At the conclusion of ‘Dead Snow,’ Dan, a Davis resident, declared that the zombies in the film were “more like pirates”; the other Davisites had to agree.
The 2009 film from Norway was chosen from the Netflix streaming list due to the desire to have a “popcorn movie” to try out a new popcorn maker. Zombies are good for snacking, right? And since there were subtitles, loud crunching wouldn’t be a problem.
The small Davis audience was well acquainted with Norwegian horror and sci-fi, as they have enjoyed ‘Let the Right One In’ and ‘Trollhunter’ in the past couple of years. Thus, hopes were high.
The film begins with a group of medical students going on a vacation in the snowy woods. They are warned by a mysterious stranger (who should be listed in the credits as “exposition”) that the area has bad mojo because of the Nazis who inhabited the area during WWII. It is not until the Nazi zombies appear, though, that the students understand the stranger’s warnings about what might happen in to their intestines.
The film has some nice moments of humor, plenty of gore, a solid soundtrack, and a nice mix of protagonists who freak out and those who stay eerily calm as they become badass killers of the zombies. One student’s fear of blood gets cured in the worst way possible.
Despite the overall enjoyment, however, viewers were confused by the behavior of the zombies. These zombies move fast and don’t seem to have any particular hunger for flesh (they like shiny things instead), although they’re ruthless. Strangely, these zombies also think. Unlike most zombies, who seem barely to be able to do more than wander in the direction of food and pound on obstacles until they break, these zombies have a clear leader. They can plot, wait, use tools, and speak. One execution they undertake is as beautifully choreographed as a ballet.
Nazis? Yes. Zombies? Well, they don’t die of starvation, old age, or freezing, but their hardiness and cannibalism seem to be merely a more monstrous manifestation of the kind of jerks they were when they were alive.
It’s worth a watch, though, especially if you’re tired of the same old Halloween fare.
