Goal of the Dead (2014) User Reviews

A film of two halves (literally)

[bowmanblue · 6/10 · 25 September 2014]

It's always hard to take a film seriously when its whole premise is based – loosely – on playing off another film's title. It takes the '...of the Dead' label and applies it to what's supposed to be France's answer to Shaun of the Dead.

It's about a high-profile football team, travelling to a smaller club's home ground in rural France, but – guess what – a zombie outbreak happens. Cue everyone running for their life.

For a start it's not as funny as Shaun of the Dead. Although that's not to say it's totally dull. There are some good gags here and there, but the film is stretched across nearly two hours and there's not enough humour in there to really call it a 'comedy.' It has horror though. It can get pretty gruesome here and there, almost as if France has fused Shaun of the Dead with a 28 Days Later type feel.

And it's set over 'two halves' – just like your football match. The first half of the film is basically all 'scene-setting.' We get to know the characters etc. Then, on the second half, all hell breaks loose (which is probably what you're watching the film for in the first place!). So, if you're only after the gore, you could probably skip the entire first half and still understand the film and every character's motivation perfectly.

So, if you're looking for basically a French zombie film that's high on gore then you could do worse than this. I saw it more as a straight horror than a horror-comedy hybrid. However, we've already had 'La Horde' which is also just a straight 'infected' style French zombie film which does the gore, the tension and the action a lot better.

Fans of football may like to see the 'beautiful' game included in a zombie movie, but otherwise this will probably be more remembered as a 'one trick' film that goes on a little too long. It's not bad, just doesn't cover enough new ground to make it that good, either. Plus I didn't approve of the final 'action' scene and how it was played out. It just didn't work for me.

Another one bites the ... grass?

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 19 June 2014]

There have been numerous undead/zombie movies over the years, but none combined them with soccer/football. This french comedy tries it and has a decent stab at it. The story is not worth mentioning (with "twists" in relationship and character connections so obvious, you'd guess them even if someone stole/ate your brain), the characters mostly nicely but cliché filled drawn.

There are a few gags that really work and it does have a lot violence/blood in it too. Now that's either something you'll cherish or would have liked to see less off. Football in general is violent as some would say and quite a few have drawn comparisons with going to war (though that rings true with other team based sports too) ... this one takes it one further. No clear winner then, but still decent enough to enjoy during the World Cup in Brazil (or any other time)

The game goes to sudden death.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 3 March 2015]

Even though violence at a football match isn't exactly unheard of, the players and fans rarely go so far as to actually rip each other to shreds. In French comedy horror Goal of the Dead, it's not a few too many pre-match lagers or an overzealous tackle that results in bloodshed, but rather the injection of a mysterious performance-enhancing drug into player Jeannot (Sebastien Vandenberghe), who, as a result of his jab, is transformed into a ravenous, rage-driven monster spreading infection by vomiting into people's faces.

Seasoned Paris soccer star Sam Lorit (Alban Lenoir) has enough problems on his plate without the added hassle of having to fend off rabid zombies: he's playing a cup match against his home town, Caplongue, where he is seen as a traitor by the locals; his team-mate, rising star Idriss Diago (Ahmed Sylla), seizes every opportunity to steal Sam's limelight; and a young woman, Cléo (Tiphaine Daviot), turns up claiming to be his daughter. Can Sam resolve all of his personal issues while avoiding joining the infected?

Much like a football match, Goal of the Dead is divided into two halves, the first part captained by Benjamin Rocher (director of The Horde), who sets up the story and introduces the characters, before being substituted by Thierry Poiraud, whose task is to score with the gore. Rocher struggles to entertain the crowd, the overly complex plot leading to a full 45 minutes of unimpressive footwork before the action begins proper; Poiraud fares only a little better, pulling off the occasional impressive move (including some slo-mo gunshot wounds and a fun decapitation by car window), but not scoring often enough for the film to finish anywhere near the top of the zombie league table.

5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Much better

[atinder · 7/10 · 20 October 2015]

Much better then I thought it would be.

I had this on my zombie watch list for while, as it was on netfilx

I gave it go, I was going watch a few week ago but the movie had a long running time

It started of a lot then I thought It would have.

