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101 out of 136 people found the following review useful: Norwegian Nazi-zombies!, 11 November 2008 Author: Essi Suomela from Finland
I was lucky enough to be invited to see the Norwegian Nazi-zombie-movie, Død snø , in a private screening in Os International Film Festivalen in Norway. This film has the best tag line ever: Ein! Zwei! Die! So my expectations were pretty high on this one!The director Tommy Wirkola first got famous in Norway with a movie called Kill Buljo: The Movie, which is a Norwegian parody of Kill Bill. He now continues in the same comedy/homage/genre field and very successfully I may add. The movie really is as good as it sounds and on top of that it is actually unique. I really like Tommy Wirkolas ability to combine homage with something new and interesting; not a very easy thing to do folks!Død snø is basically a teenager-slasher-horror-comedy with Nazi-zombies. The storyline is pretty basic; it's about these teenagers that go up to a cabin in the mountains in the middle of winter and get ambushed by a punch of zombies. Yeah, you know the drill… But this one really delivers, and all the clichés are used to benefit the film. You can see a lot of influences from past genre movies and it is filled with homage towards them. Everyone who likes these kinds of films will have a blast at the movie theater; I laughed my ass off!So goo see this film!!! I give it 5 stars!
85 out of 128 people found the following review useful: Uber Zombie Madness!, 9 January 2009 Author: Tom Erik Høiås from Norway
first of let me just say i am a huge zombie/gore/horror fan and there are few known movies i haven't seen during my years on this planet. with that said i have to say that "Dead Snow" is by far the best Zombie movie i have ever seen. everything clicked perfectly together. the humor was spot on and the gore was just priceless beyond belief. this film is just eye candy for the hordes of horror fans out there. i loved the theme music in the opening sequence, very appropriate and perfect for troll like Zombies. the countless references to classic movies like "Evil Dead", "friday the 13th", "april fools day", "braindead" and of course various Zombie movies was just phenomenal. The filmmakers make no attempt what so ever to hide the fact that this film is almost purely based on these movies, and that my friends is a golden ticket to a inexplicable gore-fest of uber Zombies, a Chainsaw and a lot of intestines being ripped out in the best of entertaining ways. WATCH this film and you wont regret it! i'll give you my word as a true horror fan.
70 out of 111 people found the following review useful: Game Over US, 25 March 2009 Author: strck9 from Canada
Norwegian film makers get it. This is how to make a cool movie; balance the humor and horror, special effects that don't over power the movie, and most importantly: actors that care what they are doing and do it well! Fritt Vilt one and two (Two not being as good as the first, but that's the norm) were leagues over what Hollywood has put out in over 20 years, just small budget horror from people who care what they put out. My only complaint is that it's hard to get these movies in North America and even harder to get English subtitles, but that is in no way a knock to these fine movies. If you can get hold of the these films and are a horror buff, find them, you won't be disappointed. Keep it up Norway!!!!!!
48 out of 77 people found the following review useful: The most excellent zombie of 2009, 12 January 2009 Author: Niqulaz from Norway
Wirkola surely spent time studying the genre of zombie movies thoroughly before setting to work on "Død Snø", paying endless tributes to the great classics of the genre throughout the movie, before grabbing it and tossing it over the top and into a strange land beyond.The movie has so many things speaking in favor of it. It has a well thought-out plot, it has all the wonderful stereotypes of a horror movie in place, and more than anything, it follows the rules of the genre to the note.From the barely glimpse horror in the early phases, to the ominous messenger who lays the groundwork for the story, to the stalking danger in the dark, and all the way to the outright shotgun-and-chainsaw last stand, Wirkola hardly hits a single note wrong.If the region of Finnmark should have one national-romantic epic to its name, it should be this movie.This movie is simply a must-see for the zombie affectionate!
