The Horde (2009)

I've been looking forward to "La Horde" for the better part of a year now. I love modern french horror. Movies like Brotherhood of the Wolf, Haute Tension, Inside, and Martyrs puts to shame most American horror, so when I heard a modern french Zombie film was on it's way, I was immediately excited.

"The Horde" has some flaws at it's core. We're never really explained why our cops are storming this abandoned building in search of a "bloodbath" and if it was explained, it must have been lost in translation. Be that as it may, the pacing saves it. We follow a group of cops, who are apparently out for revenge. As they attempt to surprise their intended victims with a blast charge to the door, a shotgun blast interrupts their plans. Now, our cops are being held captive by our supposed villain. Before things get the opportunity to go down between the two groups, we're introduced to the zombies.

The film is a brisk watch, with the zombie action starting around the 20 minute mark, what little flaws that exist within the plot are never given a chance to materialize. Sure, we don't exactly understand why the cops wanted these guys dead so bad, but you don't care, because what's happening on screen is so exciting. The action is intense, and at times, downright insane. One of the craziest characters is Rene, some sort of war veteran, who we're first introduced to while he's chopping a pile of zombies to pieces with a giant axe. Rene is also responsible for the very few scenes of comic relief throughout the flick, as well as one of the bloodiest hallway bloodbath I've ever seen. While the entire film is pretty exciting, the last 10 minutes or so are so action packed that it's hard to consume all at once.

It appears that there was some minor usage of CG, alongside some practical effects. Unlike my usual reaction, it didn't bother me. It wasn't obscenely over-the top, and it was used tastefully. While there is loads of gun violence, there's also, oddly enough, a lot of hand to hand combat. This might sound silly, but I think it was effective, because we all know the only thing that stops a zombie is a head shot. So no matter how vicious of a beating our survivors lay on the undead, they just keep coming, and actually become more determined.

If you are a fan of french horror, and zombie films, you owe it to yourself to check "The Horde" out. After the supreme disappointment that was "Survival of the Dead" fans of the genre are due a good zombie film, and "The Horde" delivers. It's ten times the film that "Survival" even aspired to be. I don't mean to keep beating up on Romero's latest, but it's one of my biggest disappointments as of late, and I was glad to see a good zombie film for a change in "The Horde"

7/10