‘Zombie Horde’ DVD Review

Stars: Johnny Gel, Fred Williamson, Joseph Scott Anthony, Tommy Beardmore, Jerry Lynch, Alicia Clark, Tokkyo Faison, Didrik Davis | Written and Directed by Ryan Thompson

At the end of civilization, zombies greatly outnumber people and every day is a fight to see tomorrow. Just when he is about to give up this fight, rugged wanderer John Knox winds up being saved by a ragtag group of survivors. After initial suspicion, Knox proves his worth and slips into his new family in the wasteland. However when a war party of maniacal raiders assaults the camp they kidnap Sarah, Knox’s love interest and it’s up to Knox and the few who escaped the attack to gather what resources they can (including zombies!) to launch an all-or-nothing rescue mission on the raiders’ home fortress.

Seeing it as another low-budget zombie flick, I had little hope for Zombie Horde – however despite some flaws, the film turned out to be a little (little being the operative word) better than expected. The first thing that strikes you about the film is the soundtrack, which echoes the synth-led scores of John Carpenter and has a real 80s vibe about it – this is even played up in the opening scenes as our “hero” is abandoned in the desert and the films villains take out retribution on one of their own in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome fashion… In fact I’d go as far as saying that the Mad Max franchise had a LOT of influence on this films writer/director!

However a good soundtrack cannot compensate for a terrible script – and that is this films downfall… Characters spout ridiculous lines like “I’ll rape it out of you,” “Mouth” (when asking for oral sex) and “I’m mother-f*cking Moses” without a hint of irony – yes, this is one cheesy zombie movie that is played totally straight even though it screams out camp classic.

Until investigating Zombie Horde for this review I had absolutely no idea it was a retitling of Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption and was a sequel to a 2010 released original, which was also the brain child of writer/director Ryan Thompson. However it’s hard to believe anyone was calling for a sequel based on what I’ve seen here; and even the casting of Fred “The Hammer” Williamson can’t save this film from its dire script.

Yet another straight to DVD release that’s for zombie flick completists only, Zombie Horde is released on February 3rd, courtesy of 101 Films.