Dead Snow

An independent zombie flick that's taken the world by storm, Dead Snow's hype has made it is so prematurely popular that even as its official North American release date barely dries on the promotional posters it's already got a lot to live up to on DVD. Following the tale of a group of medical students trekking out to an isolated cabin during Easter break, the reckless teens inadvertently awaken a troupe of zombie Nazi soldiers bent on eternally guarding their sacred ground, resulting in slaughter, inside genre jokes and mayhem. To that extent, Dead Snow makes no bones about its wanton pilfering of inspirational films such as Dead Alive and the Evil Dead franchise. Wirkola clearly wishes he were Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson, mentioning their films' relevance to Dead Snow, displaying their titles in shots and even aping some editorial traits, such as quick cuts and key sound effects. Understanding this, coupled with the fact that the plot is constructed as a horror film with comedic elements, as opposed to a Shaun Of The Dead-esque comedy with horror aspects, is of the utmost importance in appreciating this flick. While the plot is far from original, despite the German twist, and the actors are clearly novice, Dead Snow works incredibly well. A few original killing scenes are amusing, the cinematography is wonderful and the general creepiness of the undead Reich never stops being disturbing. Bonus-wise, the DVD's lengthy "making of" feature is captivating, with its portrayal of the good and bad of production ― great shots offset with employee battles and computer effects techniques are relayed in a fresh manner. Only the make-up featurette and cast and crew at Sundance portions feel like flat retreading with no point. Dead Snow isn't going to blow anyone away, as its original trailers suggested, but during this endless zombie flick revival it's easily a contender for Best In Show.