The Vanguard

Matthew Hope’s directorial debut “The Vanguard” promises to be a cutting edge British Horror flicks of 2007.

Picking up the gauntlet from George Romero’s ‘Living Dead’ series, Matthew Hope’s “The Vanguard” ensures to bring to British audiences an intelligent film full of pathos and depth with a subtext commenting on the state of the human mind and ‘body’ in Britain and perhaps the West.

“The Vanguard” takes inspiration from Romero whose original ‘living dead’ series were exceptional films in the horror genre, commenting on the state of the American psyche (the excellent Dawn of the Dead with the Zombies go to the shopping malls out of habit, commenting on consumerism in America). The director’s protagonists were either always a black man or a woman, subverting the roles of classic Hollywood leading men or ‘ladies’. Romero successfully employed the ‘zombies’ to suggest the herd mentality and certain types of consumer habits, and the debasement of the human race where humanity reverts to its monster self, living off uncontaminated human flesh that is virus free, ultimately eating itself out of existence.

Matthew Hope’s “The Vanguard” cleverly uses the wilderness as the last bastion for the Zombies escaping the ‘The Vanguard’. Matthew uses the war in Iraq and against Terrorism skilfully commenting on the ‘dehumanisation’ of a hated group of people.

“The Vanguard” is steeped in the tradition of British Independent film making and cuts to the chase, focusing on the need for an artistic expression and an original voice that British film is crying out for.

The Vanguard is due for release this year and is written and directed by Matthew Hope. The Sound Design is by the talented Julian MacDonald.