Unveiled in February at the Berlinale film market by its international seller Films Distribution, The Horde by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher will start shooting next week.

The latest in a line of French films combining fantasy and horror (such as Alexandre Aja’s Switchblade Romance, Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs [trailer], Them [trailer] by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, Inside by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo and Xavier Gens’ Frontier(s) [trailer]) spearheaded by Canal +, the feature calls on the expertise of several specialists in the genre, many of whom work on the monthly magazine Mad Movies.
The cast includes Jean-Pierre Martins (La Vie en Rose [trailer]), Aurélien Recoing (13 Tzameti [trailer, film focus]), Claude Perron (Cortex [trailer]), Alain Figlarz (Crime Insiders [trailer]) and Eriq Ebouaney (seen recently at Venice in Claire Denis’ 35 Shots of Rum [trailer]).

Co-written by Dahan, Rocher, Arnaud Bordas and Stéphane Moissakis, with assistance from Nicolas Peufaillit (screenwriter on Chrysalis [trailer] and Enfants de Timpelbach, which will hit screens on December 17), The Horde is presented as a combination of the series The Shield, Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead and Rec [trailer, film focus] (555,000 admissions in France) by Spain’s Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza.

The feature is set in Northern Paris, where four corrupt policemen – who want to avenge the death of one of their colleagues – raid an abandoned tower block in which a group of gangsters are hiding. But a horde of bloodthirsty zombies suddenly appear and the policemen and criminals have to unite against them in order to survive.

Produced by Capture the Flag Films and Empreinte Digitale Prod., The Horde has been pre-bought by Canal + and Ciné Cinéma. Xavier Gens (director of Hitman) is acting as executive producer.

Shooting is scheduled to last seven weeks in the Paris area. Domestic distribution will be handled by Le Pacte.