I actually thought movie was very gory and I really liked the dark Humour added to the movie

Not saying it a comedy but there are some very funny gags

Fun , gory and zombie movie

I going to give this movie 7 out of 10

A worthy addition to the zombie comedy genre...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 20 December 2015]

If you enjoyed "Shaun of the Dead" then you will also like "Goal of the Dead". Don't let the fact that it is a French movie scare you off. The French have already placed themselves on the zombie map with previous zombie movies, for example "The Horde".

There is a good amount of subtle comedy in "Goal of the Dead" which was nicely executed and brought to the screen. Luckily it was not to the point of being comedy to make you laugh, as that would have spoiled the movie.

"Goal of the Dead" also has a good amount of action, and the scenes with a gun and shotgun fired in slow motion were really amazing, and the movie is worth watching for that alone.

Normally I detest zombie movies with running zombies, but for some reason it worked out nicely in "Goal of the Dead".

The zombie make-up was great and there were some interesting effects and scenes throughout the movie. So the special effects team really deserves a big thumbs up.

"Goal of the Dead" is a well-worthy addition to any zombie movie collection. And I must applaud directors Thierry Poiraud and Benjamin Rocher for their fine work on this movie.

They dropped the ball on this one

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 31 July 2020]

GOAL OF THE DEAD is yet another zombie movie, this time French and from the director of THE HORDE. I loved THE HORDE but this one's a real dog of a film whose shallow and superficial interest doesn't go beyond the title. It's a turgid mess of an indie production, cheaply shot in that greyed-out digital camera look, with a bunch of annoying characters tackling a zombie outbreak during a football match. The zombies run around grunting and spew white liquid in a series of gross-out shots, but otherwise there's no suspense here, just a little digital gore and an inane script that just drags things on and on.

A soccer-zombie good movie

[andrea-butini · 7/10 · 27 February 2015]

Goal of the dead takes the zombie epidemic in the soccer contest. directed by the producers of The Horde(another zombie movie) the movie talk about a soccer match interrupted by a zombie horde began by a player; the plot is very simple and it works very well=) i have to say one thing, the first part its like a BIG introduction of 1 hour and its a little boring; but its important to watch it for understand all the typologies of the characters. The second part... its absolutely AMAZING, the special effects are special effects, the atmosphere its very attractive and the zombies are very strong. I loved this movie because it try to take the zombie-theme in other contest like soccer, i hope there will be another movie like this.

A little gem

[jackles140 · 8/10 · 14 July 2014]

Much better than I was expecting, this film was a gem.

The plot keeps moving at pace and is sharp and witty throughout. Though not exactly the walking dead, the "zombies" and very well choreographed and there's some delightfully gory scenes.

But the heart of this film lies in the endearing and well written characters who kept my interest all the way through, with some great one liners.

Some of the special effects are really stand-out, and had me whooping. Not many films would leave one cheering for the football hooligans. Mutant rage monsters and football...a killer combination.

I DON'T DO INTROSPECTIVE

[nogodnomasters · 9/10 · 3 May 2019]

This is a smart zombie film that provides a clever story line with several subplots. Paris is playing Caplongue in soccer/football. Idriss is the 12 year phenom on the team and interest of the media. Sam, the eldest player on the team, is the real story. He is from Caplongue and the town has never forgiven him for leaving and playing for Paris, especially when it cost the town the French Cup.

Jeannot is the leader of Caplongue and takes a serum that makes him more aggressive. The zombie aspect is soon obtained and the film is into full swing. The disease is transmitted by contact with body fluids, primarily by gross power puking.

The film is a light comedy. Idriss, while being interviewed by the press talks about his great role model, but due to sponsorship can't name him. Zombies are crudely taunted as football fans. Korean football players are chastised because they have been in the country for 2 months and can't speak French. The coach's final locker room speech had me laughing out loud as he describes the use of team work to combat zombies.

Good slow motion blood splatter too.

I watched the film with English subtitles. Would love to get a DVD in English.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex. Adult themes. Brief male rear nudity.