27 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Norwegian Nazi Zombies kick ass!, 9 November 2008 Author: LeonBlank from Tampere, Finland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Dead Snow unfolds with a very classical setting: a group of youngsters are heading for a cabin, with the intentions to drink, party and preferably have sex through the whole weekend. But, as we are talking about a Norwegian film, the events take place during wintertime, and the cabin is located high up in the mountains, in the middle of endless fields of snow.What starts out as a fun in the snow and sun, snowball fights, fooling around with a motor sled and a Stiga, soon turns into a gory zombie onslaught as the kids find a box full of Nazi gold that definitively doesn't belong to them.The unique setting in the genre gives an unforgettable flavor to the easily one of the greatest zombie films that I've seen in ages. Director Tommy Wirkola breaks most of the deeply-rooted Zombie traditions with Norwegian rock and metal banging in the background - the Zombies run, think and even talk (well, just one word). Död Snö manages to do what many have tried and almost as many have failed while trying: it's entertaining, scary, agonizing, bloody, fun and kicks in like a 12-pack of beer. The story is well written, actors do awesome an job and director Wirkola's comedy timing is excellent, as is his ability to build up the horror. He seems to know exactly how scary place an outhouse can be when it's -20 degrees outside, in the middle of the night. Added with a Nazi zombie roaming outside, it's definitively not a place you'd like to be with your pants around your ankles.Död Snö is a wonderful piece of film that isn't ashamed of it's roots and language, and stands proudly as one of the great examples of Norther horror wave that's going strong right now (with Sauna and Let the Right One In).
52 out of 88 people found the following review useful: My high expectations were met, 12 January 2009 Author: ritcheyx from Norway
Død Snø, which should have had the name "Red Snow" or "Rød Snø", but could not because there already is a film with such a name, and from where.. jepp Norway that one too. We got a thing for snow, and man did it turn out good in this one. I think they somehow got to combine the mayhem and fun from some of the classics, at the same time as they capture a bit of Norwegian fun with the music and scenery.I definitely recommend the movie, for those who are fans of Zoombies and gore.It's been fun reading the comments and what people think of the movie, and seeing such an attention for a zombie film from Norway.
31 out of 47 people found the following review useful: Ich bin ein zombie!, 29 March 2009 Author: ElijahCSkuggs from Happy Land, who lives in a Gumdrop House on Lolly Pop Lane
Heading into Dead Snow I was pretty much expecting a Shaun of the Dead type horror flick. Something with more comedy than horror. Which isn't really the case here. It's consistently filled with small or big jokes, but thankfully it's more horror oriented. I suppose I thought this because of the awesome poster displaying a decapitated half-head of a nazi-zombie lying in the snow giving the onlooker a weird look. Not too mention a dude with a blood-drenched chainsaw behind the head. I'm not the biggest fan of hor-coms, but I was really interested in this one because of the whacky premise. So, was it a blizzard of bliss, or a storm of suckage? The story revolves around a bunch of medical students getting away for some rest and relaxation during the Easter break. Unknown to them, they've set up camp at the absolute wrong place. Back in the day, evil Nazi's used these hills for an escape route or safe haven way back when, and it's said that this is where they supposedly holed up and eventually died. Well, they ain't all that dead. They look it, but they ain't dead. Our medical students eventually meet these blood-thirsty German maniacs and the red stuff starts flowing. A mad dash for survival ensues, and it all ends up being a 'hail' of a lot of fun.The flick isn't perfect as it suffers some from small horror clichés, like dumb decision making. But at the same time, they handle these clichés in a somewhat refreshing manner. Some cheap scare tactics are used early on to get you on edge, but those are barely used later on, when violence and creative gore take hold.Dead Snow really surprised me. I wasn't expecting such a fun flick. The characters were all well-fleshed out, the dialogue well-written and funny, the gore aplenty, the horror nods abundant and awesome (Braindead t-shirts?!), and even the score and soundtrack were good. This should become a pretty big hit for horror fans, well I hope so anyways.
