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Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead

Yards of guts, gallons of blood, quivering brains and a great Nordic metal soundtrack. That is the sedate Dod Sno, a fun romp in the country that ends with a Final Character stuck in a bad situation.  It was successful enough that of course they went back to the well and pulled up MORE guts, MORE blood and a film that is THE MOST violent piece of cinema I’ve ever watched.

It was HILARIOUS.  I loved it.

As with the first film, Dead Snow 2 begins with a dark and scary sequence, which you will recognize as the last moments of the first film.  It quickly becomes apparent that the sequel was made for an American audience, with everyone speaking English – except for the Nazi zombies.  Good luck understanding them, as their subtitles are in German.  Duh!  It also takes no time at all to open the spigot-o-fun.

The filmmakers, same as the first film, are not a bit afraid of the awful, the painful and the gross. They even seem to be in competition with themselves for Nastiest Sex Scene in a Zombie Film.  All the while you’re squinting at the screen, nearly unable to watch the often over-the-top violence, if you’re like me you will be simultaneously laughing your butt off.  Yes, I did wonder about myself.  Why was I laughing at the little boy dying?!  Because it was funny!  There must be something wrong with me.

As mentioned, the film begins at the end of the last movie, and I simply cannot tell you anything about the plot without giving away the end of Dod Sno.  Trust me when I say the premise is brilliant, and only a little…oh heck, almost completely stolen from The Evil Dead.  As well, for a second time they will wow you with their creative use of guts.

The returning Nazis are even funnier here, and more evil in their intentions and actions.  They’re still not into brains, and their bite has no effect, except for the whole killing you thing.  They just kill.  They’re so unholy they make a church bleed, right about the beginning of act two. The zombies are very entertaining, even paraphrasing a famous Evil Dead line at one point.

Dead Snow 2 introduces some new characters, which is probably a big reason it’s not in Norwegian.  The Zombie Squad is called in from the U.S., but they’re mostly good for more laughs and an endless paean to geekiness.  Think Buffy season six super villains.  Once Monica, Blake and Daniel hit the scene the humor slows down just a bit, though their mall sequence ends with a great gag. Another new character is the very conflicted but obvious Glenn, who I didn’t even realize was played by one of the actors from the first movie.  It’s always great to watch a heroic gay man battling blood drooling Nazi zombies. Last but not least is Sidekick Zombie, the most abused and sympathetic zombie since Dawn of the Dead’s Bub.

Time and again in my notes I wrote sentences like, “I cannot stress to you how utterly violent Dead Snow 2 is.  These guys make Hitler look like Hello Kitty.” Or, “I’ve seen, like, a thousand zombie movies, and this is not in any of them.” Or, “This scene is even grosser than the custard scene in Dead Alive. Ewwwww!  Oh, stop!  LOL LOL!”

Being Norway there aren’t any dark skinned characters, unless you count the desiccated undead, but the film has a couple of kick butt women and the aforementioned gay hero, so it’s not a total loss on the diversity front. There was more money spent, resulting in bigger sequences, and a deeper plot that traveled further than a snow covered mountain.

Bring a barf bag, prepare to laugh a lot, and see this film – if you dare.  (Seriously, if you DARE.)

LINKS:

• Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead
• Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead – IMDB
• Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead – Wikipedia

CFR: In Addition: WARNING! *SPOILER ALERT* If you watch the below trailer, you will know how Dead Snow ended. You have been warned.

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead US Release TRAILER (2014) – Nazi Zombie Sequel HD