Tuesday, August 24, 2010

"Ein! Zwei! Die!" with Dead Snow


I had a great time today watching a streaming HD version of the 2009 Norwegian horror-comedy, Dead Snow on Netflix. Directed by Tommy Wirkola, the film stars Charlotte Frogner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Lasse Valdal, Ane Dahl Torp and Jenny Skavlan as medical students on Easter vacation who arrive at a small remote cabin near Øksfjord. The cabin is owned by Sara, Vegard's (Lasse Valdal) girlfriend, who was expected to join the group. Unaware of the grim fate that has already befallen her, the group begins to drink and party until a mysterious hiker (Bjørn Sundquist) arrives. He tells them the dark history of the region; during World War II, a force of Einsatzgruppe (SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings) abused and tortured the local people, typically by shooting Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other groups and political categories. Following an uprising by the locals, who ambushed and killed many of the Nazis, the survivors, including Colonel Herzog, were chased into the mountains, where it was assumed that they all were frozen to death. The hiker then leaves to continue on his way, and it soon becomes clear that the Nazis still linger albeit as undead, flesh-eating zombies.

The movie was nominated for four 2009 Scream Awards: Best Fight-to-the-Death Scene, Most Memorable Mutilation, Best Foreign Movie and Best Horror Movie. I couldn't tell you whether it won any of those awards, but it deserved every one of them.

If you have any regard for director Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films, which had to at least partially inspire this movie, then you've gotta take the time to see this flick. It's plenty of fun, it is a riotous gore fest and despite some less than perfect acting by some of the cast members, I enjoyed it from start to finish (even with the subtitles).

Oh, and definitely see it in HD. Beautiful scenery and buckets of blood look even better in High Definition. Recommended!

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