Film Review: DEAD SNOW (2009)

 DEAD SNOW (DØD SNØ) (2009) Norway 1hr 32mins

Director: Tommy Wirkola

"How many films start with a group of friends on a trip to a cabin with no phone signal??" - Erlend

"We should have gone to Sunny Beach, like I told you!!" - Roy

A group of medical students head to a cabin high up in the snowy mountains of Øksfjord for a little rest and relaxation before their exams. The cabin belongs to Vegard (Lasse Valdal),  his friends Roy (Stig Frode Henriksen), Erlend (Jeppe Beck Laursen), couple Martin (Vegar Hoel) and Hanna (Charlotte Frogner), Liv (Evy Kasseth Røsten) and Chris (Jenny Skaulan) leave the car and walk to the cabin. Vegard goes ahead on his snowmobile to get the cabin ready. Vegards girlfriend Sara (Ane Dahl Torp) left the day before on ski's and is supposed to be meeting them there. On arrival the guys quickly settle into messing about in the snow and drinking. They answer a knock at the door thinking it is Sara (who has still not turned up yet) but find a strange man who lets himself in for a coffee. This stranger without being asked tells the group a story about the mountains; "during WW2 the invading troupe of German soldiers called the Einsatz terrorised the inhabitants of a nearby village and stole what little valuables they had. When the villagers got word that the Russians were on the brink of chasing the Germans out they turned on the Einsatz, led by Standartenführer Herzog killing many of the soldiers but Herzog and a few others fled into the mountains never to be seen again. Ever since that time bad things have happened in that very mountain range and there is an evil presence surrounding them all right now". The stranger then goes back to his tent and leaves the shellshocked group to digest his story. Nervously disbelieving, the group think they hear something in the woods, they find nothing but a bag that looks very much like Sara's. After a broken nights sleep with dreams about his girlfriends death Vegard leaves in the morning to search for her. The rest of the group discover a box of gold coins and jewelery hidden under the floor of the cabin and divide it between themselves. This pretty much happens simultaneously as Vegard comes across the strangers tent and finds the man very much dead in a nasty way. Herzog and his army rise again and surround the unsuspecting friends in the cabin to claim the gold just as Vegard comes across Herzogs underground lair and discovers what happened to Sara. It then becomes a fight for survival as the group truly understand the warnings they were given.

From the director of Norways spoof of KILL BILL... KILL BULJO: THE MOVIE (2007) comes the tremendously hilarious black comedic splatterfest DEAD SNOW!!! It goes down the path of your average cabin in the woods/zombie (even slasher) type movie but the way it splits up the story keeps the pace way up and allows for multiple scenes of carnage and Nazi zombie action. Packed full of fun tributes to movies like EVIL DEAD II (1987) and a fantastic early kill straight from DEAD/ALIVE (1992)  it also makes its own impact on the genre in spectacular fashion. The characters are instantly likeable, relatable and really well acted, the female characters are strong and hold their own. The character of Martin grows the most as he starts off as the up tight one, a bit of a know it all yet almost passes out at the sight of blood and ends up a crazed chainsaw wielding maniac cutting up anyone who gets in his way like an absolute boss! There are so many different kills a lot of which are set up way in advance so when they happen a knowing smile will always ensue, but there are also a few that come out of nowhere to shock you. The effects are all largely practical and look pretty good considering its low budget vibes. Due to the violence and huge amounts of blood and guts there is so much fun to be had as the viewer but you can tell it must have been an absolute blast for the cast and crew as well. The zombies are imposing with the make up artists opting for full face masks giving them a kind of Fulci zombie type look. Looking incredibly ominous in their Nazi SS uniforms and Herzog with his trench coat and hat emblazoned with the totenkopf insignia they sure are rather scary. They aren't quite your regular brain munching zombie though, yes they are the slow type but they are not interested in brains. They seem content in just beating seven shades of shit out of you with various blunt objects then ripping you to pieces and not necessarily to eat you, they are just really pissed off. I noted an interesting piece of information that views these zombies as a hybrid. Based on your typical movie pop culture standard but mixed with the mythical Norse legend of the Draug. An undead being that inhabits the grave of wealthy people who were often buried with their treasure. Herzog and his soldiers only attack in ernest when the treasure has been disturbed so they go on the attack to get it back.

The soundtrack and score are well thought out and effective. The opening scene has a rousing rendition of "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg as a young woman, later to be recognised as Sara, is running for her life. Tracks throughout the movie vary but are mostly on the heavy side of things. The action, stunts and cinematography are well thought out and look fantastic. The comedy elements are constructive and subtle throughout which brings everything together especially for the final scenes. I watched some of the behind the scenes documentary on my copy of the movie and it really shows what a great sense of humour the Norwegians have as a nation especially their attitude towards the weather and how treacherous it was to film in. How their Special Effects dept consisted of 3 people and how a lot of the crew, including the director and producers doubled as extras, zombies and traffic control!

I really love this movie and it certainly gets a top spot in the cemetery scoring a respectable 4 brains out of 5!!

DEAD SNOW is widely available on DVD and Blu Ray both singularly or as set with its sequel DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD which we will be covering for our next piece. 

Until next time Ghouls....