Zach Lipovsky shares what we can expect from Dead Rising: Watchtower

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

Last week we learned that Meghan Ory, Jesse Metcalf, and Virginia Madsen had joined SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR's Dennis Haysbert for Zach Lipovsky's adaptation of the popular videogame title "Dead Rising" titled DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER. Lipovsky is directing from a script by Tim Carter, based on the bestselling Capcom franchise that’s spawned two sequels and sold 7.6 million copies worldwide to date. So far we've only been given the following synopsis:

When a mandatory government vaccine fails, a group of survivors must evade infection while hunting down the root of the epidemic, which leads back to a government conspiracy.

Now we've learned that "Bates Motel" hottie Keegan Connor Tracy has also joined the cast of the currently-shooting film. Legendary Digital and Crackle are producing the 90-minute feature for the latter's digital channel. The film will then be unleashed on VOD, DVD and TV, though no dates have been set. On top off that, /FILM recently spoke with director Lipovsky, who shared a few more bits of information on what we can expect from the flick.

Lipovsky shared…

I think the franchise actually brings a lot of new energy to the genre that we haven’t seen in a zombie movie. The idea that you can be bitten and remain human as long as you take your medicine every day is very interesting and dramatic. Similar to the social stigma of living with HIV.

Another very cool element from the game is the zombies remember a little bit about their previous lives. There is something really haunting about seeing a zombie cop randomly firing his gun, or a zombie mom pushing a stroller.

Finally what I love in Dead Rising is the city is locked down, but the rest of the world is fine. Families are watching the zombie apocalypse on TV while eating dinner like it’s the Super Bowl. We’re taking a lot of inspiration from real world events like Hurricane Katrina, the Ebola outbreak, and even the Ferguson Riots.

Lipovsky also shared a little on the setting of the story, stating…

The film is set in a new outbreak with new heroes, in a new city. So it’s not a direct adaptation of one of the previous games, but it does fit into the cannon of the storyline. It takes place between the Fortune City outbreak in Dead Rising 2 and Los Perdidos outbreak from Dead Rising 3. So it’s a part of the greater franchise narrative. Of course some familiar faces show up as well.

Lipovsky also says that the film will balance a lot of tones to deliver something that will delight both fans of the videogame series and zombie-film fans unfamiliar with "Dead Rising", sharing…

I really like the tone of the game. It’s definitely got its dark scary beats, but ultimately it’s an adventure film. Every time I get scared or laugh while playing, I make a note to add it to the script. Tonally it will be like “Indiana Jones with Zombies.” Fun, scary, dramatic action.

More on DEAD RISING: WATCHTOWER as we hear it.