Zombie. Nazis. In. NORWAY!!!!!
At the now debunked Ben's Daily Movie News, Ben was first on the scene to report the theft of the TF20's beloved creation: Zombie Nazis [Stealing Our Ideas...Again]. However, the movie in Ben's news-story sounds a little different from the storyline in Dead Snow, but that doesn't matter; either way, this movie is about zombie Nazis. I've come to grips with this, and now that everyone knows who originally had the idea (ahem...The Epic Quest for Schneider), we can bask in the popularity of the undead Third Reich. In Dead Snow, the producers not only utilize the TF20's ideas, but they do a helluva job.
Dead Snow (Død snø) (2009)
Directed by Starring Ørjan Gamst, Vegar Hoel and Stig Frode Henriksen
It's your run-of-the-mill teenage camping story turned bloody massacre, where help is miles away with no cell-phone service. Back in the days of Friday the 13th, even cell phones weren't an option. You were out there fighting for your life against a superhuman force that, for some reason, is ready and willing to tear your guts out.
Six medical students travel across the mountains of Norway to spend a weekend at a friend's log cabin. They park the car and walk for miles on foot, and when they finally arrive at the cabin, they find out that Nazis were banished here during WWII (SURPRISE!). The first part of the movie has you identifying with the characters, presumably preparing you for their ultimate demise. Everyone in this movie did a great job of expressing emotion and fear, successfully overcoming the conventional wisdom that horror movies contain turrible acting.
And then the zombies strike. You don't know why, or how they became zombies, or anything. You're just excited to see some brutal death scenes, and they deliver. One zombie actually tears a guy's head in half; I kid you not, the man's skull is ripped in two by the superior strength of one German officer. It was glorious.
I was kind of pissed that they parked the cars so far away, because during the attacks the group of med students are trying to find their way back to the cars. However, since a snow storm covered the tracks they laid coming to the cabin, the foolish kids wander around getting attacked. I suppose the creators needed something to keep the kids from having the upper hand against the freaking zombie Nazis.
There's the old man that warns them of their impending doom if they don't leave immediately (a la Crazy Farmer Guy from South Park), which proved to be an entertaining addition. There's also a guy who quotes famous movies, like Temple of Doom and Army of Darkness. Other than those small nuances, this movie is horrifically brutal while tastefully delivered, if that's even possible.
The movie poster lets you know what you're getting yourselves into. And the idea of Nazi zombies is triumphantly conveyed by the Norwegians. All my expectations were met, and then some, having me pumped by the end and still wanting more. Oh, and there is plenty of room for sequels... "Dead Snow 2: Oslo Rising"..."Dead Snow 3: Nazi Zombies in HELL"... "Dead Snow 8: Nazi Zombies vs. BearShark"...
For a semi-comical horror movie, it's pretty legitimate. I would even put it in the "Top 5 March Movie Madness Movies Reviewed by Trehern That You Should Definitely Check Out". **whew** Long title.
5. DeepStar Six
4. Dead Snow
3. Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic
2. Once Upon a Crime
1. Sudden Death
Be sure to see my further antics over at The Solar Sentinel. We're hoping to boost our readership to 5 this year!
2 comments:
I love how the picture highlights the pathetic and desperate tone of the last sentence.
And the rest of the review was solid, as per usual. I'm actually surprised to hear this was an enjoyable movie - I've heard kinda awful things from several people across the internet, and you're seemingly the first who appreciated it.
Someone should review "The Saint of Fort Washington"