Dead Snow (Død snø)

In preparation for the impending zombie apocalypse I watch a TON of zombie movies, and most of them are really bad. I reviewed one a while back that was awful, but I felt it was necessary to write about it to warn people to stay away from it. It's really hard to make a good zombie movie, the zombies are the easy part, crafting a good story around them is what usually sinks a movie. Sure, you can have rampant, over-the-top gore and effects try to carry the picture, but that can only take you so far if you don't care about the people the zombies are chewing on, or how they got there in the first place. Most conventional American made zombie flicks follow the same pattern: outbreak, panic, survivors band together and fight back, some make it, some don't, survivors trudge on. It gets pretty stale after a few viewings. Then, along comes a breath of fresh air in the form of the Norwegian film Dead Snow.

 It's a pretty basic story, group of friends getting together for a weekend in the mountains for some fun in the snow, and they are quickly ambushed by Nazi Zombies. Yep, that's right, Nazi Zombies. The only way possible to make a zombie any worse than it already is would be to make it a Nazi, and that was director Tommy Wirkola's goal. He also uses the rich history of the area as a backdrop to his film, Norway and it's Nazi occupation in WWII is very well known and provides a reason for there to be Nazi Zombies in the first place. These aren't your typical zombies, however, these guys are the fast, tree-climbing variety, who also appear to be able to coordinate their attacks much like when they were alive. So I was wrong with what I said earlier, The only way to make a zombie worse is to make it a Nazi AND smart.

I like 'em when they're classy.

This film has some of the best zombie gore I've seen since Dead Alive, at times it seemed like they were paying direct homage not only to that film, but other classics like Evil Dead and Shaun of the Dead. There is just blood everywhere when the action heats up, including the best mutilation scene I've ever seen. I also don't think I've ever seen a zombie movie done in the snow, so there's bonus points for originality on that one. I said earlier that rampant gore shouldn't have to carry the picture, and although there is plenty of it here, you actually care for the protagonists as they go through their motions, and I didn't like to see some of them go. I felt like I could have stood toe-to-toe along side of them and fought it out to the bitter end. The end of the movie felt a bit hurried, but it was still satisfying over-all. It also had little bits of comedy sprinkled in it, just to keep the edge off, and keep the viewer unbalanced.

Couldn't find Comedy Sprinkles, so...

I don't imagine it will be long before we see an Americanized version of this, not that I've heard anything about it, but usually when a great foreign film comes along, we step up to the plate to piss all over it. While this is not my favorite zombie movie of all time, it ranks very highly. I will try to locate it to add it to my personal collection, I was expecting one thing and got something completely different. I thought I was going to have to review this harshly when I first turned it on, but that was quickly dispelled. I recommend this for definite watch, if not a purchase of your own.

8 out of 10 Fists.