A lot of contemporary movies made by young directors in the horror, sci-fi and thriller genres seem to be made in order to prove that they can create some really cool gore, action and effects sequences. Somewhere along the way they realize that - oops! - they have to add a story, so they cobble something together, like the cops and robbers tale in "The Horde", provide a twist or two, then add enough firepower to equip the Libyan rebel army and enough gore to turn the Red Sea actually red. The SFX are really something to listen to, all kinds of squishing and squelching as heads are blown to smithereens and body parts are hacked, ripped and mangled. The action takes place inside an apartment building on the edge of a burning city. Since the actors speak French one assumes that it's a city in France, but for purposes of the film's possible worldwide distribution it could be any city, anywhere. Dub it into any language or add subtitles and you've got another captive audience. This movie, my friends, is a splatterfest, like Roberto Rodriguez' "Planet Terror", but that film had a decent story, wit by the bucketful, and actual talent behind the camera. The directors of "The Horde" have proved that they can do gore, but what else can they do? I'm not sure, but they could go back to school and become dental hygienists or morticians. It's always good to have another occupation to fall back on.
Review of The Horde
