| Dead Snow | |
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| Directed by | Tommy Wirkola |
| Produced by | Tomas Evjen Harald Zwart |
| Written by | Tommy Wirkola Stig Frode Henriksen |
| Starring | Charlotte Frogner Ørjan Gamst Stig Frode Henriksen Vegar Hoel Jeppe Laursen Evy Kasseth Røsten Jenny Skavlan Bjørn Sundquist Ane Dahl Torp Lasse Valdal |
| Music by | Christian Wibbe |
| Cinematography | Matthew Bradley Weston |
| Editing by | Martin Stoltz |
| Distributed by | Euforia Film (Norway) IFC Films (United States) |
| Release date(s) | 9 January 2009 (Norway) 19 June 2009 (United States) 31 August (UK) |
| Running time | 90 min |
| Country | Norway |
| Language | Norwegian |
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.
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A woman (Ane Dahl Torp) is being chased through the snows of Norway. She is ultimately cornered and eaten by zombies in World War II Nazi uniforms.
Seven medical students on Easter vacation, arrive at a small cabin near Øksfjord, about a 45-minute walk from the road where they have left their cars. The cabin is owned by Sara, Vegard's (Lasse Valdal) girlfriend. She has been skiing across the mountains to meet them, but has not yet arrived.
They 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 Einsatzgruppen led by the dreaded 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, they looted all the town's valuables before starting to withdraw from the area. The citizens managed to stage an uprising and ambushed the Nazis, killing many. The surviving Nazis, including Herzog, were chased into the mountains, and it was assumed that they all froze to death. The hiker says the area still has an evil reputation. He leaves to continue on his way and is later killed by zombies while camped in the snow.
The next morning Sara has still not arrived and Vegard takes the group's snowmobile to look for her. He finds the body of the hiker in his tent, but then falls through snow into a cave. 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 while on the toilet. The others go outside to look for her to no avail, but do find Sara's rucksack buried in the snow.
A little later, the zombies arrive at the cabin. Erlend (Jeppe Laursen) is murdered before the remaining students manage to seal the cabin windows and door and survive the night. Vegard comes round in the cave. He discovers WWII German firearms and helmets, as well as Sara's severed head. He is attacked by zombies and is badly bitten in the neck by one. He manages to 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.
Martin and Roy hole up in the cabin, accidentally setting fire to it with molotov cocktails. As they escape, they discover that the shed next to the cabin contains a chainsaw, hammers, and axes, which they equip themselves with. More zombies attack, but Martin and Roy manage to fight them off, aided by Vegard, who returns on the snowmobile. However, Vegard is killed during the fight and Martin accidentally kills his girlfriend Hanna. Herzog arrives with another group of zombies, including SS men, but Martin and Roy also manage to fight them off. Martin is bitten on the arm and cuts it off with the chainsaw to avoid turning into a zombie. Herzog then raises many other zombies from all around and the two students run. Roy falls and is killed.
Martin finally 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 of loot to Herzog and runs for the cars. Upon reaching the car, a coin falls out of Martin's pocket. Swearing, he looks round to see Herzog smashing in the car window.
Dead Snow received mostly mediocre 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."
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 will have a limited release and was released in the US on June 19 2009[9] and becomes a dvd release on 23 February 2010.[10]
The movie was nominated for four 2009 Scream Awards: Fight-to-the-Death Scene, Most Memorable Mutilation, Best Foreign Movie and Best Horror Movie.
  | IFC Films acquires ''Dead Snow'' - IFC Films acquires 'Dead Snow' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety |
| | ''Dead Snow'' Release Date Announced - Dead Snow Release Date Announced at horroryearbook.com |
| | Død Snø - Død Snø - Filmweb |
| | Sundance '09: Zombie Nazi in New ''Dead Snow'' Pics and Trailer - BD Horror News - Sundance '09: Zombie Nazi in New 'Dead Snow' Pics and Trailer |
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