Army of the dead – Film Review by Pixie Britton

I think we can all agree, Zack Snyder had a tough act to follow after Dawn of the Dead remake. Even though it’s not technically in my top ten favourite films, it’s still highly ranked as one of my favourite zombie films. So, when I first heard about Army of the Dead, I was both excited and a little skeptical. Over the years, we have seen so many zombie films come and go, it’s hard to find a thrilling storyline that doesn’t use the same washed-up tropes, and when I first read the premise of Army of the Dead – I had a lot of reservations. 

But you know what? I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I downright loved it. Yes, there were some glaring plot holes and the ending was a little rushed but I honestly didn’t care. I was having way too much fun to care. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

In an interview last year, Synder said he was going to deliver a ‘balls to the wall’ zombie film, and he certainly did that. Right from the beginning, we were quite literally showered in zombie guts, to the point where I was giggling with glee… come to think of it, I don’t think I have seen such stomach-churning gore since Noah’s demise in The Walking Dead. Remember when he got his head stuck in the revolving doors? Yep, that stayed with me too.

Let’s face it, this film isn’t an oscar-worthy epic. But it doesn’t even try to be. Synder has managed to push the boundaries within the genre, and whilst ‘smart zombies’ isn’t new, his portrayal of the zombie king and queen heightened the action to a whole new level… and then, of course, there are the alien robot zombies that everyone is talking about, which I’ll admit, sounds mad when you say it out loud. But it’s true, there were hints littered throughout the film. I’m not going to discuss that any further because it’s way too spoilery. Apparently, it is going to be explored in the animated prequel coming soon, so maybe we will get some answers there.

At times, the over-the-top, slick action sequences reminded me of John Wick. Was it believable? Absolutely not. Because in real life, even the most skilled soldiers would struggle to get THAT many perfect headshots, but again, I didn’t care. It was pure escapism at its finest, and it was everything I needed after a long week in the office.

I could go into way more detail but I’m going to stop there. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who still needs to watch it. But before I move on, we need to talk about the stars that stole the show: hilarious Tig Notaro as the pilot and the gorgeous Matthias Schweighöfer as Dieter… who I may or may not have a crush on now. I mean, why do I always fall in love with the geeky guys? This film was literally brimming with buff men, and I’m like… meh, bring on Dieter! I’m sure many women will agree with me – muscles are overrated. Give me a cute blond guy who can make me laugh, and my heart is yours!

So, you can imagine my delight when they announced that Dieter would be getting his very own prequel film called Army of Thieves, and although it isn’t strictly a zombie film, it has Dieter in it, so I’m sold already…

Anyways, I digress…

So overall, I really enjoyed it. It was a fun, action-packed zombie extravaganza, and I’ll probably rewatch it again soon. I give this film, 6.5 badass alien zombies out of 10.