The Horde (La Horde) (2009)

38% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(2,187 ratings)

In order to avenge the murder of one of their own by a gang of ruthless gangsters, four corrupt cops go on a rampage in a condemned building which serves as the mobsters' hangout. Now trapped, the officers are about to be executed when the unimaginable occurs: hordes of bloodthirsty, cannibalistic… More In order to avenge the murder of one of their own by a gang of ruthless gangsters, four corrupt cops go on a rampage in a condemned building which serves as the mobsters' hangout. Now trapped, the officers are about to be executed when the unimaginable occurs: hordes of bloodthirsty, cannibalistic creatures invade the building, savagely attacking everyone. Unexpected alliances are made when their lives are threatened by the unthinkable. Directed by Yannick Dahan & Benjamin Rocher.-- (C) IFC Films

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher
Written By: Arnaud Bordas, Yannick Dahan
Genres: Action & Adventure, Horror, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

On DVD: Dec 21, 2010
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Charlotte O'Sullivan, This is London
French-made zombie flick The Horde isn't up there with Night of the Living Dead but still induces some unexpected gulps.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
The Horde doesn't waste time on niceties like explanations or characterisation but if you like your action movies served raw and bloody it will not disappoint.
Jon Hamblin, SFX Magazine
Unlike its more cerebral gallic brethren, it's content to bypass the brains and go straight for the nuts.
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
There's some real creativity and energy to some of The Horde's best moments; one can't help but wish they existed inside of a less irritating movie.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
Why do the humans waste so much firepower spraying bullets below the neck?
Marc Lee, Daily Telegraph
The good guys and the bad guys must cooperate if they are to escape. Scenes of extreme carnage ensue.
Xan Brooks, Guardian [UK]
We sit in the dark, like the hapless creatures in Animal Farm, looking from man to zombie and struggling to tell just which one is which.
Matt Glasby, Little White Lies
Even Romero never looked on the human race with such unfettered disgust. Let's pray this particular reading proves way off the mark.
Jamie Russell, Radio Times
Rarely as much fun as it should be.
Matt Glasby, Total Film
Subtlety is admittedly the very first casualty, but when the claret's flying with such élan, who gives a merde?
Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Although bleak and gritty, The Horde lacks the freshness and originality to cut a fresh swathe in the zombie genre.
Nigel Floyd, Time Out
This latest example of the French new wave of horror does at least have the Romero-like guts to address a topical social problem.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
Another day, another zombie movie, this time French.
Elliott Noble, Sky Movies
Bloody. Disappointing.
Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat
I can't quite recommend it unless you just want to see any new movie about zombies that comes down the pike. You haven't seen this one before, but you have, and you've seen it better.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
La Horde offers a damn good and bleakly satisfying take on the zombie apocalypse. On a certain level it says we humans get what we deserve.
Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine
The film starts promisingly and quickly detours into the kind of escalating gore and ridiculousness that always betrays a Hollywood resumé piece.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

I'm tempted to use the term "gore-fest" but the word 'fest' implies something enjoyable.
Lorenzo v

"I wanna get out of here alive, our chances are better with you." An end of the world battle between gangsters, cops and zombies. <center>"I wanna get out of here alive, our chances are better with you." An end of the world battle between gangsters, cops and zombies. <center>REVIEW</center> Cops going to get revenge for the death of one of their brothers only to have the raid go horribly wrong. Then things get even worse when the dead come back to life and the zombies attack. Bloody straight forward action film about trying to get away from the dead and get out of the high rise they are trapped in is for the most part a roller coaster ride into darkness. The effects are good, the plot serviceable and the performances engaging. Its the sort of film that just carries you along for a good chunk of its running time. The trouble is that films insistence not to explain anything begins to take its toll in the later part of the film when you realize that they haven't explained a couple of key points which are left hanging and seem more like lapses in internal logic or laziness on the filmmakers part (like why the zombies come to that building). Sure the characters may not have known the answers to some of the questions but at the same time there are too many unanswered to be satisfying, especially when the film ends with a really big question. For gore hounds this is a must since they'll eat it up. For other horror lovers its worth a look since they'll like the things the film gets right.
Robert C

Nothing here that you haven't seen before. Not horrible, but not nearly as interesting or exciting as it thinks it is being. The French do love their gore, so if that alone is enough to sustain you...then you may really enjoy this.
Cynthia S

Dismemberment, betrayal, fear, gratuitous wasting of preciously scarce ammo, flickering lights in the hallway-it's all here. Zombies that are difficult to kill, and quick to attack.....awesome!! I wish that it had a more concrete ending, however. I always have issues with movies… More
Dismemberment, betrayal, fear, gratuitous wasting of preciously scarce ammo, flickering lights in the hallway-it's all here. Zombies that are difficult to kill, and quick to attack.....awesome!! I wish that it had a more concrete ending, however. I always have issues with movies that don't give me a clear ending. But, other than that, this movie was FULL of zombie fun!!
Steve K

Fairly run of the mill zombie "thriller", with a lame ending, no explanation, and no real social commentary.
Al S

This is one ultra-cool as hell and adrenaline-charged horror movie. A tense, terrific, epic, gory and spectacular horror movie. One of the greats zombie movies ever made, this is the film Resident evil wishes it could of been.A brilliant and bloody great example of zombie cinema. It… More
This is one ultra-cool as hell and adrenaline-charged horror movie. A tense, terrific, epic, gory and spectacular horror movie. One of the greats zombie movies ever made, this is the film Resident evil wishes it could of been.A brilliant and bloody great example of zombie cinema. It has loads of attitude, blood, suspense and explosive fire power. A hard-core, slick and stylish thrill-ride that is just flat-out unforgettable. It's smart, sharp and wildly unpredictable all the way to the end and still has you wanting more. The characters and the story are bad ass. Even thow it feels familiar it's truly a fantastic piece of work that's all it's own. A truly awesome movie that will blow you away. It just kicks that much ass.
Ginny

