Army of the Dead (2021) on Netflix
After a zombie outbreak, Las Vegas is quarantined. Mercenary Scott Ward is hired to recover $200 million from a casino vault before a nuclear strike, and his daughter Kate insists on joining.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb5.8/10203,005 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
After a military convoy from Area 51 crashes on a highway, its cargo, a zombie, escapes and infects Las Vegas, and a failed military intervention leaves the government quarantining the city. Six years later, Bly Tanaka, a casino owner, and his associate Martin offer Scott Ward, a mercenary who once lived in Las Vegas, a job: recover $200 million from Tanaka's vault before a tactical nuclear strike hits. Ward recruits old teammates Maria Cruz and Vanderohe, pilot Marianne Peters, safecracker Ludwig Dieter, and sharpshooter Mikey Guzman, who brings his associate Chambers. Martin comes along to open doors at the casino. Kate, Ward's estranged daughter, works at a quarantine camp and points the group to Lilly, a smuggler who knows the city, then insists on joining once she learns her friend Geeta went in.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Army of the Dead (2021)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After Chris D'Elia was accused of sexual misconduct, Zack Snyder cut him from the completed film and replaced him with Tig Notaro, who shot her scenes over 14 days against green screens; Snyder said the recast cost "a few million" dollars.
- Dave Bautista's first reaction to the offer was a clear no, since he wanted dramatic roles; he changed his mind to work with Zack Snyder, picking Army of the Dead over James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and telling Gunn it broke his heart.
- Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. was signed in 2008 to make Army of the Dead his feature directorial debut, but he said the film was shelved three months before shooting because of the 2008 financial crisis.
- Army of the Dead's week-long run in 600 U.S. theaters, including 330 Cinemark sites, made it the first Netflix film to receive a wide release at a major theater chain.
- Red Digital Cinema built custom "Red Monstro" cameras so cinematographer Zack Snyder could use 1960s Canon 50mm 0.95 rangefinder lenses he had bought on eBay, giving the film a "dreamlike, out-of-focus" look.
- For the zombie tiger Valentine, the visual effects crew met big-cat activist Carole Baskin months before Tiger King aired and modeled their design on a white tiger named Sapphire at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida.
- Zack Snyder shot Army of the Dead's opening scene over five weeks because he wanted to capture it with natural light.
- Matthias Schweighöfer, who plays the safecracker Ludwig Dieter, already knew how to use a firearm, so at the cast's "Zombie Boot Camp" he had to be trained to look less skilled.
