Dead Snow (2009)

OKAY, WE CAN ALL AGREE...

Nazis: bad.
Zombies: also bad.

But Nazi zombies? That’s gotta be super-double-evil-bad, right?

Plot:
In the snowy mountains of Norway, a group of friends go on a trip to a remote cabin – only to run afoul of a group of Nazi zombies looking to protect the secret treasure they hid at the end of World War II.

Critique:

Much like one victim’s head in Dead Snow, the film is split in two: The first half is all buildup, the second half all payoff. And for the bloodthirsty viewer, the clashes between the Nazombies™ and humans do not disappoint. Blood flows, limbs fly, and heads roll – all with just enough humor to ice the crimson cake. (Especially awesome is a bloody showdown between Nazombie squads and two guys wielding a chainsaw, hammers, and a scythe.)

Director Tommy Wirkola treats the Nazombies as near-human – not brain-dead, rotting, walking corpses, but the military men they are (were?). Rather than wandering the snow-covered terrain aimlessly, the Nazis’ colonel leads them on the hunt for our friends, dispersing his men strategically to patrol the area. And these zombies don’t just bite – they punch, stab, can climb trees, and (like most of today’s movie zombies) run at full speed.

Wirkola (who co-wrote the script) also brings some unique action and unsettling point-of-view camerawork – both feats considering how the zombie genre can feel played out at times.

If you dig zombie films and are desperate for a decent one, check out Dead Snow. It’s an out-of-control ride, in the best way possible.

Unfortunately, Dead Snow is not available on Region 1 (US) DVD yet (the Amazon link below is for Region 2). In the meantime, you can watch it on IFC Films On Demand or view it online here.

P.S. Watch for the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nods to Halloween and The Evil Dead.

Norwegian, with subtitles.

Rating:

Will your kids want to watch it?

Possibly. Zombies have a coolness factor to older kids, and probably play a part in some of their favorite shoot-‘em-up video games. But NO CHILDREN under high-school age should see Dead Snow. People (and zombies) are dismembered, disemboweled, shot, stabbed, and impaled, with blood flowing and spurting freely. There’s also a graphic sex scene in an outhouse (yep). Oh, and a crow is killed.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

Unless she's a big-time, hardcore gorehound, the answer is no.

Nazis. Why did it have to be Nazis?

Dead Snow
• Director: Tommy Wirkola
• Screenwriter: Stig Frode Henriksen, Tommy Wirkola
• Stars: Jeppe Laursen, Charlotte Frogner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Jenny Scavlan, Evy Kasseth Røsten
• MPAA Rating: NR (sexual content, extreme graphic violence and gore)


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