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The Horde (La Horde, 2009)

French Zombie Horror film

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Bullets and Blades Against a Zombie Horde in This French Horror-Thriller!

Dec 28, 2010

by woopak_the_thrill
posted in Movie Hype

Exclusive to the Lunch Network

Rating:

For the past 5-8 years, French filmmakers have been kicking Hollywood’s butt when it comes to horror films. Films such as “Martyrs”, “Inside” and “High Tension” have portrayed the darkness of human nature to a level that pushes the envelope; this have always surprised me when my friends would appear shocked that I own such films in my collection. I guess they see horror as mere entertainment and I smile whenever they don’t get to laugh and instead they appear traumatized when they actually see true horror filmmaking.

Well, I have always been curious about how the French would take on a zombie film and so I immediately grabbed the opportunity to view French directors Benjamin Rocher and Yannick Dahan’s “La Horde” (2009, but just recently released in the U.S. as “The Horde“) that mixes elements of gangster films and zombie horror.

When four less than ‘clean’ policemen invade a gangster’s hideout near Paris without a warrant with the intention of avenging a colleague‘s death, they quickly found themselves outmanned, outgunned and trapped by the tougher, more ruthless drug dealers. The operation is a complete mess but when both sides find themselves faced by something evil and different…as undead zombies have risen up to eat the flesh of the living. Now, criminals and cops must form an uneasy alliance to survive the zombie assault; but is there anywhere left to turn?

The plot of “The Horde” is quite simple as it follows the simple rules of a claustrophobic horror film. It follows the efforts of a small group of people who’d like to survive the night, trapped in a limited space with death lurking just outside the area trying to come in. The script by Arnaud Bordas and Yannick Dahan isn’t pretentious, it keeps things simple and yet it covers the depths of its story. Characters are developed the longer they stay together and they stay true to their purpose. The characters know what they are in for, they know they have to work together and they need to co-exist. Much like a Romero film, “La Horde” goes through a subtle commentary that humans are more capable of betrayal and selfish acts than the walking dead themselves. It also points out that the way to survive is through teamwork and humans must learn to know the values of sacrifice and teamwork to succeed in their goals.

Also, the film goes through some studies of human behavior. Bola, the “carny” and the old man seemed to revel in the punishment of a lone female creature. Yes, humans have a despicable quality that makes one doubt if they are worth saving. The French does go a step further as one man actually considered sexually assaulting a zombie since she still appeared fresh with still ‘good remains’. I found this scene a little funny and yet unnerving as it appeared so casual with the characters. I guess this was the direction taking aim at the atrocities committed during a war.

Yes, the film is quite bloody, brutal, gory and very violent. The film seems more driven by action than elements of horror. Limbs are hacked off, heads are sent flying, blood gushes and brains and entrails become splattered all over the screen. There is a lot of gunfire in the film as well as visceral uses of a blunt object and even a machete (some scenes felt like a grindhouse feature). The direction was also successful in generating tension as our group goes around the building looking for weapons and a way to escape. I also liked the facial reactions as they go around trying to get away, some were afraid, some were angry but most of them felt helpless despite the fact that they fight on. The colors appear rather muted as with a lot of these type of movies and the cinematography has that gloomy feel to it. I did like the way that the 'reds' appeared much more vibrant than the other colors, makes the blood and gore stand out to reflect its visceral punch.

There are some subplots that drive the complexities of Aurore’s (played by Claude Perron) character and I welcome them. I like the fact that the film has a strong female lead that is determined to see this mission through. The Nigerian brothers Ade and Bola have their own sense of a symbiotic relationship but then it slowly collapses when tainted by doubt and indecision. As with other zombie movies, there are expositions of sacrifice and courage. The zombies in the film are the fast-moving, feral type that appears similar to the ones in [REC] and “28 Days Later”. The origins to the zombie apocalypse remain unexplained, whether they are demonic or a viral plague, the viewer would not know. But I am betting that their origins are more demonic since hints of ‘judgment day’ were mentioned in the film.

“The Horde” is a very good zombie film. It was simple and yet effective in drawing forth a feeling of hopelessness and brings to summation the need to survive and to fulfill one‘s goal. The film is incredibly action-packed and the scenes were kept tight and tense in its 93 minute runtime. Yes, the film had clichéd set ups but it made good in its development. If zombie action had a name…it must be “la Horde”.

Highly Recommended! [4 Out of 5 Stars]
　

Bullets and Blades Against a Zombie Horde in This French Horror-Thriller!

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Madpenguin June 23, 2011

It never crossed my mind how the French would handle the zombie genre even though I checked out several of their other horror flicks. This one surprised me a great deal though, and I could easily watch it again. I saw it three times already.

woopak_the_thrill June 23, 2011

I own this too as well. This was a great surprise! I highly recommend [REC] and [REC] 2

Madpenguin June 23, 2011

Cool. I'll give those a look. I might bring my review of this over.

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zephyr2050 January 04, 2011

oOo, yay, a good zombie movie! I'm sure the French just loved being able to swear and beat the shit out of something (because French people have lots of anger, as personally confirmed by my one and only temperamental French friend). And since I don't keep up with foreign film circles, I certainly haven't heard of Martyrs or Inside, but am going to check them out now! Thanks again Woopak! ^_^

woopak_the_thrill January 04, 2011

y'know now that you've said something in regards to French anger, it does add up! It makes sense how their filmamkers can often come up with stuff that pushes the envelope. Martyrs hit my 2009 best films list I think. Thanks for the read!

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QUEENBFLIX December 31, 2010

I'm glad to see you gave this a 4 because after you told me about it I went right over to NetFlix and it wound up at the top of my list so it's going to be the next movie I see. By the way I finally saw DAYBREAKERS and really liked it. I can't remember now if it was you or Trashie who recommended it, but it was well worth it. Of course I can't do more than skim your review now.

woopak_the_thrill December 31, 2010

Alex was just saying that how you disliked gangster movies and how you loved zombies. But I do think that you'll like this one. It was simple but pretty intense; there were parts that kind of felt like a grindhouse feature, (forgot to mention in the review). Hey, have you seen [REC] yet? Glad you liked DAYBREAKERS, I actually recommended that to Trashie and he also really liked it. That vampire movie was something different indeed.

QUEENBFLIX January 05, 2011

Very grindhouse. I expected Danny Trejo to show up at any moment. Yeah I did see both [REC] and the American version of it.

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cenobite7 December 29, 2010

Ah, I'm patiently waiting for this one. A friend of mine is burning me a copy and giving me artwork to go with it. ;-) I've been dying to see this one. Great write-up and thanks for sharing this with me!!

woopak_the_thrill December 30, 2010

Great! I hope you review it. This was a little cliched, but I liked the way it kept the intensity. hey, I reviewed a zombie TV Series. :)

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FM_ALEX December 28, 2010

You know I love zombie flicks WP, the most hilarious thing about this film is it mixes something Karen loves with something that she, well, doesn't so much. Zombie films with Gangster films, don't know why but that was the first thing I thought of.

woopak_the_thrill December 30, 2010

Yeah, I thought that too. I am waiting on Karen to see this one. Hey, I dropped a review for a zombie TV series. :)

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