Film Review: DEAD SNOW 2: RED Vs DEAD (2014)

 DEAD SNOW 2: RED Vs DEAD (DØD SNØ 2) (2014) Norway/Iceland/USA/UK 1hr 40mins

Director: Tommy Wirkola

"I know it sounds like a cliche but that's what happened" - Martin

"I have two kittens... don't hurt me!!!" - Glenn

Inventive and entertaining director Tommy Wirkola is back, still channeling his inner Sam Raimi and with a bigger budget to bring us DEAD SNOW 2: RED Vs DEAD!! After a quick recap of the previous movie DEAD SNOW (2009) the sole survivor Martin (Vegar Hoel) escapes Herzog following a vicious fight in the car where Martin manages to sever Herzogs right arm letting it fall into the foot well of said car. Falling asleep at the wheel he crashes and wakes up in hospital. The recap shows the fact that in the first movie Martin was forced (in true Ash Williams style) to cut off his own right arm with a chainsaw. When he comes round in hospital the doctors inform him that they were able to reattach his arm after the crash, revealing to Martin that they have actually sewn Herzogs arm onto his person. Later on and with true comedic timing a sequence is shown in which Herzogs missing arm is replaced with the arm that Martin had chopped off. The police have Martin cuffed to the bed as he is suspect number one in the case of the murder of his friends and the bumbling police force, of course, do not believe Martins tales of Nazi zombies. A young American boy sneaks into Martins room and helps him escape, giving Martin hope in the form of The Zombie Squad. A team of nerds in the US that the kid had been talking to on the phone speak to Martin, believe his story and agree to come to Norway to help him. Herzog and his army are still on the move and recruiting as they go leading Martin to the conclusion that these marauding undead masses still have unfinished business. Martin goes to a WWII museum to find out more about Herzog and where they might be heading, he finds help in the form of museum clerk Glenn (Stig Frode Henriksen (same actor from DEAD SNOW (2009) different character)). Whilst there Martin discovers that he too can bring back the dead by the power he has gained through Herzogs arm. The Zombie Squad arrive in Norway and they team up to overthrow Herzog and his army for good before they completely destroy the town of Talvik. Proving to the useless Talvik police force that the zombies are real and Martin is not the vicious murderer they believe him to be.

This fast paced sequel is equally as bonkers as its predecessor using large scale action sequences, brilliant practical effects and piling on the humour to create a different but highly effective follow on from the first. Vegar Hoel's character Martin has gone from the last man standing to the hapless hero. Having lost everything, being labelled a murderer and now putting himself in grave danger to avenge his friends deaths and save others. He has gone through a transformation from the meek guy, scared of blood to a character not dissimilar to the aforementioned Ash Williams, which is not a bad thing and totally adds to the appeal. The cast again is really strong and this time has the combination of Martin Starr, Jocelyn DeBoer and Ingrid Haas as the American team The Zombie Squad. It is because of this introduction of Americans the subtitles flit on and off throughout the movie which is less distracting then you think. There are some wonderful gory scenes with that familiar DEAD SNOW knowing humour to it. Plenty of intestines and decapitations with political correctness going straight out the window making sure that priests and even the disabled and young children are not left out. The zombies are once again fabulous with Herzog's army and the introduction of a Russian army being the same style as before, the masked fulci-esque type but this time some fresh zombies have been added to the mix. These are the civilians that get recruited and have swapped masks for make up making it a great mix of both styles. As impressive as they are you cant help but route for the first zombie that Martin creates, simply known as Sidekick Zombie (Kristoffer Joner). He shows that he is as loyal as any dog, he may not be as vicious as the others (or travel very well) but he proves his worth and that he has many uses and abilities!! Once again it has a clever and varied soundtrack with a rousing rendition of Bonnie Tylers "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" leading up to the final scene between Martin and his long dead girlfriend Hanna that will both disturb and delight you!

A truly accomplished sequel that is cleverly done from a great directorial talent and cast. It is maybe because of it's absurdity that makes it a bit more appealing than the first and because of the recap you don't necessarily have to have seen the first to watch the sequel though I suppose the ending would make more sense if you did and you cant really watch one without the other, that would just be wrong! This for me gains a top spot in the cemetery and I cannot separate it from the first movie so this also gets 4 out of 5 brains from me!

DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD is widely available on DVD and Blu Ray both singularly and as a box set with DEAD SNOW through Amazon and such like so if you haven't already then check them both out now!

Until next time Ghouls...