A disaster of immense proportions and of unknown origins occurs in Badger, a small agricultural town in the state of New York, with a meteorite which, after coming into contact with the surface, has contaminated the air, making it toxic: an event that caused the death of one thousand three hundred inhabitants of the community. Lauren, an astrobiologist haunted by a tragic past event, is called back into service by the U.S. Army, hoping she can help her search for responses to this inexplicable situationwhich seems linked to extraterrestrial dynamics.
As we tell you in the review of Risen – The End of Dayssome of the deceased people suddenly awaken but in a new status, with their organism now hybridized by that alien entity that seems intent on conquering the Earth. In every corner of the planet, increasingly strange and disturbing events begin to occur and Lauren realizes that she belongs in spite of herself crucial element in solving the mystery.
I would but I can not
It certainly cannot be said that the director, screenwriter and producer Eddie Arya is devoid of ambition and in his third attempt behind the camera he tries his hand at the science fiction genre: it’s a shame that behind a story full of suggestions there is no budget to match and that the one hundred minutes of viewing of Risen – The End of Days are at risk of expiring on several occasions into unintentional ridicule. This is above all due to production limitations but also due to a screenplay that adds too much iron to the fire and to fit within a genre logic relies on twists that are at least forced and unlikely, which also takes away compactness from the narrative side itself. Suffice it to say that the screenplay mixes elements ranging from literary classics such as The color came from space – in this regard, catch up on the interesting, homonymous, 2019 adaptation with Nicolas Cage – up to more recent works such as The three-body problemalso recalling for some visual solutions and in the management of the protagonist a cult of the last decade of the caliber of Arrival (2016).
Vesper, the review: a visually fascinating sci-fi on Prime Video
Extraterrestrial take me away
As mentioned, the story therefore risks overflowing and not being supported by adequate means the result is incomplete and alienatingwith directorial ideas that often border on amateur productions and special effects at historic lowswhich nips any potential spectacular climax in the bud. Risen – The End of Days he proceeds straight on his own path without caring how much he is actually able to show with decency and right here he falls apart on his own aspirations. Likewise the cast – who actually has to deal with one-dimensional characters – proves inadequate for their respective rolesincapable of supporting the dramatic substratum at its base, starting with the protagonist, also co-producer, Nicole Schalmo, here in her absolute debut in front of the camera.
A world in common
We also try to give an aura of globality to this hypothetical apocalypse to come, with glimpses that show us various locations on the planet grappling with the looming danger, in the wake of the big themed blockbusters, without however also in this case taking into account the money actually available. They come out like this rough solutions which deny the operation the broad scope that was wanted on paper and the rehashing of various science fiction topoi on extraterrestrial invasions it is simply an end in itself. People magically resurrecting, seedlings destined to play a key role in the future of humanity, scientists suffering from personal problems and the classic call for a cover-up by the authoritieshere without a flag, complete with references to real events such as the fall of the meteorite in Russia a few years ago. Risen – The End of Days he says so much to say nothingwith all due respect to the public who are passionate about the genre.
Conclusions
Humanity finds itself in grave danger after the fall of a mysterious meteorite, which leads to the death of over a thousand people and the complete destruction of a town. When forty-nine deceased people suddenly resurrect, contaminated by DNA of extraterrestrial origin, the situation takes an unexpected turn and an astrobiologist turns out to be a key element in the events to come. Risen – The End of Days steals liberally from a consolidated imagination, but its high – however derivative – initial ambitions are not properly supported by a budget that is too small and by an often forced and improbable screenplay, populated by anonymous characters and a relative non-existent cast. at the height.
Because we like it
- Eddie Arya produces, writes and directs but the result – although not without ambition – is not what was hoped for.
What’s wrong
- Special effects far beyond mediocre.
- An uncharismatic cast.
- Redundant and excessively derivative screenplay.
- Budget constraints make themselves felt enormously.
