Day 336: The Horde (La Horde)

The Horde

Hordehouse

When you've seen a lot of zombie movies, they all start to blend together. When you need your zombie fix, you have to find movies with something special to separate them from the pack. Sometimes it's a gimmick like zombie soldiers or zombies in outer space. Sometimes it's absurd amounts of gore and violence. And other times it's as simple as being in a different language. Now that horror movies are cheaper to make and widely distributed across the globe, there has been an influx in scary international movies. For today's review, we go to France where I have already reviewed one movie, Frontier(s). I really enjoyed that one so I was looking forward to seeing some French zombies chow down.

The Horde (also known as La Horda) is a 2009 French zombie movie starring Eriq Ebouraney (Lamumba, Transporter 3) as notorious drug dealer Adewale Markudi and Jean-Pierre Martins (Empire Of The Wolves, Felina And The Master Of Darkness) as policeman Ouesse. Following the murder of one of their fellow police officers, Ouesse, Aurore (Claude Perron, Amelie, Bernie), Jimenez, and Tony plan to avenge his death by killing his murders. The gang is lead by Adewale Markudi, a well-armed Nigerian who lives in a nearly abandoned high rise. As the group of policemen are about to raid Markudi's apartment, the buildings superintendent accidentally interrupts and Markudi gets the drop on them. The tie up one cop and Markudi's brother Bola (hip-hop artist Doudou Masta) shoots him multiple times. As they are preparing to execute Ouesse, Aurore and Tony, the dead cop awakens as a flesh-eating zombie, biting members from the gang. The gang shoot him multiple times, but he does not fall until he is finally shot in the head. Chaos reigns as an unexplained zombie plague spreads across France. The police and gang are forced to work together in order to escape the high rise and make it to safety. Along the way Aurore and Tony are separated from the group. Tony is bitten and Aurore eventually shoots him. An uneasy truce is formed between Ouesse and Markudi. The meet an old soldier named Rene (Yves Pignot) who has been fighting off zombies with an ax. Together, they raid the superintendent's apartment for weapons and begin the long descent to the ground. Will they be able to survive the zombies and each other?

"Who wants a piece of me? Oh, right. All of you. Crap."

The movie's main selling point is that it's filled with loads and loads of blood and gore. Blood is on the actors, on the floors, on the walls and everything else. If you like your zombie movies violent, then you'll be pleased. The Horde tends to rely more on computerized effects than traditional makeup and blood. Certain scenes look very good while others look blatantly fake. There is one very good scene where the audience can see the destruction of the city from the reflection in glass doors. It is subtle yet powerful. Later, they show direct shots of the city in flames and it looks too much like a green screen. Of course, you may not be too happy with how certain things in the movie play out. The characters learn fairly quickly that shooting a zombie in the head kills it. Despite this knowledge, they spend the rest of the movie shooting zombies everywhere but the head. They also learn that bites change people fairly quickly, but when one of Greco, one of the gang members, is bitten in the leg, they don't just shoot him. There are also multiple hand-to-hand fight scenes with zombies that, while looking good, doesn't seem like a smart idea. They are intent on surviving, but choose to ignore some very important facts.

For better or worse, the movie is very bleak. It's not the bleakness that bothers me so much as the predictability and pointlessness. You pretty much know how things are going to end and it's fairly disappointing. While it makes sense in the full context of the story, it also makes a lot of the story rather moot. There is some social commentary and the movie questions who really are the good guys and bad guys. The movie has great action and a few scenes worthy of a “best of” zombie clip show. The acting is good with Eriq Ebouraney putting in the best performance. I was happy that the movie was in French with subtitles rather than being dubbed. Dubbing rarely works and takes away from the quality of acting. There aren't a lot of cultural barriers so those not familiar with France and the French language shouldn't feel intimidated before watching. 

Avon calling!

The Horde could be considered a gorefest, though it's mostly just blood instead of guts. There is a lot of violence and good action scenes. The story is just OK, favoring action over substance. The basic premise of a police raid on an apartment reminds me of one of the opening scenes in the original Dawn Of The Dead. It's fairly obvious where things are going and the ending is disappointing, if expected. The acting and directing are good with some really enjoyable scenes spread throughout the film. The social commentary is passable, but it doesn't break any new ground or force the audience to change their way of thinking. The Horde is good if you're just looking for a zombie shoot-em-up filled with lots of blood and guns. If you need something deeper or unexpected, try elsewhere.

6.5/10

Day 78: The Violent Kind

The Violent Kind

The militant wing of the Girl Scouts

Usually when I pick a random horror movie to watch, I get burned. I'll get suckered in with a cool poster, a description that sounds vaguely interesting, or one actor I like will be in it. Most of the time, they are completely terrible and I feel dumber for watching it. This is not one of those times. A biker horror movie? Don't think I've heard that too often. It was a shot in the dark and that shot definitely hit the target.

The Violent Kind stars Cory Knauf as Cody, a member of the biker gang “The Crew.” Joined by leader Q and Elroy, The Crew head up to a secluded house to celebrate Cody's mother's birthday. Cody's sister and Q's girlfriend, Shade is there, as well as Cody's ex-girlfriend Michelle and her sister Megan. After the party, Michelle leaves with her current boyfriend, leaving her sister behind. Megan and Cody get to talking and share a moment. A blood-soaked Michelle appears at the house and faints. Megan tends to her sister while Cody, Q, and Elroy walk down the road to find Michelle's boyfriend mauled by some unknown creature. When they return, they find that their car no longer works and they are too far from town to get help. A now-possessed Michelle violently attacks Elroy, biting a chunk out of his throat and clawing his face. They chain Michelle to the bed while they try to think of a way to get help. Meanwhile, strange flashes of light and shadowy figures are seen moving around outside the house. The figures are a group of 50's style greasers that have come for the spirit possessing Michelle. They punch, stab, shoot and torture Cody, Q, Shade, and Megan. Why do these throwbacks want Michelle and how can Cody and Megan stop them?

Hey, what kind of paint do you use?

The Violent Kind succeeds with it's mystery, suspense and downright awesome acting. You don't know exactly what is going to happen throughout most of the movie, which creates a strong air of suspense. Quick flashes of light and the shots of the greasers wandering around the house keep you interested in what happens next. Whereas a movie like The House of The Devil builds the entire movie around suspense and nothing else, Violent Kind actually gives you a good amount of action and blood to keep the audience entertained. The leader of the greasers, Vernon, is played by Joe Egender (The Mentalist, Alcatraz) and he is absolutely fantastic. He is over-the-top in the best way possible. He is both endearing and terrifying at the same time and is complimented by the solid job of his greaser crew. I seriously look forward to seeing some of his future work.

This movie has the strong feeling of being three separate movies that were mushed together. The “possessed demon in the secluded house “ part of the movie clearly brings Evil Dead to mind, the scenes with the crazy greasers gleefully torturing the Crew reminds me of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the explanation reminds me of Lord of Illusions and Exorcist. The Violent Kind does a fine job of paying homage, but it's just not cohesive. I did get a little bit lost when it came to the possession and devil-worshiping bits. It wasn't very clear and felt a bit rushed. I think the movie would have been fine just with either the weird possession genre or the evil family of torturers. 

Don't blow your top

The Violent Kind certainly puts it's own unique spin on multiple horror genres. Great acting, good makeup and blood, and some serious action will keep you entertained throughout. The first 2/3 of the movie are really solid, but it does kind of peter out towards the end with a slightly confusing reveal. If this movie has taught me anything, it is that there needs to be more 50's style characters in horror movies. Daddy-o.

8/10