVD cover it boasts the LARGEST ZOMBIE SCENE EVER TO BE SHOT......Complete Bull***t!

5. You think just by putting yellow paint on somebody's face makes a realistic looking zombie...You're wrong!

...Seriously guys, don't waste your time or hard earned cash on this, it does'nt deserve it. The only plus point is it does have a couple of pretty tasty chicks in it.

I reckon I could have made a better film for a tenner!

I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANY STRONGER WARNINGS...THIS FILM IS SHITE!!!

Dead Moon Rising: An Honest Effort That Needed Polishing

[BillyRayJohnson · 3/10 · 28 April 2010]

Dead Moon Rising starts out with a zombie plague already in progress. This seems to be a commonality in super low budget zombie movies lately. In the intro they did have a bitingly clever (or so they thought) soliloquy in which the main character gives possible explanations for the zombies. We are then treated to a half hour or so of sandpaper-dry dialogue showing some guys working at an insurance place or something. There is supposed to be comedy in this movie, but the only part I chuckled at was one of the guys yelling "Who you gonna call?!" after shooting a zombie. You may get a few unintentional laughs here and there.

Some might watch this movie expecting awesome gore and cool guns. The traditional effects are limited almost entirely to blood being squirted from off-screen. Almost all blood splatter coming from characters on screen is obviously computer generated. All gunfire is computer generated, and no guns eject spent shells (including the mini gun). Zombie makeup varies, from none at all, to faces painted entirely yellow, similar to Yellow Bastard.

Two other big issues with this movie were the sound (design and quality) and the photography. The sound ranks amongst the worst I've heard in a distributed movie. There is a high-pitched squeal during most of the dialogue. The only distributed movie I can think of that had worse sound was Ax 'Em. Sound effects were mediocre and unrealistic. There is generic electronic music playing practically every second of the movie. Editing was distracting at best, jarring at worst. Image compositions were never pleasing, and connected shots were often disorienting. On a positive note, the acting was far from the worst I've ever seen, and totally passable.

Some of you who have seen the poster (the coolest thing about this movie) might be wondering about the girls. Well, there are two main girls in it, but the one at his feet doesn't seem to be in the movie. Anyways, one of the girls is cute, but wears somewhat unflattering outfits. The other, Tucky Williams, is beautiful, and if they were smart they'd have made her the star. The basic concept of her character might have even worked, had they removed her degrading dialogue and actions. One example is an unnecessary, distasteful, and uncomfortably long kissing scene between the two girls. There is no nudity (which to me is good in a movie of this caliber and budget).

In closing, let me give credit to writer/director Mark E. Poole for getting off his bum and making a movie. It's cool that he had the motivation and opportunity to do so, especially since he looks like an older gentlemen. This is his first attempt, so hopefully he will try some more and improve. This was also Tucky Williams' first movie, and I certainly hope to see her some more (in starring roles!). Often when I've watched recent low budget zombie movies, I've thought they took themselves too seriously. However, watching this movie, I was reminded that comedy is also a delicate genre, difficult to pull off, and doubly so for a movie attempting both comedy and horror. Points for attempting to be clever, Tucky Williams, and... heart. The jokes may have fallen flat, but it wasn't as soulless as many big budget pictures. For comparison purposes, this movie was about as bad as Zombiegeddon.

Cut the low budgets some slack

[Blue_Martian · 4/10 · 24 June 2009]

Question #1. Why do people that don't like low budget horror... watch a low budget horror?

Question #2. Why do people that don't like low budget horror and watch it bother to take the time to rate it on IMDb?

Beats me... I've seen enough low budget Zombie flicks for two lifetimes and I can tell you that this was a clever, witty low budget film.

Forget B-movie, this barely had enough of a budget to qualify for a C movie. But you know what, the writing was more than enough to save it from it's monetary woes.

You have to know what you're in for.. it seems every review I write of a low budget zombie flick, I keep coming up with the same thing.. If you want Romero GO RENT A ROMERO FLICK!

This is low budget at its finest and you have to appreciate it for what it is. A clever, witty, comical decently written script with a solid effort by all members involved.

Bottom line: If you are a fan of Zombie/Infected movies and are on a quest to watch'em all... this is a must see. Especially due to the relative obscurity of the movie itself.

