In an age when movie plots tend to be outlined by the two previous films those selling it hope they most closely resemble, it'll come as no surprise that the recent French zombie movie The Horde is being promoted as Assault on Precinct 13 meets Dawn of the Dead by the marketing folks (the fact that Assault was a partial remake of Romero's zombie classic Night of the Living Dead has presumably not been taken on board). Winner of the International Fantasy Film Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the 2010 Fantasporto International Film Festival, this debut feature from writing-directing team Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher has garnered enough acclaim to raise it above the current busy crop of zombie movies.

When a high-ranking and well-respected police detective is found murdered by a gang of homicidal mobsters, a small group of his closest colleagues on the force take it upon themselves to avenge his death vigilante-style. Heavily armed and determined to see justice done, they manage to infiltrate the upper floors of the suburban high-rise apartment block that serves as the criminals' hideout. But during the raid things go wrong and the cops find themselves overcome by the gang, who take them prisoner and begin to torture them.

Meanwhile, one ground level, the gang's lookout men become aware of a strange disturbance in the streets immediately surrounding the building, with the sounds of explosions and sirens filling the air. Incredibly, it becomes apparent that the commotion is being caused by ever-growing crowds of crazed people with a hunger for human flesh. It's not long before the gang of criminals and their captive cops realize they are trapped together on the top floor of an unfortified building that is becoming rapidly infested with blood-thirsty legions of the living dead. Their only chance of making it to ground level and getting out of the situation alive is to join forces, but with their numbers dwindling and each side having a score to settle, the odds of survival really don't look good for anyone with a pulse.

Starring Claude Perron (Chrysalis; Amelie), Eriq Ebouaney (Thirst; Transporter 3), Aurelien Récoing (Intimate Enemies) and Doudou Masta (Arthur And The Minimoys), The Horde is, we are assured, "an action-packed, axe-swinging, gun-toting, ass-kicking zombie flick that pulls out all the stops to breathe refreshing new life into the genre." We shall see.

The Horde will be released on DVD by Momentum Pictures on 20th September 2010 at the RRP of £15.99. Special Features include:

• 'Making of' featurette;
• Rivoallan (9-minute short film);
• Zombie concept art;
• Storyboards;
• Teaser trailer;
• Easter Egg – rehearsal of a scene.