Sunday 23 October 2011

Død Snø (2009) Dir: Tommy Wirkola


The first Norwegian movie I've ever seen and, if this is anything to go by, not the last:

The plot:
Eight medical students decide to take some well earned holiday time and head off into the wilds of Norway's Arctic region, well off the beaten track. Traversing some difficult, snowbound terrain, they arrive at their cabin and begin to settle in.
Unexpectedly, a stranger arrives, and warns them about the region:
During World War 2, the Nazi's occupied Norway and, as The Allies gained the upper hand, knowing they were beaten, some headed into the area where, apparently, they vanished.
The vacationers laugh it off but, pretty soon, they start to get picked off and, heh, it doesn't take them too long to figure out that their adversaries are none other than the very folk the stranger told them about: Nazi Zombies!!!

Listen, if there are two things in this world I think are cool it's Nazi's and zombies, so to put the two things together is a sure fire winner here at Smell the Cult HQ. And don't get on your fucking high horse. I know Nazi's did terrible things: I've read multiple books about it, which is more than most of you dullards will have done, but they are still fantastic stylistically. Their uniforms are amazing and, let's be honest here, Prada and Gucci admirers would be compelled to acknowledge just how damned stylish they were.
And just because I say they looked cool doesn't mean I want to kill all Jewish people.
I do, but for very different reasons than Herr Führer.
Anyway, then you throw in some zombie chic, and you're onto a winner.
Incidentally, the Nazi zombie is not totally original to this film as, always bubbling under, there was something of a sub genre involving the theme: Zombie Lake, Shock Waves and Oasis of the Zombies, to name but three. Look 'em up on IMDB.
Here, the references are to more generic zombie movies, though no less important: Evil Dead is mentioned, Romero can be detected in certain camera angles, and one of the prey is sporting a pretty cool Braindead T-Shirt.
Clearly a niche market, if you are into your zombie movies, this one offers something that little bit different. Personally, it takes a lot to convince me these days when it comes to the living dead, as I tend to think it's all been done 'to death' as it were, but this was skewed enough to pique the interest and, with the odd moment of true class in terms of gore, I thoroughly enjoyed this for what it was.
There's the odd moment of proper black humour too, and this element can be evidenced by the great tagline: "Ein! Zwei! Die!" as well as the quote the DVD distributors chose for the cover: "One of the 25 best zombie movies of all time."
If that doesn't amuse, don't bother with this.
Zombie buffs only need apply, then, but if you're of a mind, this will certainly entertain.

4 out of 5

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