Zombie Fun, from where I live

[adrian-155 · 7/10 · 19 August 2007]

I saw this film at a local horror movie fest. It's cool to see a zombie film with sights from where I live. I've watched a fair number of low budget zombie film, and this one was very well done considering what they had to work with budget wise. My only complaints are the sound was hard to make out in some spots, and the ending seemed a bit tacked on. But what the hell do I know, I've never made a film myself so who am I to criticize (other than someone who watched way to many films). There were a lot of laugh out loud lines, and the characters were likable. Tucky Williams makes a great kick ass scream queen, and Erica Goldsmith is easy on the eyes as well. I look forward to what these folk make next.

not worth it

[martin-1484 · 1/10 · 11 March 2008]

what an awful movie. save yourself the time. read a book. take a shower. from the first titles I saw it was the kind of TV movies - made with a semi-amateur camera, lots of crappy acting and stupid synthesized soundtracks. and I was correct!

why do people make such stupid movies? why do people act in such stupid movies? one of the worst movies I skipped (yes, I started watching it, though couldn't last long - the music and the acting took over me). it's the one of the American amateur movies - I suppose we could call it a category. exceptionally crappy operator, lightning, sound job, grim, script etc. everything in this movie is of exceptionally low quality. or no quality at all.

the worst of the worst.

DMR is a blast!

[brice222 · 10/10 · 4 November 2007]

So this is what I have been waiting for. Real reviews from people who have nothing to do with the film nor live in Louisville. Now in truth I figured it would be rough. I know what kind of film we have and I make no bones about it.

However the film IS fun. We did indeed have a blast on set. The film does have it's rough points. I mean its a no budget film. But if you rent these films looking for Oscar worthy productions then you're looking in the wrong place. However if you rent these films because you're a fan of low budget B-movies then DMR is for you.

It's fun. It's campy. It's a B-Movie! I love it. I'm proud to call it my film debut and I look forward to doing part 2!

My original post: OK so I may be a little bias since I did star in the film and it was my first starring role... However I am first and foremost a fan of low budget indie films.

Now I will agree the film has it's moments where one has to stretch the imagination, but what film doesn't? DMR is a great first outing for Mark Poole and Anubis Digital Productions. It's well written and very funny. The music is really well done and I think the acting was above par for an indie film.

No I'm not talking about me (I always feel I can do better) I'm talking about Mike Seely (DMR's Nick) That guy is hilarious. I personally think he stole the film and I loved working with him in our scenes together. Gary Williams is another funny man and was very enjoyable to watch on screen. As well as Tucky Williams and Kiki Wallace... Hell honestly I thought everyone did a great job...

Mark Poole created a fun film full of likable characters and sharp humor. He did one hell of a job directing his first film. I mean handling 1200 extras in one scene as seamlessly as he did was a sight to be seen. Mark is someone who loves what he does and has a blast doing it. Every day on set was a great day and Mark was always there at the end of the day with a hug and a word of encouragement...

HE and the cast and crew of DMR became like my family and made every day on set unforgettable.

So if you love indie films and want to have a great time, check out DMR. I promise its a fun ride!

"Bad taste" meets "Shawn of the dead"!

[dakillo34 · 7/10 · 12 March 2008]

I loved this movie! It was probably one of the worst movies I've ever seen considering effects, props, camera, sound and general feel, and still I loved it!

So if it is so bad, why did I love it? It's a standard clichè movie with flesh-eating zombies, so you already know the story of this movie. The internal organs that are being eaten look really cheap, and I even think I saw a string of sausages somewhere in the mess... You can clearly see a difference in image-quality throughout the different cuts. You can clearly hear that sound-effects have been added, because they sound really cheap. Cutting seems a bit weird at times... So why did I love this movie??

It is clear that this movie had a low budget, but it was VERY WELL made despite this fact! Most of the actors are doing a very descent job, many of their comments made me laugh out loud and fall off my chair, the women are beautiful, and the constant weird twists throughout the movie are actually a bit interesting! All the shortcomings (bad effects, sounds etc..) actually added to the experience in a strange way, setting a special atmosphere throughout the movie. All that put together (and being able to look past the rough surface this movie very noticeably carries) left me feeling slightly impressed and very entertained. This movie is WELL WORTH WATCHING all the way through!

If you didn't like Bad Taste, then you will likely dislike this movie. But with the right sense of humor and an open mind (as stated in a few other comments as well), you will with no doubt love almost every minute of this movie!

In conclusion, this movie isn't for everyone, but it proves that entertainment doesn't need a budget!

