Ein! Zwei! Die! - A Dead Snow review

Dead Snow (or as it's known in it's native Norway, Død snø) sounds absolutely ludicrous on paper. Eight medical students embark on a skiing holiday in the Norwegian mountains to forget about the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and require a much needed break of drunken escapism and debauchery. It just so happens that they run into a group of bloodthirsty Nazi zombies and all hell breaks loose. Yes, I totally agree that sounds not too distant from any of those low budget romps that are hidden away from the general public, save for a late night showing on a sci fi channel. How wrong can you be?!! Dead Snow is a well polished corker of a zombie film, which by no means intends to take itself seriously in any shape or form.

The students are met by a strange hiker-type chap who sits with them over a few drinks and shares his stories of how a Nazi battalion occupied the very area they're in, only to be warded off by fearless locals, where the battalion fleed to the hills and supposedly froze to death in the snow. It's from here that ye olde cliches begin to appear (well someone's got to have a reason for Nazi zombies to attack, right?) and the blood begins to spill.

This is a fine example of "how to do it right". We may never, ever escape the curse of the running zombie, but we should embrace the change. After all, we evolved from apes, why can't a zombie evolve? Put that by the wayside, purist, the checklist is there for everything you want to see in a zombie movie. Gore, guts, girls (nom) and gallons of blood. What it also contains are the fine homages and nods to the geniuses that came before it, yet offering a distinct personality of it's own. The action is fast paced, the comedy is hilarious and on a par with good ole' British filthiness, yet dramatic moments are just as impactful, and some of the shots in the open scenes look absolutely stunning. The zombie effects are just as I'd imagined a frozen zombie would look like. Dead and slightly blue. Win! What's also on display are a number of unique perspectives, including something I've always wanted to see and thought would have been a cool idea many years ago, seeing through the eyes of a zombie. Oh, damn you for being so good!

Dead Snow is a film I can come back to time and time again, which means it can sit nicely amongst the Evil Dead trilogy, Braindead, and for those that appreciated it, Shaun Of The Dead as a definitive classic in the comedy horror stakes. Get your beadies fixed on it as soon as possible.

5 out of 5 frozen undeads on a stick - in 5 different varieties!