Dead Snow Review (2009)

Nazi zombies. There. That’s all you need to know.

However, if you’re wanting some context, I’m happy to oblige. Dead Snow is a Norwegian black humor zombie comedy that takes place in a cabin in the snowy woods of Norway. Some college friends trek to the cabin to enjoy their break from school (original, I know) and unbeknownst to them, find themselves on cursed land that saw German soldiers killed during WWII. Other than one of the girls (Sara) having not returned to the cabin, everything seems to be going pretty well until a stranger shows up at their door.  He proceeds to tell them about the history of the land that they’re on and how the German soldiers who were killed on it were not properly laid to rest and their spirits are restless and that there is cursed Nazi gold around and they are guardians of it. The students ignore him and after leaving the cabin and setting up a tent by himself out in the snow, the stranger is attacked and killed by the very presence he was warning them of.

Unfortunately for them, after the stranger left, they find the gold in the cabin.

As Sara is still missing, her boyfriend (Vegard) goes out looking for her. While searching, he falls into a hidden cave where he encounters some of the zombies. This is the catalyst, the alarm that is set off for the zombies to rise. There is a valiant and seemingly positive outlook for the students as they fend them off well for a moment, but then Colonel Herzog shows up and all hell breaks loose, bringing his fiercest and most loyal soldiers with him. After killing some of the students in the cabin and retrieving their gold, the zombies chase down and kill every student until only one remains. After a long and treacherous journey back to the car, Martin thinks he has survived. When Martin reaches into this pocket to grab the car keys, he realizes that he has a piece of gold in his pocket. Before he knows it, Herzog is outside the window and breaks the glass to retrieve the coin. His fate is left ambiguous, but I have no doubt he met the same fate as the rest of his friends.

Generally speaking, this is a pretty solid zombie flick that’s worth your time, but only if you’ve run through the staples or you’re looking for something random and quirky. The effects are really good, there’s sex in an outhouse, a zombie bite to the dick and so much more. If you’re into Evil Dead II or The Descent, you’ll enjoy this one.