Movie - Dead Snow

"A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies." (IMDB)

This is a much awaited Norwegian zombie flick. I've been watching for this one for several months and it has finally got around to being out on DVD. The premise is very basic as the description aboves states. So please, don't overthink this movie.

The greatness in this film comes from several factors.

1) How much better can it get than Nazi Zombies! But Nazi zombies are not a new concept. I wanted to love the 1977 movie "Shock Waves" with Peter Cushing, but these Nazi Zombies just fell short- they were not scary, not menacing, and for some bizarre reason only strangled their victms- they were also pretty slow. Zombie popularity was probably just starting and it would be the next year that George Romero gave us his classic "Dawn of the Dead". Consequently, "Shock Waves" was left in cult favorites land (and not even as a real favorite)
The Nazi zombies in Dead Snow snarl like cougars, look like they've been buried in snow for decades (frostbitten with gray skin receeding leaving lips in a constant sneer), drip black ooze from their lips, and are a relentless group chasing victims rather quickly through the Norwegian forrests. These zombies are tough to put down and to get away from.
2) The film switches nicely between the absurd humor of survivors fighting off these creatures , and real suspense and horror as the group of stranded college students realize just what is going on. Nothing like being trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere surrounded by zombies to bring reality to the sitution. It also switches between the usual sterotypical horror character who we all scream at with "No, don't do that- that's just stupid- I would never do that" and characters you can somewhat cheer for as they slice and dice the nazis with whatever implements they can find.
3)The FX- by my standards- I thought they were very nicely done. There are some obvious fake images, but all in all the realism and the horror are there. Don't watch this movie if you don't like body parts flying- yeah it's a little over the top, but some of it is pretty gruesome too.
4)Nice homage to prior movies- Fans of Sam Raimi and the Evil Dead movies will recognize the styling and film sequences- many scenes were ripped almost straight from Raimi's movies- some characteriztion and diretion as well. This I found "touching". Okay, that's a strange word to use about a horror movie, but this crew must have been big fans, and I count it as respect and an homage to Raimi's cult classic films.
5) For the more horror dedicated fans-- this movie had some of the most interesting and original death/gore scenes. Just when you think you might have seen it all, Dead Snow does not disappoint. A head split apart and the brain falling out is just the start. These guys loved intestines as well and used them in some intersting ways. Check out the trailer for a couple scenes and you'll get the idea.

I wasn't sure how much I liked this film until I wrote this review. A cult classic from the start- fun characters, story and gore. A zombie lovers movie. Do I want to add this to my collection of zombie flicks- you bet your swinging intestines I do!