Zombie in film: La Horde

"You're a good guy. But we are here for a bloodbath."




Film: La Horde
Directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher
Written by Arnaud Bordas, Yannick Danan, Benjamin Rocher and Stephane Moissakis
Produced by Capture (The Flag) Films, Le Pecte, Coficup
Year: 2009

Story: Some corrupt and pretty useless cops (who feel a lot more like green mafia members) go for vengeance against a local gang. In the middle of the amateur raid gone wrong, something is going on outside. You can probably guess what. Suddenly a hostage the gang kill turns and attacks. With half the gang and the cops dead and now trying to eat those still alive a truce is formed. Lines are constantly being redrawn as an old soldier joins the group and people get separated or infected. As with with many zombie films the only reason any of the group survives is the constant saving by the BJC who in this case happens to be the gang's leader. The characters in this movie all start out very bland but as the movie continues and the lines between "good guys" and "bad guys", "cops" and "robbers" become blurred each character shows an actual personality instead of a stereotype.

Zombies: These guys are zombies, vicious, post-human monsters! They move with the speed of a normal person but no coordination. The infection seems to simply reach anyone who has died and does not spread solely through bites. Though bites do seem to seal the deal in causing eventual death for the victim.

Survival Lessons:

• Not having a gun is no excuse.
• Trust is valuable. The lines of trust are constantly changing.
• Brutal, steadfast and reasonable are important leadership qualities.
• If shooting them in the body doesn't work in the beginning, it won't work in the end.
• A crazy old soldier is always an asset, just keep him under control.
• Grenades cause bigger explosions then C4... apparently.

Warnings: The ones you can trust right now, may not be the ones you can trust in five minutes.



In the end this movie blew me away. It looked like a horrible, disappointing low budget film like the dozens I've been watching over the last couple months. Then on top of that I didn't realize it was a foreign film until I started watching it. And with these things making me ready for an awful movie, and the circumstances of the opening few scenes where the police (who I still thought were mafia well into the movie) did everything wrong, just enforced my believes. But as the movie kept going it got better and better, the ways the characters fought for survival, the high quality special effects, character growth, the horde! This movie had kept the low budget charm and risky nature but put out a high quality movie that really looks at group dynamics after the fall and how far trust should go.


Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.