The Horde Movie Review

Rated: R

Brought to you by OBS Staff Member Rose Elle

We should all be sick and tired of zombie movies considering the plethora of renditions out there, however foreign zombie horror movies always manage to have a few interesting twists that hold our attention. Case in point is the 2009 French zombie horror fest The Horde, directed by Yannick Dahan.

What starts out as a “cop versus gangster revenge film”, quickly turns into a good guy/bad guy team-up to fight off zombies in this blood drenched drama.

The zombies in this film are rabid monsters unlike classic films of the past, which depict the suckers that won’t die as lethargic arm stretched doo-da-doo’s. These beasts are reminiscent of soon to be zombie classics “28 Days Later” and “Resident Evil” who are creatures on flesh crack AND quite vocal. You know when these creatures are coming. This fact, which the audience is made aware of, is important for the final second of the film.

Tension runs high from the crucial moment the cops, the level headed lead Ouessem (Jean-Pierre Martins), tough as nails chick Aurore (Claude Perron), Tony (Antoine Oppenheim), and Jimenez (Aurélien Recoing) crash the gangster party consisting of hot-headed Bola (DouDou Masta), the even keel brother Adewele (Eriq Ebouaney), and the only out for himself Greco (Joe Prestia) in a condemned building on the outskirts of the city.

Zombie action begins immediately as the cast that is left standing after their first undead attack is forced to join together to get out of the building alive.

After their numbers drop further, the ragtag crew meet one of the buildings residents, Rene (Yves Pignot), who is more than eager to use his arsenal of weapons and past military know-how to kick some zombie ass.

My only gripe is this question: How on earth do all the zombies in a city know to congregate around one building far, far away that has the only remaining survivors? Because every zombie for miles end up at this abandoned spot.

However, this allows for the finale, which consists of the best horde-of-zombie-massacre-scene ever shot for a film. This scene is truly poetic, with swarms of the undead gathered around one lone pissed off human atop a car.

Till the very end you do not know what will transpire until the credits role. Any fan of the horror genre needs to add this film to their must-see list. It will not disappoint.

Rating: 8/10 Stars