During
a zombie apocalypse, population density is considered a bad thing. That makes a
sports stadium a very bad place to be, even in a simple country village like
Caplongue. Everyone in town will be there for the grudge match with the
Parisian professionals, including a zombie. One infection logically leads to
another in Benjamin Rocher & Thierry Poiraud’s two-part zombie soccer epic Goal of the Dead (trailer here), which screened
in its entirety at the 2014 Fantasia International Film Festival.
The
last time the Olympique de Paris squad played Caplongue, they hired away the
highly ranked amateur team’s star player. Seventeen years later, Sam Lorit is
at the end of his career. Expecting to be received like a returning hero, the
over-the-hill center is quite taken aback by Caplongue’s hostility. It seems
they never forgave him for abandoning the team and the town. In fact, the local
doctor is so set on revenge he has his son, Lorit’s former teammate Jeannot, on
an aggressive doping regimen. Unfortunately, the latest batch has some nasty zombie
side effects.
Forget
about zombie bites. Jeannot spreads the contagion through projectile vomiting
to the face. Most of the two teams are quickly dispatched on the field, but
Lorit is ironically saved by a meritless red card. Suddenly, he finds himself
fighting to survive with Cléo, the daughter he never knew he had.
Finally,
someone has combined soccer with zombie vomit. That is basically the kind of
film or films the Goal duology is.
Released as two separate installments in France, Rocher’s first half has far
more exposition and scene-setting than your average zombie film. You will
practically know Lorit’s career stats by heart when it is done. At least in the
process, he very considerately sets up the pins for Poiraud to knock down in
his rock ‘em sock ‘em second period, bringing more laughs with his elevated
mayhem.
Rather
unexpectedly, Alban Lenoir decides to do some acting as Lorit, taking him
through a full range of emotions as best he can, given the carnage. Tiphanie
Daviot’s Cléo also brings more energy and attitude than the typical horror
movie teenager, but her fellow townsfolk are largely standard issue
provincials.