I am So -BLAM!- ing Disappointed

[Elijah_Chandler · 2/10 · 2 July 2008]

Let's get some things out of the way: I was born, and spent a lot of my youth, in Louisville, Kentucky and it was very cool to see a movie shot there (last one I can think of was STRIPES). Also, I LOVE Zombie Flicks. See how I capitalized Zombie Flick? Look, I did it again! I'm also a fledgling movie producer of really dumb short films, and not half bad industrial films. (http://www.youtube.com/elcheapofilms) On to my review... I tried, tried, TRIED to like this movie but I couldn't. The lighting was bad, the plot was shaky at best, and the acting... oh the acting. How could you live in a city that holds the best Off-Broadway theatre troupe in the country (Actors Theatre) and have acting this bad? It's got a motorcycle gang, Zombies, and SCANTILY CLAD WOMEN! What happened?! You know what really gets me though? I've got a script sitting right next to me for a great little Zombie Flick and now the absolute best title I've ever heard for a non-Romero Zombie Flick has been taken. 'Dead Moon Rising'? Are you kidding me?! That title is so brilliant it earned them an extra star (and they only got two folks)! Also, check out that poster! It's like Evil Dead meets Duke Nukem (ED+DN=AWESOME). You've cut me deep Producers of Dead Moon Rising, you've cut me deep.

Not to be unkind...

[thegreatbeast2000 · 3/10 · 17 May 2008]

... but life is simply too short to indulge in this kind of waste of time. If I were to be snide, I would tell you that I imagine that the filmmaker would probably say something to the effect that with another $700.00 he could have put a proper shine on the finished product.

This is a bad film.

Dead Moon Rising was produced with insufficient funds and a decided lack of expertise. Cardboard characters, awful acting, nonexistent continuity and grade school special effects can not be explained away simply by crying poverty. Care costs nothing but still this film was short-changed.

This film saddens me

[hellfiretv · 1/10 · 30 July 2008]

It would be very hard to actually call this a film. It's more of a collection of bad, poorly lit shots.

I would first like to mention that the majority of the good comments here are biased. And they all admit to being so. An unbiased review of the film would be the one to look for if you're going to be downloading or, god forbid purchasing this film.

The main reason I am saddened by watching this atrocity is that I am a struggling film-maker. And many of my favorite directors (and influences) have made their debut feature films with very very little money. Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky, and Robert Rodriguez all filmed beautiful extremely low budget films. The films in order are: Following, Pi, and El Mariachi.

All three films had been performed by either non-professional, or non-actors. And all three films were originally shot for less than $10,000. Pi was the only one that cost more than $7,000 to shoot (listen to commentaries of these films, and/or read 'Rebel Without a Crew').

This film (Dead moon rising), for lack of a better word, is a steaming pile of waste. I continue to ask myself 'Where in the world did the $50,000 go to making this film?'. If anyone has a real answer to this, i'd love to hear from you. Email me at: [e-mail] But I digress. Lets look at the reasons this film deserved a 2-star rating. Well, lets talk about the camera work to start. There were rarely any smooth pans, and suffer countless zooms. I'm sorry, but you never, ever ZOOM! Bring the camera to the subject/object with a dolly, or a steadicam.

Okay lets talk about sound. I don't know how or why this film came to be with such horrible sound. The quality, cutting, effects, everything was either off, or just bearable. Once again I ask myself what happened to the $50,000? Everyone that has praised this film has said that "it's a very low budget film, what do you expect?". I say that if there was any planning at all to this film, it was done horrifically.

You don't have a $50,000 budget and end up with one of the worst films i've ever seen. But then again there are tons of 10-20 million dollar films that are horrible. I should re-phrase that: You don't shoot a $50,000 film and not even BUY (not rent) at least an XL2 (less than $3,000) camera. That is probably the cheapest way to get 24P (Film speed), and the quality of video that is more than acceptable. Sadly it looks as if the consumer camera being used might have been one that a crew member, or the director himself already had.

There are countless errors in the plot, story structure as well. But there isn't a point in getting into every single detail. In fact, i've written too much on this film.