21 out of 31 people found the following review useful: Norwegian Native Splatter Art, 19 April 2009 Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
The mandatory circumstances to watch a movie like "Dead Snow" are as follows: at a horror themed festival amongst hundreds of outrageously enthusiast and derailed fellow genre fanatics - preferably at 3am on a weekend night – and surrounded by booze and snacks. If this shouldn't be possible, try and gather as many friends together for a drunken movie night, but whatever you do, don't watch this cheerfully repugnant and positively demented movie all by yourself as it is too much of a crowd-pleaser! The formula of laugh-evoking zombie splatter movies isn't new (even Nazi zombie movies have been done before, for example "Shock Waves" and "Zombie Lake"), but spirited and ambitious young filmmakers never cease to invent original variations on the sub genre. Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola took his cast & crew high up north, for a splatter film in a beautiful and isolated snowy setting. A group of medical students – that are also die-hard horror movie freaks – trek to a remote mountain cabin for a weekend of snow scooter fun, drinking and casual sex. The first night of their arrival already, they receive a visit from a mysterious and grumpy old local who tells them a grotesquely absurd story about sinister events that occurred in the area near the end of WWII. The atmospheric tale says that fed up villagers combined forces and chased their Nazi occupants into the mountains where they all froze to death. The clique laughs away the warnings, but subsequently discovers a box of old coins that promptly resurrects an army of Nazi soldiers in a far developed state of decomposition. The first half of "Dead Snow" is slow-paced, atmospheric and full of little tributes to classic zombie movies; particularly "The Evil Dead" movies. The students are standard horror stereotypes, including the nerd and the blond bimbo, and thus the first half also contains childish pranks and gratuitous sex sequences. As soon as the Nazi zombies emerge, however, "Dead Snow" is a non-stop spitfire of blood, gore and intestines. Apparently the production of this film required 450 liters of fake blood, and that isn't nearly so surprising if you watch the end result. There's chainsaw action, decapitations, rope pulling with intestines, axe murders, machine gun concerts and disembowelment. The effects are top-notch in spite of the obvious budgetary restrictions, and the make up art on the zombies is very impressive. The rotting uniformed corpses look quite menacing, especially their leader. The snowy landscapes are beautiful picture to behold, although it's even more amusing to see the white snow color red with blood! Tommy Wirkola is a clearly talented director and hopefully a promising long career awaits him.
14 out of 18 people found the following review useful: a sublime Grindhouse export that's self-knowing and completely comic-splatterific, 27 July 2009 Author: MisterWhiplash from United States
Do I have complaints about Dead Snow, a movie about a group of Norwegian medical students who take their skis up to a cabin away from everybody only to discover to their baffled horror that nazi undead lurk and kill and go all Lephrachaun over a booty of coins and jewels hidden in said cabin? Well, perhaps, it could have gone a little further in some spots. The Nazis are decked out in their military garb, suits and helmets, but only a handful have the swastika arm-bands, none with Hitler mustaches, and only once does a zombie (Col. Herzog, perfect name by the way) actually utter a phrase, which is "ARISE" for his horde of solider to stampede after the hapless teens. The rest of it? Nope, nothing much to complain really.The director is Tommy Wirkola, and he's done something I didn't expect going in: he made a movie that is shot with a level of competency that goes a couple of notches above just simple B-movie twaddle, or rather he doesn't rest solely upon it. Indeed some scenes, like when characters are buried under feet of snow or someone goes out into the dead of night, there's a dread that can be comparable to the recent film The Descent. It's a well made movie that happens to be about 55% of the time as campy and gore-riffic as anything one's seen this year outside of the Japanese Tokyo Gore Police school. On top of this, there's a clever twist on horror conventions; one of the characters is a movie geek (Evil Dead and Friday the 13th are mentioned), and the tropes like having sex and then getting killed or the stranger who explains everything early on and then gets slaughtered first, are chalked up royally... and then come the Third Reich.Oh it's such a blast, Dead Snow is. At first you get immersed with the characters, even if they are only marginally interesting or compelling, and then when it comes time for these medical students (who apparently have such mad skills at it they can do things like wield weaponry and sew up their body parts when need be) kick major ass. This movie is made for people who want a good solid zombie movie that combines comedy, tension, and enough ridiculous motions to go a long enough way to make things always entertaining. It's almost a study in how to uplift past conventional crap into something artful and electrifying. It's also cheesy and stupid and a bucket of crazy when it can get to that point (I mean, Colonel Herzog, come on!) Bottom line, pair this with and the other midnight movie festival hit Hysterical Psycho and you got a smashing double feature.
27 out of 44 people found the following review useful: Almost on par with Shaun of the Dead as far as zombie comedies go!, 7 May 2009 Author: LoneWolfAndCub from Australia
Tommy Wirkola sure knows how to make a zombie film! Not only does he reference many classic zombie films, but in turn he makes his own unique spin on the zombie tale and he does it well. The plot has striking resemblance to many slashers, as it starts off with a group of medical students taking a ski vacation. However, it takes a turn with random when Nazi Zombies decide to ruin their fun in order to take back their stolen treasures. Dead Snow has many things going for it apart from its odd story; it is well written and directed, all the actors are very good and the gore levels are extremely high and rival almost every modern zombie flick.It goes to show that foreign horror (especially European) is loads better than most American trash released. This film comes from Norway and is a shining example. Simple in its execution, with a group of like-able characters, a witty script and much disemboweling and de-limbing, Dead Snow is one of the year's best horror films and should make its way into many Top lists soon enough.4/5
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