October 23rd, 2014: George A. Romero’s 1972 zombie cult opus “Night of the Living Dead“ serves as the classic horror archetype to this cinematic genre. The pale rabid undead lurching their way through the countryside infecting the living in cannibalistic-like fashion has stood the test of time. Since then, a stockpile of anemic derivatives and hybrids of the original have taken up permanent residence on both big and small screens. The latest addition to this macabre slog is Director Tommy Wirkola’s Nazi Zombie inspired follow up, “Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead. Welcome to our Dead Snow 2 Film Review.
By no means does Wirkola`s latest snow letting raise the bar for the collective zombie nation, nor was it supposed to. This rambunctious slash twice and impale once romper stomp through the Norwegian countryside relishes in the twisted sickness of graphic violence with havoc reeking humor. For those Zombie aficionados who somehow missed Tommy`s initial 2009 film, fear not. The sequel begins with a paint by numbers primer that shoe horns all the key maiming body parts into a high-octane opener. A snowy weekend getaway with friends at a remote cabin turns into a Live To Tell episode when an accident unearths femur snapping Nazi zombies bent on face splitting carnage. After a nightmarish night, the only one who lives to tell was Martin (Vegar Hoel). Wirkola returns to the scene of the slaughter with Dead Snow 2; our protagonist Martin decked out in his signature neon green tracksuit circa 1982 fights off indestructible Nazi zombies and their leader Colonel Herzog (Ørjan Gamst) bent on revenge.
Medical malpractice will be the first thing on Martin`s to do list if he survives these uber zombies. A hospital mix up has Herzog`s arm of death grafted on to Martin`s missing limb. The uniting forces of good and evil has Martin fighting a hulk like arm that kills everything within reach just like its former owner. The guilt threshold starts to be all consuming for Martin. The Hospital scene with a precocious little boy that starts out as humour incarnate only reinforces this fact. Martin is now desperate for help so who`s he gonna call? In 1984 it would have been GHOSTBUSTERS! But this is 2014 and in 2014 you call the Zombie Squad. The nation`s premiere non-stationary cadaver suppression task force made up of three model ready American nerds, Martin Starr, Jocelyn DeBoer and Ingrid Haas eager for deployment into any crisis situation. What transpires is a symphony; I mean literally, a symphony of blood letting the likes of which is seldom seen on screen.
The third act sets the stage with epic battle sequences guaranteed to quash any cinema siestas. The Zombie Squad together with a new and improved Martin (and his non-compliant arm) match blows in a horror-laced humor melee with Herzog`s army. Looking past the mind bending carnage, Dead Snow 2 still gets hampered by some questionable character choices and direction. In an attempt to curry the American market the hottest nerds known to man comprise the Zombie Squad. Really ?! Hot . . .Nerds . . .isn`t that an oxymoron? Their fighting sequences become laughable with pratfalling silliness and stunted dialogue. Even more egregious is the stereotypical Goth-femme closeted sidekicks Glenn Kenneth (Stig Frode Henriksen) to Martin`s alpha male archetype. This squealing Nancy queen character forced to butch up in the face of adversity is woefully outdated and clichéd with few redeeming qualities and even fewer laughs.
Verdict: 3.5 / 5: Wirkola isn`t deluding himself. His Dead Snow franchise has comfortably carved out a large segment of the Zombie loving public who are perfectly happy to wallow in the depravity that is Nazi Zombie destruction. And Wirkola is more than happy to oblige them. This Nordic nightmare from which Martin cannot wake up fuses classic horror with politically incorrect elements that at times plays fast and loose with the genre. Camera and editing choices this time around are more sophisticated than the first film and the production values get a bump up within the intentionally campy confines of the story. The constant barrage of eviscerations and decapitations all backstopped between the epic battle of good and evil spills more red show than white. And really, isn`t that what we came for.
Receding gum lines never looked so good.
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Country: Norway, Iceland
Language: Norwegian, English, German
Year: 2014
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Screenwriters: Tommy Wirkola, Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel
Producers: Kjetil Omberg, Terje Stroemstad
Director of Photography: Matthew Weston
Production Company: Tappeluft Pictures
Release Date: July 26, 2014
Premiere: Toronto
Runtime: 100 minutes
Cast: Martin Starr, Vegar Hoel, Stig Frode Henriksen, Ingrid Haas, Ørjan Gamst, Monica Haas, Jocelyn DeBoer
