ARMY OF THE DEAD INCLUDES LOTS OF GREAT GUNS

4th Jun 2021

05/25/2021 02:03 AM | CHRIS EGER

Zack Snyder's gory new zombie heist film, "Army of the Dead," has exploded on the scenes and includes lots of blood, a bit of humor, and a decent armory.

Snyder, who has already made a name for himself with high-octane flicks such as the "Dawn of the Dead" remake, "300," "Sucker Punch," "Watchmen," and "Justice League," brought back his slo-mo blood sprays and 1960s-era Canon Dream lenses to crank out "Army of the Dead," which he has been working on since 2007. With an attention to detail, he made sure the actors looked at least semi-legit while armed.

The 10 main actors in the film's ensemble cast were put through a week-long “Zombie Boot Camp” where they "were drilled on weapons nomenclature, gun handling, stance, weapon manipulation, moving with a weapon, and working as a cohesive unit," according to Netflix. Notably, unlike his safecracking character, German actor/director Matthias Schweighöfer was already well-versed in firearms use so the film’s tactical consultants had to teach him how to look more like a gun neophyte on film.

The promo material shows the film's actors, equipped with everything from Colt shorties to West German-made Sig P226s and everything in between, using good trigger discipline. (Photos: Netflix/Zac Snyder)

On-screen guns include all the sexy stuff with tons of 10-inch barreled MK18ish builds seen alongside a chrome/nickel-plated M92 with a Krinkov-style triangle buttstock, an IWI Tavor, and an HK MP7.

An FN SCAR, complete with 40mm FN40GL grenade launcher as used by actor Garret Dillahunt – although he carries STANAG mags in his chest rig.

The old M2 .50 cal BMG gets a workout in a couple of memorable scenes in the eight-minute opening, including where a zombie literally goes to pieces.

The "Soccer Mom" character, seen just in the opening, is striking, and should have gotten her own movie.

Plus, you get to see The Strip get worked over by tactical air. Fun fact: The production used over 2,500 plastic skeletons for "aftermath" when the film picks back up here after the events portrayed.

A more in-depth 13-minute behind-the-scenes interview with Snyder, below.

"Army of the Dead"is available on Netflix, where it is currently trending in the No. 1 spot, as well as in limited theatrical release, and has a 76-percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes as of Tuesday. Sure, it has an actor in it that is super hypocritical when it comes to modern sporting rifles. But don't let that ruin a good time for you, especially if you already pay for or otherwise have access to Netflix.

Oh, yeah, and there is a zombie tiger, too.