A New Twist on Zombies

The movie is called Dead Snow, a Norwegian film made a few years ago. I heard just two words to describe it, and knew immediately I was going to end up seeing it.

Zombie Nazis.

A group of fun-seeking coeds goes on a trip to a cabin in the woods, an area where a crazed local tells the story of a group of Nazi soldiers who froze to death in the harsh terrain. Now those evil Nazis are back from the dead to terrorize new victims.

So my mistake here was really one of expectations. You would think that "Zombie Nazis" is enough to tell you you're in for a comedic film. And it mostly did. But I think I was expecting to be at least a little serious. Particularly when it started out quite like an "authentic" horror movie, and stayed in that mode for a good half hour.

Right around the time a victim gets attacked in an outhouse, I should have begun shifting my expectations. I think if I had, I wouldn't have been surprised later on when the leader of the Zombie Nazis uses a pair of binoculars to track one of the victims. That's right -- these zombies are fast, they're Nazis, and they can use tools!

The movie displays a self-awareness about the genre, and I think if you're the sort of person who really enjoys a gory schlock-fest, Dead Snow would be right up your alley. I was trying to shift into that mindset on the fly, and ended up finding the movie too ludicrous to truly love. So I rate it a C+, but acknowledge that it does what it does rather well. That C might well stand for "Campy," and if that appeals, you'll want to check it out.

I mean, Zombie Nazis!