The Horde

A group of Parisian cops are reeling from the loss of one of their own at the hands of a drug dealer and his cronies. Some of them decide to get revenge by storming their enemies' hideout when zombies suddenly attack. The criminals and cops are forced to work together in a tenuous truce in order to survive.

I have been meaning to watch this film for literally years. The Horde has a different premise than a lot of films. The cops are in huge trouble after trying to infiltrate criminal headquarters when zombies actually save them from certain death. The criminals and cops have to put aside their differences, but they still snipe at each other. Both groups have experience fighting for their lives and with different types of weapons. Keeping a cool head is paramount and some people on either side won't let go of their feud. Arguments and near fights happen a lot. It's understandable since both sides of killed their members of the opposing faction, but the leaders see they have to bury the hatchet permanently to have a small chance of success. This situation seems more realistic than everyone being best friends during an apocalypse situations.

I was bothered by the way female characters were treated and portrayed in the film. The only human female character is Aurore, who is currently pregnant with another policeman's baby. When the apocalypse hits, she automatically goes all "my baby is the most important thing ever." This does drive her to fight back harder, but it also allows her emotions to cloud her judgment. She pretty much sabotages the entire group as a result after others throw her pregnant state in her face and dismiss her judgments. I didn't find her likeable at all, but I respected her at the beginning of the film. By the end, I felt she acted very out of character. She also did other nonsensical things like abandoning her bulletbroof vest and leather jacket that could actually protect her from zombie attacks to sport a tank top with no bra. Seems like the male audience was more important than practicality.

The men in the film treat a female zombie in a most disturbing way. Both men are criminals and not the most moral, but I had grown to like them throughout the film. This scene completely destroyed that. A female zombie couldn't walk anymore and the men start to taunt her. Then they make horrible sexual comments about her and threaten to rape her. This is a nonsentient rotting corpse, but it's clear these men have made comments like this before. They see this rotting thing the same way they see living women, as a subhuman thing for them to do whatever they want with. This with the disdainful treatment of Aurore and her out of character behavior left a bad taste in my mouth.

The film as a whole is enjoyable. The action scenes are exciting. I didn't think there could be so many zombies in one building. The sheer numbers of the horde are shocking and incredibly dangerous. Although I had some problems with the treatment of women, The Horde had some unforgettable scenes and a unique situation.

My rating: 3.5/5 fishmuffins