Risen starts with a bang. Literally. When a meteorite strikes earth in the rural town of Badger, New York, it is just the beginning of a much greater sequence of questions. Large amounts of radiation are released, destroying the surrounding environment and killing the population of the town. The mystery deepens when a large, imposing plant grows from the site of the meteorite, and 49 of the dead Badger residents seemingly and inexplicably rise from the dead. The government turns to exobiologist Lauren Stone to help find answers. As she uncovers more about the mysterious alien plant and its ties to the risen dead, we discover more about Lauren’s own connections to the catastrophic event. 

Nicole Schalmo as Lauren Stone is the strongest feature of Risen. Stone is an emotionally complex character who carries deep trauma from her childhood, and Schalmo does well in conveying the inner conflict that is a constant in the character. She is easy to relate to and understand during her quest for answers, as she deals with the growing alien threat and a frayed relationship with her mother, and issues with alcoholism. Schalmo can exhibit all these psychological issues in a quiet, understated manner while making them no less significant. It’s a quietly impactful performance. 

The opening scene stands out as one of the more compelling in the entire story, as a farm family sits down to dinner when the meteorite strikes earth. It’s a chaotic and horrifying sequence, one that unquestionably feels like it could occur in our own world at any moment. It’s the rooted in reality feeling that makes it a truly disturbing, difficult to watch segment. 

Director Eddie Arya and Cinematographer Susan Lumsdon capture some very beautiful shots of the apocalyptic snowy vistas and landscapes. The desolate landscapes convey an oppressive and dark feeling, adding to the overall hopeless tone of the story. The most impressive recurring shot comes in the form of the alien plant that eventually grows to shockingly large proportions. Slightly covered in fog and menacing, it feels like something directly out of Lovecraft; not of this world and full of potential for destruction. 

Where Risen struggles the most and is undone is in its script. There are large info dumps in the form of dialogue between characters and newscasts. It slows the story to a crawl at a few crucial points, especially in the beginning, when it’s imperative that the action hold the audience’s attention. After capturing that attention with the stellar opening scene, a few consecutive sequences drag noticeably. 

In addition, Risen backloads the third act with a lot of revelations that feel like they come out of nowhere, on top of adding a voice-over of Laura that has been absent the entire run time. We aren’t given enough clues about Laura’s childhood experiences to be able to fully understand or even guess that these things were a possibility all along. It’s a frustrating conclusion to the proceedings. There also feels like there is a pro-environment message mixed into the story, but it gets swallowed in the inconsistent storytelling. 

Despite Schalmo’s strong performance, the story problems are too much to ignore and eventually overshadow the positives of Risen. 

4 out of 10