Dead Snow



A group of 8 Norwegian medical students head up into the mountains for what they expect to be a nice, quiet ski vacation. While waiting for their friend Sara to arrive, the other 7 friends stumble upon a box of gold hidden under the floorboards of the cabin, with trinkets in it dating from the 1940s. They don’t think too much of it at the time, nor do they care too much about the stories they hear from a cranky old man about the local happenings that took place in the area around World War II, about a platoon of Nazi’s who fled up into the mountains, never to be seen again. But they’re about to wish that they had paid a bit more attention to the crazy old man. Because not long after finding the gold the cabin is besieged by a horde of men clad in military garb that seem intent on eating them. It’s zombies… No, wait, it’s worse. It’s a group of Nazi zombies… That’s just…Great.



I really didn’t know what to expect coming into Dead Snow. I mean, I knew it was about Nazi zombies, you can figure that much out from the poster. But I didn’t know much else. Which means I didn’t realize it was also a comedy until I read the description a little more thoroughly. And that gave me pause. Because 9 times out of 10 the “horror comedy” descriptor usually means the film is going to fall into one of two categories: You’re either going to luck out and get something good like Shaun of the Dead, or it’s going to be any one of the numerous cheap, cheesy horror shticks that are constantly being popped out of independent film studios that usually are very unfunny, but good for a quick, brainless watch while you much on some popcorn and watch fake blood splatter across the screen. Thankfully, Dead Snow falls more into the former category, though it does take its sweet time in getting there.


Hey, it takes a while to get places with all this snow. Lay off!

The best comparison I can give for the film is that, tone-wise at least, it kinda feels like it’s somewhere in between Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. And by that I mean that it sorta starts out pretty chill and serious, with maybe a few quips, or corny jokes thrown in. But by the end it’s a veritable bloodbath and the gore humor is at its peak. But it also never feels quite as dreary as the first Evil Dead, nor does it ever feel as full of manic energy as its sequel. So it hit that sweet spot of landing right smack dab in the middle. Serious, but not too serious, and kinda crazy, but with enough moments of levity to not be absolutely bat-shit insane, either.



Considering it was filmed on a rather meager budget, the movie looks surprisingly good. The mountain vistas are lovely enough on their own, to be sure, but the colors also pop, the framing is nice, and the camera manages to follow the action scenes without issue. Which is good, because there’s a lot going on towards the end, and odds are you’re not going to want to miss it. Even the makeup and gore comes away looking shockingly good. There is blood, there are guts, and there are a plethora of limbs that go flying because, yes, there is a chainsaw involved, and if you’re a horror fan I’m sure you know exactly what that means. I think the only ding against the visuals is that I might have noticed a zombie hand or two that the crew might have forgotten to paint. But other than that the film looks near perfect.

The one real issue with the movie is the story and the pacing. I kid you not, up until the film’s halfway point not only was I questioning whether or not the movie was really a comedy, but I was also getting kinda bored. With the exception of the opening chase scene, up until that point you’re really just watching a group of 20-somethings drive, drink, snark, play around in the snow, and visit the outhouse. I don’t know about you, but that’s not exactly my idea of a good time. I admit, that they do kinda try to use that time to set the stage for everything by telling you about the history regarding the Nazi’s and giving you a little background regarding the characters. But the only important part, the one regarding the Nazi history, could have also easily been covered much quicker earlier in the film. And the characters? You’re not going to care. Their personalities are so interchangeable that I’m sure you’ll forget their names not 5 minutes after they’re introduced. It’s only after the zombies show up around the 45-minute mark that the film finally kicks into high gear and lives up to its full goofy, gory potential and becomes much more enjoyable. But before that? The film comes dangerously close to turning into a slog.



Once the zombies finally show their faces and start properly nom-nom-ing on some very confused med students, Dead Snow turns into a really fun zombie flick. Admittedly, it might be a little annoying that you’re never told why or how there are a bunch of zombies roaming around in the Norwegian mountains, but that’s not the point of the film. The point is to watch Nazi zombies chase a gaggle of terrified med students around in the snow, and also watch said med students incompetently try to outsmart their pursuers, all because no one remembers the way back to the fucking car. And in that regard, I think the film succeeds. So if you’re a fan of zombie films, and have enough patience to sit through the first rather dull 45-minutes, then you’ll probably enjoy this outing. But if you’re looking for something with a little more story depth, then you should look elsewhere. Cause this here is just drinking, skiing and zombie killing.

Dead Snow is available on a variety of streaming services.

Dead Snow is also available on DVD and Bluray.

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