Among the number of horror films that I have circled on my calendar this year is Eddie Arya’s upcoming sci-fi thriller ‘Risen’, which has been making waves for the trailers that pull a bit of the curtain back on what’s in store.
Arriving via Vertical Entertainment on August 20th on VOD platforms, ‘Risen’ is about – “Disaster unfolds when a meteor strikes a small town, turning the environment uninhabitable and killing everything in the surrounding area. Exobiologist Lauren Stone is called to find answers to the unearthly event. As she begins to uncover the truth, imminent danger awakens and it becomes a race against time to save mankind.”
The trailer immediately generated buzz on YouTube, bringing ‘Risen’ in front of a number of people, excited to see what was in store.
“Yeah, it was very exciting to see the trailer in so many different YouTube channels and people making comments” Arya said, during an exclusive interview with Fright Nerd. “I think Vertical Entertainment has done a great job with the trailer. I also liked the thumbnail that they had chosen. It’s catchy and really gets your attention, and as a sci-fi fan myself, I’d definitely be curious about this movie if I had played that trailer and be wanting to watch it. The whole idea of the alien tree stood out the most to me. I was sitting in my backyard one day, and I noticed a tiny seedling, growing through a concrete crack, and I thought of that famous quote, “Life always finds a way“. There was something about it that really inspired me. That’s when I made it about an alien tree.”
Personally speaking, I was immediately drawn to the film’s presentation after watching the trailer, and it brought me back to such classics as John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’, and the Ridley Scott classic ‘Alien’.
“There’s been a lot of comments on YouTube on the Risen trailer, about the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Thing” Arya told me. “I haven’t actually seen Body Snatchers or ‘The Thing’ but I’m actually thinking about watching them now.”
Arya also admits that the film is reminding many of ‘Game of Thrones’ as well.
“People are also commenting about Game of Thrones that apparently, there’s something about Risen that reminds of them GOT” he says. “Funny story is that, I was reading some of the comments and there were a lot of mentioning of the name “Arya”, and for a second I got excited, thinking, gee I’m getting famous until I found out that they were actually referring to the character Arya from Game of Thrones” he jokes.
“I love sci-fi movies and I watched a ton of sci-fi films before and while making ‘Risen’ and it helped (in) creating the mood, but there wasn’t a particular film that I got inspired by. My real inspiration really came from the actual things, like the plant in my backyard, or the space itself and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, and I also have nightmares about certain events so I decided to add them into my movie.”
Arya’s dreams may have contributed to the movie, and there is no denying it’s nightmarish appeal. The existence of extraterrestrial life and the thought of that life somehow coming to Earth with bad intentions has been the basis of a number of horror classics, and nightmares as well.
“There’s definitely some horror themes to Risen but they can expect more sci-fi” Arya explains. “I wouldn’t classify it though as your typical zombie movie, as there’s been a few comments on YouTube. Risen will break your heart, it will scare you, It will take you through a beautiful, yet terrifying journey.
Risen will make you question a few things but you really need to listen to it and watch it! Risen is that movie that requires your full attention. I think there’s a bit of everything for everyone in Risen. You’ll see things that you may have not seen before in other movies. Risen is also doing quite well with festivals. We’ve been accepted to a few, and we’ve just been notified that we’re now a finalist at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.”
After ‘Risen’ arrives, Arya has much more in store, with projects that should certainly excite horror fans.
“I have a pretty twisted horror/thriller titled, “Daisy” after Risen’s release” Arya says. “I think I can safely say that, nothing like it has ever been made before. The script is finished and we’re hoping to go to pre-production as soon as the lockdown is over here in Sydney.”
