Dead Moon Rising
Review by Mari Lynne Rupp

There are two kinds of independent films…One where the filmmaker just doesn’t get it, has a slapdash script, uses cheap blue filter for night shoots and has friends and family as cast members.

Then, there are the ones where the filmmaker gets it.

Bad Moon Rising, by Anubis Digital gets it. The screenplay, written by Mark E. Poole, is polished, smart and entertaining. The zombie genre has been done to death, and un-death, and Mark knows it. He throws in a few cheap scares, and some cheese and camp to go with it, not much….Just the right amount.

His casts are mostly community theater actors, and play their characters with gusto, and energy.

The movie starts out as a series of news clips, like you’d see flicking through CNN and MSNBC channels, with some nods to “Dawn of the Dead”, “28 Days Later” and I believe I even see a small tribute to the popular “Shaun of the Dead”….And grabs your attention as lead character “Jim” (portrayed wonderfully by Jason Crowe) both narrates and plays out the events of the zombie holocaust throughout Louisville, Kentucky. (Pronounced Loo-AH-vull, thank you.) We are introduced to a series of characters, from Jim’s slacker friends working with him at the car rental store, to Jim’s former flame, “Vix” (brilliantly portrayed by the beautiful and well-talented Tucky Williams…Why this girl is NOT in Hollywood, I just don’t know…) Jim comes across many different characters as they huddle together in an abandoned warehouse to avoid the flesh-munching zombies (And kudos must be given to Autumn Barefoot for single-handedly designing the make-up F/X) Myrtle, the church lady, (Kiki Maddox, whose children, Warren and Gracie star in a flashback scene) April,(Erica Goldsmith) the Zombie-ate-my-family-survivor, Albert,(Derek Miller) Myrtle’s repressed son, and a traumatized cop (played by Jennifer Shank). Together, with “Vix”, (who literally “explodes” onto the scene) they fight the zombies, and just try to live out the next day.

Mark Poole has handled, and quite well, a number of difficult to pull off scenes and maneuvers, including flashbacks, stubborn bloodstains, night shoots, and trying to get thousands of bikers and zombies to duke it out in downtown Louisville. I can’t say enough good things about this film! I think the best thing about this film, is that it has an upcoming sequel, and I VERY look forward to reviewing that as well!

It’s no surprise, and no mystery why “Dead Moon Rising” won “Best Zombie Film” at this years Fright Night Film fest. Mark E. Poole is hardcore. Don’t mispronounce his hometown; he’ll sic zombies on you.