Dead Snow
| Dead Snow | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Tommy Wirkola |
| Written by | Tommy Wirkola Stig Frode Henriksen |
| Produced by | Tomas Evjen Harald Zwart |
| Starring | Charlotte Frogner Ørjan Gamst Stig Frode Henriksen Vegar Hoel Jeppe Laursen Evy Kasseth Røsten Jenny Skavlan Bjørn Sundquist Ane Dahl Torp Lasse Valdal |
| Cinematography | Matthew Bradley Weston |
| Edited by | Martin Stoltz |
| Music by | Christian Wibbe |
| Distributed by | Euforia Film (Norway) IFC Films (United States) |
Release dates | 9 January 2009 (Norway) 19 June 2009 (United States) 31 August (UK) |
Running time | 90 min |
| Country | Norway |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Box office | $249,345 |
Dead Snow (Norwegian Død snø) is a Norwegian comedy horror film, starring, among others, Charlotte Frogner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Bjørn Sundquist, Ane Dahl Torp and Jenny Skavlan. It is directed by Tommy Wirkola.
Plot
A woman, Sara, (Ane Dahl Torp) is being chased through the snows of Norway. She is ultimately cornered and eaten by zombies in World War II SS uniforms.
Seven students on Easter vacation arrive at a small cabin near Øksfjord. The cabin is owned by Sara, Vegard's (Lasse Valdal) girlfriend. Unaware of her fate, 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, led by Standartenführer Herzog (Ørjan Gamst), occupied the area. For three years the Nazis abused and tortured the local people. Near the end of the war, with Germany's defeat looming, the soldiers looted all the town's valuables. However, the citizens managed to stage an uprising and ambushed the Nazis, killing many. The survivors, including Herzog, were chased into the mountains, and it was assumed that they all froze to death. The hiker then leaves to continue on his way, and is later killed by zombies.
The next morning Vegard takes the group's snowmobile out to look for Sara. He finds the body of the hiker, when he suddenly falls through the snow into a cave. Meanwhile, The other students find an old wooden box filled with valuables hidden under the floor. They consider taking it, but eventually put it back. After it gets dark, one of the students, Chris (Jenny Skavlan), goes to the outhouse and is murdered. The others go outside to look for her, only finding Sara's rucksack buried in the snow.
Later, the zombies arrive at the cabin. Erlend (Jeppe Laursen) is killed before the remaining students manage to seal the cabin windows and door and survive the night. Vegard comes around in the cave, discovering WWII German firearms and helmets, as well as Sara's severed head. Vegard is attacked by zombies and is badly bitten in the neck by one. He manages to kill them and escape on the snowmobile, which he equips with an MG 34 machine gun.
Meanwhile, the remaining four students in the cabin have decided to split up. The two men, Martin (Vegar Hoel) and Roy (Stig Frode Henriksen), attempt to distract the zombies, while the two women, Hanna (Charlotte Frogner) and Liv (Evy Kasseth Røsten), run for the cars and go for help. Enroute to the cars, the girls are ambushed and Liv is killed. While she is being disemboweled, she manages to destroy several of the zombies by activating one of their hand grenades. After killing two zombies Hanna is chased to the edge of a cliff by a single zombie. She turns and faces the zombie and stomps on the ground, causing the ice to crack, and both of them to fall. Both survive, and are submerged in snow; Hanna digs her way out and kills the single zombie.
Martin and Roy, holed up in the cabin, accidentally set fire to it with molotov cocktails intended for the zombies. As they escape, they discover that the shed next to the cabin contains numerous power tools, which they equip themselves with. More zombies attack, but Martin and Roy manage to fend them off with the aid of Vegard, who returns with the snowmobile. However, Vegard is killed during the fight. In an amusing twist on horror movie cliches Martin accidentally kills his girlfriend Hanna, who had displayed the characteristics of a "final girl" up to that point. Herzog arrives with another group of zombies, including SS men, but Martin and Roy manage to kill them all. Martin is bitten on the arm and cuts it off with a chainsaw to avoid turning into a zombie, but a zombie bites him in the genitals. Herzog then raises many other zombies from all around and the two students run. While on the run, Roy is hit in the head by Herzog, disoriented runs into a tree and is disemboweled.
Martin come to realizes that the zombies are after the box in the cabin. He runs to the burnt-out remains of the cabin, and gives the box to Herzog. He manages to get away, and, upon reaching the car, a coin from the box falls out of Martin's pocket. Swearing, he looks around to see Herzog smashing in the car window.
Cast
- Charlotte Frogner as Hanna
- Ørjan Gamst as Standartenführer Herzog
- Stig Frode Henriksen as Roy
- Vegar Hoel as Martin
- Jeppe Laursen as Erlend
- Evy Kasseth Røsten as Liv
- Jenny Skavlan as Chris
- Bjørn Sundquist as The Wanderer
- Ane Dahl Torp as Sara
- Lasse Valdal as Vegard
Reception
Dead Snow received mostly mixed reviews from Norwegian critics, and was rated 3/6 by both Verdens Gang[1] and Dagbladet.[2] According to Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, director Tommy Wirkola, "who wrote the irreverent screenplay with Stig Frode Henriksen, doesn’t just hit every horror beat; he pounds it to an indistinguishable pulp."[3] She highlighted the special effects team for acclaim for their "admirably disgusting" work.[3] Stephen Witty of The Star-Ledger also commented positively on the film's visuals, and lauded Wirkola for his "steady hand with the action scenes",[4] but identified the plot as the film's weakness. He accused the characters of lacking motivation, and for being "pretty much indistinguishable from one another" He also had a problem with the ending.[4] At "Rotten Tomatoes" the film has received a 67% positive review. Here, the consensus is given as: "Though it doesn't cover new ground, Dead Snow is an entertaining mix of camp, scares, and blood and guts."
Release
The film was released on 9 January 2009 in Norway.[5] It was distributed by Euforia Film.[6] The US premiere was held at the Sundance Film Festival,[7] after which IFC Films purchased the US distribution rights.[8] The film had a limited release in the US starting June 19, 2009[9] and became a DVD release on 23 February 2010.[10]
Awards
The movie was nominated for four 2009 Scream Awards: Fight-to-the-Death Scene, Most Memorable Mutilation, Best Foreign Movie and Best Horror Movie.
References
- ^ Selås, Jon (2009-01-07). "Tarmsleng i villmarken" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Alver, Eirik (2009-01-08). "Blodpudding på vidda" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Dargis, Manohla (2009-06-19). "Movie Review Dead Snow". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Witty, Stephen (2009-06-18). "'Dead Snow' movie review - Fascist zombies on the loose in 'Dead Snow'". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Død Snø". Filmweb (in Norwegian). Filmweb AS. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
- ^ Sandvik, Ragnhild Laukholm (12 January 2010). "Tomme tønner fyller kassen". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). p. 46.
- ^ "Sundance '09: Zombie Nazi in New Dead Snow Pics and Trailer". BD Horror News. Bloody-Disgusting. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ Thompson, Anne (21 January 2009). "IFC Films acquires Dead Snow". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ^ "Dead Snow Release Information". Internet Movie Database. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ DVD and Blu-ray Art and Details: Dead Snow