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Dead Snow (2009)
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My beloved horror genre has disappointed me over the last couple of years, to the point where even the better selections don't satisfy me. The recent release of Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell for example, while promising and highly entertaining, only whetted my appetite for more scares. Sure, it was nice, but there was something missing, something not quite right. As soon as I saw the trailer for Dead Snow, I knew what I had been looking for-more gore, more carnage, and more badass cheesiness.
The Norwegian import is a limb ripping, head smashing, tongue-in-cheek ride about a group of young medical students that head to a remote mountain cabin for a few days of skiing, drinking, and sex. Little do they know, they're vacationing in an area haunted by sadistic Nazi zombies looking to crash the party. With no cell phone reception or chance of being rescued, the potential victims decide to fight for survival, a choice which results in more than a few decapitations and exposed entrails.
Directed by Tommy Wirkola, the set-up is fairly formulaic, but works because of its willingness to borrow techniques from so many different sources and use them to a great advantage. A lively, hard rocking soundtrack screams over the action, recalling the punk era of '80s horror known more for its music than production values; there are also elements of slasher flicks, zombie thrillers and the gross-out silliness of classics like Evil Dead and Dead Alive. And don't think the film isn't aware of all this –one character serves as the biggest nod to these many cinematic allusions, a movie nerd who, in one instance, is quick to point out the similarities between their lodgings and that of the campers in Friday the 13th.
But despite taking a few pointers from some of the greats, Dead Snow still holds its own. The change of setting definitely helps, and the craziness seems even more absurd as the slaughter takes place in the foreground of breathtaking alpine vistas, the blood looking dramatically red against the predominantly white landscape. Mostly I liked how the female characters weren't just screaming, ankle-twisting bimbos, but kick just as much ass and rack up just as many zombie kills as the men do. If that isn't equality among the sexes, I don't know what is.
It's ironic that a movie which references so many American films will probably see very little distribution here. Watching this was the most fun I've had in the theater in a long time, and I hate to think that others won't have the same opportunity to enjoy it.
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