Nerdly » ‘Chaos Rising’ Review (Short)

25th Sep2023

‘Chaos Rising’ Review (Short)

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Chick Allan, Finn Allan, Daniel Arbon, Patrick Capaloff-Fowler, Olivia Millar-Ross, Russell Miller, Olivia Miller-Ross, Calum Paul, Brodie Toriati | Written and Directed by Jack Fox, Charlie Parker

Chaos Rising is a 40-minute proof of concept short film that was paid for via crowdfunding, raising a final budget of £27k – all of which appears on a title card at the film’s opening, in a way that I can’t decide is either a humble brag or an apology for how the final product turned out!

The film apparently draws inspiration from the rich and immersive Warhammer universe but as someone who grew up on Citadel’s classic roleplaying game, there’s little here of the Warhammer I remember of my childhood. Instead, it feels very much akin to someone who’s watched far too many episodes of the TV show Vikings and decided they want to see Vikings take on British knights.

The story unfolds as a fortified village in Breton is under siege by the malevolent Chaos warband from the Northern wastes. Baron Heaubolt is taken by surprise during the revered Breton celebration of “Holy Grail Day”. The formidable Chaos Marauder Skyehammer Clan descend upon the fortress – but with the timely arrival of Florian L’Anguille and his valiant knights, does the beleaguered fort stand a fighting chance against the onslaught?

Filmed on location in Scotland at the famous Duncarron Medieval Village, Chaos Rising comes from a collection of combat experts whose skills have featured in Outlander, Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon, Outlaw King, Justice League, Robin Hood and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel; and it shows in the finished product – a film that works as a proof of concept but as a short film it suffers from a total lack of story. Instead, we get fight after fight – replete with decapitations, disembowelling, heads caved in with axes and mallets, throats ripped out, stabbings, slashings and fist fights a plenty – but little more than that.

There’s a flashback that teases a much bigger and more epic story but in the end, this Chaos Rising is essentially just 40 minutes of guys dressed in cosplay making a gruesome LARP movie! If writer/directors Jack Fox and Charlie Parker could get more budget, enabling them to invest in a writing partner then there might be something to this. But as it stands now Chaos Rising falls short, even when compared to similar films made on lesser budgets.