The best modern zombie film Ive seen so far. Its very, very Left4Deadâ?¢ in French! Is it possible that the film was actually inspired by the game? Disclaimer: Left4Deadâ?¢ is a survival action game from Valve Corporation, distributed by Electronic Arts in 2008 and is no way… More
The best modern zombie film Ive seen so far. Its very, very Left4Deadâ?¢ in French! Is it possible that the film was actually inspired by the game? Disclaimer: Left4Deadâ?¢ is a survival action game from Valve Corporation, distributed by Electronic Arts in 2008 and is no way affiliated with this movie.
Phil H

You wanna see how 'Resident Evil' should of been? well then I suggest you watch this pretty good French zombie horror. There is absolutely nothing new in this concept from all the other zombie films out there, we've seen it all before but this is a very compact, fast… More
You wanna see how 'Resident Evil' should of been? well then I suggest you watch this pretty good French zombie horror. There is absolutely nothing new in this concept from all the other zombie films out there, we've seen it all before but this is a very compact, fast paced, no silly frills, all action gun fest, survivors v zombie army, simple. Its what Anderson should of done with RE which like this is more action over horror where as Romero flicks tend to lean more towards suspense and horror, either way this is frankly better than all those zombie flicks put together. The plot....some gangsters and cops (the cops were trying to take the crooks down) get trapped in a high rise block of flats when a zombie plague breaks out and they all must work together to fight their way out to freedom, its balls to the wall blood, guns and hacking from top to bottom, simple but effective. Put it this way, this is basically a zombie version of 'Dusk Till Dawn' where it starts as a brooding cop drama but U-turns off into horror. The cast are also really good as a mismatched team of cops n crooks, character actors in the same vein as Danny Trejo with unique looks quirks that really make this film what it is and give a comicbook/graphic novel feel. Only thing that I didn't like was how the survivors don't quite grasp the fact that filling a zombie full of lead doesn't get them anywhere unless they hit the head haha also nothing is explained, how or why this zombie plague breaks out, its never revealed but that also works for the film too because like 'Dusk Till Dawn' it just dives straight in and goes for broke which leaves you craving story and more film time hehe well worked :) There may be sequels to this but I think that would ruin it as this works so well as an individual story but maybe other stories or chapters from within this films universe could work, cast would be hard to match again though.
Tsubaki S

It's a bit of a mixed bag, why are they not shooting at the zombies in the head? What kind of plan was that to blow up the door instead of just busting in to surprise the gangsters? There's no need to make the characters act this dumb in order to create tension. This also… More
It's a bit of a mixed bag, why are they not shooting at the zombies in the head? What kind of plan was that to blow up the door instead of just busting in to surprise the gangsters? There's no need to make the characters act this dumb in order to create tension. This also reminded me why i still can't fully like running super-strong zombies: why would an average person with an average body would all of a sudden gain more speed and strenght if their bodies are still the same? Also, why was the movie so desperate to make me want to hate the character of the female cop? Anyway, there's some nice zombie action and the movie looks great, proof that you don't need a huge budget to make something look and feel right. It's better than the average zombie movie getting released these days, but still feels that something is missing.
Brian D

It's die hard 1 meets 28 weeks later set in Paris, France.Its a simple set up but boy does it work.Its 85 mins of madness hardcore violence and gore and the most zombies I've seen in one movie( not include CGI ones).The action does not let up and the gore is extreme and over… More
It's die hard 1 meets 28 weeks later set in Paris, France.Its a simple set up but boy does it work.Its 85 mins of madness hardcore violence and gore and the most zombies I've seen in one movie( not include CGI ones).The action does not let up and the gore is extreme and over the top and thats great! Acting is good and there is some fun bits including the old man with a automatic machine gun. I urge any zombie/horror fan to see this when u can you won't be disappointed and its takes the french again to come up with the goods again!!.......well done my froggy friends.
Jason R

Nothing to special but it is nice to see something a little different from your normal run-of-the-mill Zombie movie.
Wu C

Lots of bloody action, but I've seen it all before. Gorehounds and fans of the zombie genre will appreciate this one.
Magnus X

Low budget french, zombie, action, horror flick, not bad at all. Very gory and lots of action. I recommend it if you like zombie flicks.
Adam M

Brilliant French zombie action/horror. When a gang of cops go to an old block of flats to confront and get revenge on a gang that killed a team member/friend they know its going to be brutal but what they don't expect is a shit load of zombies getting involved to! Theres guns,… More
Brilliant French zombie action/horror. When a gang of cops go to an old block of flats to confront and get revenge on a gang that killed a team member/friend they know its going to be brutal but what they don't expect is a shit load of zombies getting involved to! Theres guns, theres gore, theres zombies, it has moments of hardcore gore and horror as well as some humour to make this a fun and action packed film. The best zombie film i've seen in a while.
John M

"La Horde" is an insanely gore and violent French horror film. The plot simple but is full of action and the pace of the film doesn't let up by not getting bogged down in explaining the reasons or cures for the zombies, instead focusing on the tensions in the uneasy… More
"La Horde" is an insanely gore and violent French horror film. The plot simple but is full of action and the pace of the film doesn't let up by not getting bogged down in explaining the reasons or cures for the zombies, instead focusing on the tensions in the uneasy alliance between the police and the gangsters. The scares are good and the tension is slowly built higher and higher. "La Horde" has to be one of the best zombie/action film.