My advise to you Mark, if you're reading this is to PLAN! Plan every shot. Have auditions, and rehearse with your actors. Watch a lot of zombie movies. If your intent is to continue with the genre, pay attention to them. Zombies are better shot at night (less detail needed in make-up, etc) than broad day-light. Start by working with a lot of static shots. Read books on filming (if you email me, i'll suggest some excellent books on editing, cinematography, etc) techniques. Take to criticizing with out effecting you (hardest part of this industry). PLAN every move! Storyboard and make scene lists. Any scene should be able to flow visually and through sound on its own. This is extremely important when it comes to omitting useless scenes.

Unfunny, headache-inducing, unoriginal - PASS!

[Shattered_Wake · 3/10 · 13 November 2008]

Synopsis: After the world's population mysteriously begins to turn into flesh-eating zombies, Jim (Jason Crowe) and the other employees of Cheapskate Car Rental must band together with the city's bike gangs to fight the legion of undead cannibals.

Review: From the start, it would seem this film tries to be too many other great films. The cover tries to play it off as an Army of Darkness-style film, while the job, girlfriend, and complete obliviousness to the outbreak makes it seem like a Shaun of the Dead ripoff. Even the opening credits are stolen directly from Dawn of the Dead (2004). So, only a few minutes in, and I already thought less of it due to its lack of originality. From there, it didn't get much better. On a film-making level, the movie's very low-level. It's got that cheap, shot-on-video look that so many horror fans have grown more-than-annoyed with and the horrid camera control doesn't help make it rise above the unattractive look it stuck itself with. The script was boring and lacking any real development. The dialogue was forced and the 'Malcolm in the Middle'-style of narration is stupid and overdone. The acting, yikes, was probably the worst element (outside of the horrendous sound quality). I barely saw a shred of effort from any of the actors, except for April (Erica Goldsmith), who played the barely legal field-hockey player. . . and that's only because she was overacting SO much that I needed an aspirin (or the mute button) after a few minutes of her speaking. Overall, while it is watchable if you have a high tolerance for poor film-making and headache-inducing annoyance, give it a shot. If not, just stay away from this one.

Obligatory Zombie Elements:

Cause of Outbreak: Biological? Solar flares? Clove cigarettes? Who knows. . .

Zombie Characteristics: Runners. . . similar to the 28 Days Later...-style infected, only actual zombies and about a thousand times less scary.

Zombie Effects: Not much to speak of. They were a bit pale with some bloodshot eyes. . . and that's all.

Violence/Gore: There's a good amount of violence, but the gore is pretty poorly done with the pink blood and lunchmeat-style flesh & guts.

Social Commentary: Mostly about outsourcing (for whatever reason) and the work ethic of the American people. . . though, I might just be reading into it too much.

• - -

Final Verdict: 2.5/10. Grab your Advil for this one.

Recommended? Nah, just watch one of the other, much superior films it steals from.

-AP3-

Possibly the worst film I have ever seen

[cliff-wheatley · 1/10 · 17 August 2008]

I'll admit that when you buy / rent / download a movie like this, you deserve everything that you get.

Some low budget movies are great (Mad Max / Road Warrior was superb). Some movies are so stupid, they are funny (Bad Taste or any of Peter Jackson's earlier work). Bad Moon Rising was just really bad.

I'm not going to bang on about the random camera work, yellow people or poor acting. I share the opinion of everyone else about how lousy it was.

What I want to know is how the Writer / Director / Producer / Coffee Maker thought he could release the movie in the state that it was in? That mini gun scene was an anti-climax because of the Atari video game sound effects and the movie briefly entered soft porn territory with a lesbo kissing scene somewhere in the middle. Even that couldn't save it.

Who encouraged Mark E Poole to make films? Dude - Get out. It's OK to admit defeat.

Garbage... and I was even in it.

[weasels_stole_my_apostrophe · 1/10 · 24 August 2008]

I cannot believe this hack could have been allowed a permit to create this piece of garbage. The "actors" were just random people he brought with him. The effects crew had the skill of teenage girls with a dollar store make up kit. I don't believe Poole has even seen a Zombie movie.

He cannot direct. He cannot edit. He is another waste of space on the movie shelf. He lied to his extras about his credentials.

Ignore this movie. It was another waste from Louisville. Why can't the good directors get the budgets he got for this.

Have fun finding a good movie to watch.

andY?

I actually kind of liked it

[Archangel67-2 · 7/10 · 29 March 2008]

Man, watching the first ten minutes, I had to keep looking at the cover of the DVD to see if I had picked up the wrong movie. Yes it's cheaply made, and there is nothing new with regards to this genre, but as I continued to watch the movie, I found the characters more and more likable. The gore looked like people were eating jam and sausages but hey, what else could they do on that budget.

