La horde (2009)

Another good idea that could have been done a whole lot better.



La horde (2009)
Directed By:  Yannick Dahan & Benjamin Rocher



The Prologue
Having me review a zombie movie is a pretty typical thing to do based off the name of this site. That being said, it's safe to say I've seen a zillion zombie films and because I know what the best are (Dawn of the Dead, The Return of the Living Dead) you have to be a pretty good zombie movie to even match up to my high expectations. You also have to be really good to stand out of the pack of zombie films that are out there. La horde (aka for the USA The Horde) has a cool plot, but isn't nothing too special I'm afraid.



The Movie
So on a night where some dumb cops get all caught up in a bad spot with some gangsters the world apparently decides it wants to come to and end. What follows I assume is the gates of hell open up and and an army of Zombies come out of it (this is never confirmed that they came from hell, but where else would they come from?) and the cops and gangsters are forced to team up in order to try to survive what has to be the apocalypse.

So if I had to point out one thing I didn't like about La horde, it would be the fact that just about every character in this movie is horrible. Not that the actors are bad, it's just you won't like any of them. Cops, gangsters, zombies, it doesn't matter because nobody is really good. I guess you may even find yourself pulling for the zombies overall. It's probably saying a whole lot that the most likable living person in the film is the gang leader,  Markudi. Who is by all intents and purposes, the baddest.


I also think the movie seems a little too like the game Left 4 Dead for my taste. Not that it's a horrible thing, it just seems kinda video game-like at times. I do love the plot and wish it had been presented to us a lot better than it is. Also you got to love the gore of the film even if you don't like anything else. If there's one thing the movie does very very well it's the blood and gore.

I also should note that at times the film kinda reminded me of Resident Evil. Then again if we've seen one running zombie/infected movie we have seen them all haven't we? But this one does benefit from at least looking creepy and being very violent, which could be taken as a win in some books. I just think it would have been a lot better had we had a few more likable people to root for. So in all we get a few good scenes, some good kills, a lot of gore, but ultimately not a whole lot of anything else to make you care. And that sucks, because the plot does sound a lot cooler than this movie is.


The Conclusion
The blood raises it up enough for me to mildly recommend it. But while the plot does seem very creepy and at times the movie is creepy it's just nothing you haven't already seen in a zombie film before. Maybe worth a rent, but I don't see you falling in love with or anything. It's no Dawn of the Dead.



The Rating (6/10)