Dead Snow

Directed by Tommy Wirkola.
2009. Not Rated, 92 minutes.
Cast:
Vergar Hoel
Stig Frode Henriksen
Charlotte Frogner
Lasse Valdal
Evy Kasseth Rosten
Jeppe Beck Laursen
Jenny Skavlan
Ane Dahl Torp
Bjorn Sundquist
Orjan Gamst

Plot: A group of medical students head to a remote cabin in the Norwegian Alps for some wintery fun. Much to their chagrin, they're unwittingly in possession of something that a company of actual Nazi soldiers, leftover from WWII, want very badly. Oh, I almost forgot one little detail: the Nazis still have so much pep in their step because they're zombies.

The Good: Gore, gore and more gore. Let's see; there are eyes gouged out, necks bitten and slit, a head pulled apart with the orifices serving as handles, intestines spilled and used for multiple purposes and plenty of severed limbs. If that's not enough, don't worry, I think I left out a few things. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, either. It wants to be blood-splattering fun and that's what it is. The way it sets itself up, it plays more like a slasher flick than a zombie movie. Finally, this has to be the most intelligent group of zombies in cinematic history. They actually have a purpose besides eating your brains, use military tactics and even employ a chain of command.

The Bad: As smart as our zombies are, they're physically inconsistent. At times, they have superhuman strength, yet they struggle in hand to hand combat with regular folks. It'll occasionally make you scratch your head. Even though it's only a 90 minute movie, it takes a bit long to hit its stride. Our med students just aren't interesting enough for us to spend such a long period of time with and the story just runs through a laundry list of genre cliches before we get to the fun.

The Ugly: One guy going Bruce Campbell on himself with a chainsaw.

Recommendation: Lots and lots of blood and guts. I'll just leave it at that. Should you journey into this land of the undead bring your reading glasses. We're speaking German.

The Opposite View: Walter Addiego, San Francisco Examiner

What the Internet Says: 6.6/10 on imdb.com (4/19/10), 67% on rottentomatoes.com, 61/100 on metacritic.com


MY SCORE: 7/10