MovieTalk: Exploring Zack Snyder's Zombie Film in 'ARMY OF THE DEAD'

Kapanlagi.com - Zack Snyder recently gained attention for his Superman film trilogy consisting of MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, and JUSTICE LEAGUE: SNYDER'S CUT. He also became famous for another superhero film, WATCHMEN. Now he is ready to release his new film, ARMY OF THE DEAD. This reminds us of the beginning of his career when he directed a zombie film titled DAWN OF THE DEAD.

In this new film, Snyder takes on the roles of screenwriter, director, and cinematographer. He even revealed during a recent virtual press conference that he has a cameo in the film. Meanwhile, among the cast are Dave Bautista, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Ella Purnell who are in the spotlight.

From the trailer, ARMY OF THE DEAD tells the story of Las Vegas, which has become a zombie nest. This famous gambling city in the United States has been overrun by a new type of zombie. They are fast, agile, and can even communicate with each other like humans. Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) and his team undertake a life-or-death mission to enter the city for a fantastic payment from Hunter Bly (Hiroyuki Sanada). 

In ARMY OF THE DEAD, Zack Snyder explores further into the zombie film. Not only from the story side, but Snyder also writes fragile characters and enriches the zombie film mythology with the depiction of this new type of zombie. 

The Suitability of Dave Batista for the Main Role of the Film

Talking about fragile characters, this concept is what made Snyder look at Dave Bautista. Initially, Dave, who is known for his humorous and action-packed character Drag (GUARDIAN OF THE GALAXY), admitted that he didn't want to star in an action film. However, after thoroughly reading the script presented to him, he was surprised and interested in joining. 

"He didn't expect that this film would be very emotional, especially in the journey of his character. And I convinced him that the character of Scott he played would be very emotional. Of course, he is capable of killing zombies, but this emotional issue brings its own difficulties. I can feel the vulnerability of this character in Dave," Zack Snyder said in a virtual press conference with Asian media last week.

In the story, the character Scott played by Dave Batista is portrayed as trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter. For Snyder, the dynamics between a father and his daughter will enrich the story of the film.

Having Fun Creating His Film 'Universe'

Snyder admitted to having fun with ARMY OF THE DEAD. Unlike his debut film, Snyder now has more freedom to be creative. This is because his new film is entirely his own creation.

"DAWN OF THE DEAD was an adaptation of another film. Meanwhile, this is an original work. This is a great opportunity for me to create a new universe and make a big splash." For me, creating it from scratch is very enjoyable. The audience will definitely enter a zombie world they have never seen before," said Snyder.

Zombie films always have the potential to be developed. Snyder believes that every filmmaker who works on zombie films always has a way to make it interesting. Therefore, he is confident that the zombie film genre will continue to evolve. 

"I believe there are many genius filmmakers interested in working on zombie films. And when they do, the results will surely be amazing. Whether it's from the story side, or the setting, like in Ancient Rome, the Napoleon era, in France, or even in the future," he explained. 

The Most Ferocious Zombie Version

In terms of depicting zombies, Snyder mentioned that the zombies in this film can be considered the "ultimate predator" among the various zombies that have appeared in the film industry. One thing he wants is to create truly terrifying zombies. 

"Take for example the zombies in I AM LEGEND. I don't know if they're zombies or vampires. However, they are really scary. That's what I tried here. Two zombie characters in this movie are really frightening. There will be a zombie queen and a zombie general," he leaked.

The two zombie actors above have been working together with Snyder for a long time. For this role, they are ready to act to the fullest to make the audience scared.

Not only those two special zombie characters, but the zombies in the movie are also depicted as very agile. Not to mention there is a zombie tiger in the middle of the city.

Showing on May 21, 2021

You can watch ARMY OF THE DEAD on Netflix on May 21, 2021. On the 13th, you can even watch the first 15 minutes of the movie for free in the video below. So what are you waiting for, don't forget to set your reminder.

(kpl/dka)