OK the extras. What makes this movie worth buying or even watching is watching Jesse a dancer at Fox Den do her strip tease like dance. I could sit in front of her all day slipping dollars into her pants. She can really shake it. I heard she might be in the sequel too. What song was she dancing to by the way anyone know? All in all, it wasn't a bad movie by any means, I've seen a lot worse crap at the video stores being hawked these days. I am actually looking forward to seeing more from Mark Poole, and I hope everyone of the actors who didn't die in the film are back for more.

Surprisingly decent, gory zombie film

[slayrrr666 · 8/10 · 30 April 2008]

"Dead Moon Rising" is a really entertaining and enjoyable low-budget zombie fare.

**SPOILERS**

Residents of Louisville, Jim, (Jason Crowe) Nick, (Mike Seely) and Bob, (Cory J. Grace) are witness to strange events around town. After several encounters with ravenous, flesh-eating citizens, they manage to meet up with April, (Erica Goldsmith) Vix, (Tucky Williams) Myrtle, (Kiki Wallace) Albert, (Derek Miller) and Sarah, (Jennifer Shank) fellow survivors and are quickly informed through their encounters that they're dealing with a plague of zombies. Suspecting that the dead have been revived through an increase in radiation released from a sudden spurt of solar flares from the Sun, they try to battle their way out of the city that are overrun with zombies and are forced into hiding. With their numbers dwindling and the undead getting stronger, they must battle for the sake of the planet.

The Good News: When it tries to, this one has some pretty nice stuff to it. One of the main things is that, as cheesy and goofy as it is, there's some charm to it that can't be overlooked easily. From the low-budget charm that it displays to the continuous action and much more, there's some really nice moments that really work here, and play into it's cheesy goodness. The action in here is it's best part, as there's really no end to how good that is. There's plenty of confrontations in here that make for some great action, with the alleyway, parking lot and intersection ones being pretty good. All of them feature some nice gun-play, beatings with blunt weapons or more other defensive tactics as well as tons of gore, lots of excitement and a real sense of fun. There's also the film's two big points in the last half, which is the assault with the mini-gun when they're trapped inside the apartment complex, and when there's a min-gun involved, there's plenty of action to be had as the sight of seeing bullets fly across the screen splattering into any bodily organ possible with a giant blood splat is something to be enjoyed. The last big confrontation, the final battle in the streets with an horde of zombies versus an army of survivors out in a full-on rip of the kind of spectacle found in earlier films with similar sorts of scenes. It's a swarming mass of humanity with blood flowing, limbs being ripped off and torn open and is really great and fun. The fact that it's pretty bloody and gory works well, giving this one a really nice amount to make it interesting and keep the fans entertained. There's numerous shots of them ripping into the body, pulling out large chunks of bloody flesh, intestines and much more, limbs bitten off, a tongue ripped out, as well as the multitude of damage done to them as well as the severed body parts, splatter and puddles of blood left over in here, making this one really wet and gory. The fact that main character comments on the situation to the audience at numerous junctures is really nice, giving it a wise-cracking feel and keeping in perfect tone with the cheese level. The last thing is that it does the perfect amount of teasing in here without showing anything, and while it may turn off some, it still does it the right way. These factors are the film's best parts.

The Bad News: This one here is mildly flawed, and contains only a few flaws. All of the flaws, though, are able to be traced back to the film's low-budget. The fact that so much of the film is obviously seen at that tactic which is where the film faults itself. The blood is going to be the biggest cause here, as it rarely looks real and more often than not appears as paint strewn about the scene or is so off-colored that there's no way it can be mistaken for real blood. The CGI blood is barely any better, never looking real or believable, and when there's something that occurs which features a ton of bloodshed, it's a sure bet to be fake. Several times there's a quick shot of something that will give away the low-budget, as the outdoor sun glaring off something or the tint going off-color for a couple seconds, enough to throw the fact that it's cheap right at viewers. These tactics are the film's only flaw, and for some it will be enough to automatically write it off due to that.

