Despite a plethora of zombie films being made around the world in the last ten years, very few of them are actually any good; I think the last one I really enjoyed was the Spanish REC. Good news, then, that the French have finally done themselves proud with THE HORDE, which turns out to be one of the most exciting - and desperate - zombie films of the last few years.
Don't go here looking for originality, because you won't find it. THE HORDE's storyline is nothing to write home about, and the cast is typical for those of us familiar with French cinema like DISTRICT 13. In essence, a group of gangsters, cops and eccentrics are cooped up in a run-down apartment block and forced to fend off the frenzied attacks of the living dead.
The characters are all hard-ass and the script is littered with tough-as-nails dialogue, but along the way there are some genuinely decent performances, particularly from Jean-Pierre Martins and Eriq Ebouaney, whose initial hostility gradually gives way to a grudging respect. But the characters come second to the direction, which is all about tense, close-quarters combat, and the film-makers don't skimp on the bloodshed either. This is a nasty movie, in which the zombies are vicious man-eaters all the way. There's even time for something new, in the form of some breathtaking hand-to-hand combat battles between humans and zombies which are like something out of THE RAID and just as great to watch. THE HORDE is a great little movie and one I'll enjoy rewatching in future.
Don't go here looking for originality, because you won't find it. THE HORDE's storyline is nothing to write home about, and the cast is typical for those of us familiar with French cinema like DISTRICT 13. In essence, a group of gangsters, cops and eccentrics are cooped up in a run-down apartment block and forced to fend off the frenzied attacks of the living dead.
The characters are all hard-ass and the script is littered with tough-as-nails dialogue, but along the way there are some genuinely decent performances, particularly from Jean-Pierre Martins and Eriq Ebouaney, whose initial hostility gradually gives way to a grudging respect. But the characters come second to the direction, which is all about tense, close-quarters combat, and the film-makers don't skimp on the bloodshed either. This is a nasty movie, in which the zombies are vicious man-eaters all the way. There's even time for something new, in the form of some breathtaking hand-to-hand combat battles between humans and zombies which are like something out of THE RAID and just as great to watch. THE HORDE is a great little movie and one I'll enjoy rewatching in future.