Before the superhero genre consumed him, Zack Snyder was a fun, horror movie director of the Dawn of the Dead remake. Snyder’s penchant for kinetic action and gratuity fits in quite nicely with zombie movies, where half the fun is just how gratuitous the action can get. Putting Snyder with Army of the Dead’s premise – a zombie heist movie – keeps him away from his worst impulses so he can deliver a fun crazy romp through a zombie infested Las Vegas.
After an unfortunate accident involving an army convoy and a recently married couple mid car blowjob, a bioengineered zombie descends on Las Vegas, infecting the population pretty quickly. Despite government attempts at rescue, the best course of action is to quarantine the city and zombies inside of it. Before the city is destroyed with a nuclear blast, Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) goes to former mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) with a proposition: retrieve the money in his abandoned Vegas Casino, and receive $50 million. Ward agrees, and assembles a hodgepodge of random people to retrieve the money: safe cracker Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), Ward’s mercenary buddies Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) and Cruz (Ana de la Reguera), Instagram sharpshooter Mikey (Raul Castillo), zombie Vegas guide Lily (Nora Arnezeder), pilot Peters (Tig Notaro), Tanaka’s right hand man Martin (Garret Dillahunt), and last but not least, Ward’s daughter Kate (Ella Purnell), a World Health Organization rep.
Army of the Dead is a great reminder when reigned in, Zack Snyder is a really exciting visual storyteller. In the 10 minute opening credits, Snyder builds the world of the movie, sets the tone perfectly, and establishes the backstory for the Scott/Kate relationship through totally enjoyable wordless storytelling. He also doesn’t have to be a show off to prove his amazing skillset. If you’re not paying attention, you’d think Tig Notaro was just part of the movie, but she was a late recast after horrible issues with the actor cast before her. Snyder does a pretty solid job incorporating her into the movie that was already shot and had crazy covid related reshoot complications so the audience wouldn’t have to suffer with a lesser product. And finally, where Snyder shines best here is when the team finally enters Sin City. He captures it in all its funny, grotesque grandeur, with fascinating zombie hordes, especially some surprising types of zombies, insane casino shootouts, and over the top gore, or a nuclear explosion when necessary. You’ll cheer along like I did when Dave Bautista is running across blackjack tables mowing down zombies trained to fight like professional wrestlers, because that sequence is shot by a pro like Snyder behind the camera.
A zombie heist movie in Las Vegas with a fractured father daughter relationship. Netflix is really pulling out all the stops to make sure everyone wants to see this thing. The world the movie sets up is the best part, as zombie ridden Las Vegas has a well conceived society with rules that grow more interesting as the team gets closer to the vault. Putting the heist together is done efficiently and is easy to understand, with some fun twists as the vault has more booby traps than previously thought. The people on the heist are mostly enjoyable but ultimately mostly forgettable, the standouts being the Europeans Nora Arnezeder – cool and fearless – and Matthias Schweighöfer – manic energy incarnate. The team is more fun when it splits into groups: the Dieter/Vanderohe combo is surprisingly fun and sweet, the Lily/Martin pairing carries the distrusting team friction, and Scott/Kate do just enough to make you care about them surviving. The dynamics and wrinkles keep the 2 and a half hour movie moving briskly enough that you really don’t feel that runtime because there’s a Tig Notaro punch line, crazy zombie battle, or giant explosion coming up soon.
Though we knew this with Dawn of the Dead, Army of the Dead confirms how to best unleash Zack Snyder. You keep the stakes low, and you work within a genre build around gratuitous violence and characters a 13 year old boy would probably love. So here’s to your lucrative career in the horror genre Zack Snyder. I look forward to your insane takes on Michael Myers, or Jason, or Freddy Krueger next.