The Final Verdict: A low-budget zombie classic with a lot to enjoy about it, this one here is one of the best examples of that style and for those who enjoy them. Highly recommended to those who have a deep affinity for this type of low-budget zombie film, while those who can't stand it to begin with should avoid this one.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language

A Rise To The Ocassion

[tuckywoodproductions · 7/10 · 29 December 2007]

DMR is very good film for the first feature from Mark Poole. He was also the editor of the film, and you can tell that a lot of effort was put into the film. The camera work was pretty solid throughout and had some really cool shots. The acting was also very solid. My fav having to be Jason Crowe and Tucky Williams. Look out for these two to make a splash in Indie horror! I could see Jason as a cult status actor along the lines of Bruce Campbell when the right role comes around. This movie might gain a strong cult following, and I would not be surprised if it got one. I have watched many Indie films and this is one of the better crafted ones. The blood and gore were pretty descent. I would have like to have seen a little more of it, but there's enough to keep horror hounds watching. The audio for the most part was good, but there was a few scenes where it was pretty muffled, or the gain was turned up too loud in order to try and salvage some poorly recorded dialog. Oh yeah throw some more T n A in there next time! I can't remember seeing a set in this movie. I only watched it one time, so maybe I missed it. All in all a very good indie feature. Can't wait to see more projects from Mark Poole.

So bad it's good?

[sxeriverdance · 9/10 · 21 March 2008]

Yes! I loved this movie. Is it bad? Yes. Was it poorly made? Yes. Did I enjoy it? YES! Come on guys, this isn't supposed to be Shakespeare! I think the problem is that the film is marketed as a "Saun of the Dead" kinda comedy, but it's much more like "Plan 9 from Outer Space" for a new generation. It really is SO BAD IT'S GOOD. I laughed from start to finish. I laughed my head off at the cheesy special effects, just as I believe we were supposed to. And yes, I liked the jokes too. Yes this is a terrible movie, but it's a lot of fun to watch.

If you plan on watching Dead Moon Rising, here's what to do. Get together some of your rowdiest buddies, grab some brews, and have fun with it.

I LOVE this movie

[benvoliolover · 10/10 · 14 March 2008]

I may be a bit biased when it comes to my love of this movie because I'm a Louisvillian, I'm also a huge indie movie fan. However, that is not the only reason I LOVE Dead Moon Rising. It is just plain fun-a good time-(with some great characters), it's also filmed in Louisville, which to anyone born here should be really exciting. It's a local film from a great bunch of people who all have a real passion for what they're doing. The males are more than hilarious, the ladies are not only sexy but crazy/vicious and so great to watch... The movie, as a whole, is just a damn good time. Those are only a few reasons why I LOVE, with a passion, this movie!

If you enjoy low-budget indie films, give this movie a chance, you won't regret it.

First Times A Charm! Indie Success

[dialtone187 · 8/10 · 7 April 2008]

I am a huge fan of zombie movies and have most likely seen almost everyone one filmed. This indie film was near perfection and I am extremely impressed with the acting debut and directorial debut of the people associated with this film. Dead Moon Rising has a pretty standard plot for a zombie movie which is an outbreak of a disease that brings the dead back to life with a hunger for human flesh and those still alive are just trying to survive and as for my personally I can never get tired of the same gory plot. One of the stories major successes is with the characters and how each of them have a good background and mesh well with each other, also the beautiful actresses were well cast for this indie film made the experience even better. The film itself was done on a non-existent budget and it seems partly the reason it took more of a comedy route than being mainly horror because then the production would have had to spend for special effects to make the film genuinely scary. Others have commented on how cheesy the effects were such as the intestines of victims and I believe this may have been intentional due to the budget and they were looking to make this film in a comedy/cheese effect direction which worked beautifully. As for other effects such as zombie coloration I believe they did a perfect job and sort have reminded me to one of my all time favorite zombie movies the 'original' Dawn Of The Dead where the zombies just had a simple coat of makeup to change the skin coloration and it works great. Now even though I really enjoyed this film and some people reading this might think I am being bias and saying its a total piece of perfection but they would be wrong as there were some minor improvements that could have been made such as the sound and lighting issues but really nothing is ever perfect and for this being a lot of the crew's first film I am truly impressed. This review is from a normal guy from Toronto, Canada and I have no association with the production or even the location of this film, I just genuinely enjoyed it for being a great hilarious zombie independent film with a great cheese factor and am amazed at the final product for this being a first time production for many involved. I will recommend this to friend and others as its well worth a rent. I'm also going to post on the forums how I believe internet distribution is going to make this indie film huge which is how I obtained it, as I don't want to start a whole other topic and make this review longer than it already is.

Congrats this was a great time!