In most zombie movies, the undead is shambling slowly and apparently aimlessly on the streets, and only become a bit more deliberate in their movements when they come across a human with the potential of being devoured. This has been the rule since George A. Romero pushed the zombie genre into the mainstream with “Night of the Living Dead” in 1971.
Zack Snyder broke the tradition of the shambling zombie with the 2004 remake of Romero’s classic “Dawn of the Dead”. As you might expect, this change has attracted criticism both from the fans of the original and Romero himself - still, his movie is considered one of the best Romero remakes ever made.
With Army of the Dead, Snyder breaks the tradition once again. In his upcoming zombie heist movie, a group of mercenaries armed to the teeth will clash with zombies that are active, aggressive, and fast.
Las Vegas, overrun
For those playing slot machines at Spin Casino India, the setting of the film may look familiar. A zombie-ridden Las Vegas was the topic of a Microgaming slot machine launched in 2016 at Spin Casino. But in the movie, instead of joining a rag-tag team of survivors trying to get out of the city (or the zombies looking for their next meal), we’ll have a chance to join a team of robbers trying to get in - and then get out with the jackpot of a lifetime, $200 million hidden in a vault.
Ocean’s 11 with zombies
The movie starts with a pretty average origin story for the zombies - a military experiment that’s accidentally unleashed upon the world, followed by an in-detail depiction of the horror and carnage the hordes of undead bring upon the unsuspecting visitors of Sin City. But then, the movie turns into “Ocean’s 11 with zombies” when a group of mercenaries, led by the fearless Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), decide to return to the city and make the huge pile of money theirs.
Took their time
Army of the Dead spent more than a decade in the making. Universal Studios and Warner Entertainment first announced the idea of the movie in 2007, with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., known for movies like the 2011 prequel to The Thing, serving as a director. The movie then disappeared from the public eye for a dozen or so years, spending them in development hell, with little more than rumors about the production hitting the news.
Then in 2019, things got as quick as the zombies in Snyder’s movies. Netflix announced that it acquired the project from Warner Bros, and the announcement was made that Snyder - of Justice League fame - will be directing, and also co-writing the script. While the movie was header straight-to-streaming (aside from a limited theatrical release in the US), its budget was fit for a blockbuster: Netflix reportedly spent $90 million on the production.
We’ll all have the chance to see the result in a few days - Army of the Dead will hit Netflix on May 21st.
