DVD Review: Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead (2014)

Dead Snow 2 is the sequel to Dead Snow, the Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) 2009 film about Nazi-zombies. In the first film, seven friends go on holiday to a cabin in the middle of the Norwegian mountains. Whilst in the cabin they discover some ‘Nazi gold’.  An army of Nazi-zombies led by Colonel Herzog (Ørjan Gamst; Dead Snow) go in for the attack to reclaim what is theirs, with only one of the seven friends, Martin (Vegar Hoel; Dead Snow) making it out alive.

The film starts where Dead Snow let off, with Martin escaping Colonel Herzog and the Nazis. He blacks out and comes to in the hospital, only to discover that his arm (which he spectacularly chain-sawed off in the first film) has been replaced by Herzog’s zombie arm. The police are convinced that he is responsible for the murder of his friends, but thankfully his new arm is pretty bad-ass and helps him with his escape.

With the help and quick demise of Bobby, Martin’s story is brought to the attention of a bumbling group of nerds called the Zombie Squad comprising of Daniel (Martin Starr; Silicon Valley, Veronica Mars), Monica (Jocelyn DeBoer; Wet Behind The Ears, College Humour) and Blake (Ingrid Haas; Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, That Burning Feeling). The Zombie Squad despite their apparent ineptitudes know their stuff and help Martin to raise an army of Russian zombies to stop Herzog’s army, who have 70-year-old business to finish.

Where as Dead Snow was a stylised slasher film with comedic elements, Dead Snow 2 has more zombies, less snow, more laughs and more semblance of a plot. Though different in pacing and style, it is a follow up that stands up and in many ways sures the original and will keep you laughing and grimacing throughout.

There are a lot of comedy/horror films that jump on the absurd, most recently Kevin Smith’s Human Centipede-walrus-monstrosity Tusk. A fair number of these films rely on the absurd to drive the film and don’t bring much else to the table. But the dark humour of Dead Snow 2 stops it from being more than just a slightly goofy idea. There are also many blink and you’ll miss it comedic bits, mainly involving a friendly zombie sidekick (Kristoffer Joner; Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder, All That Matters Is Past) which will keep you entertained throughout the film. However, if you are looking for a self-aware genre-referencing comedy a-la Shaun of the Dead, then you maybe left a bit cold. The main cultural references throughout the film are a handful of Star Wars quotes and Daniel’s rather fetching Neo from the Matrix coat.

Some of the dialogue could be seen as bad, notably the banter between Chief of Police, Gunga and his sidekick is dreadful. This is only saved by the notion/hope that it was intended as a comedic parody of TV cop dramas. I also felt pretty sorry for Jocelyn DeBoer who had to utter most of the Star Wars/Trek quotes, which bordered the lame/hilarious line in their blatant obviousness and timing.

Being a fan of fun, dumb, dark and irreverent comedy I very much enjoyed the film, but I definitely appreciate that it’s silliness has the possibility to not appeal to some. However, if you’re looking for darkly-comedic, gory fun and some tips on how to make the most out of your entrails then look no further.

★★★★

Alice Hubley

Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror Distributor: Entertainment One Blu-Ray & DVD Release Date: 12th January 2015 Rating:18 Running Time: 100 mins Director:Tommy Wirkola Cast: Vegar Hoel, Ørjan Gamst, Martin Starr, Ingrid Haas, Jocelyn DeBoer, Derek Meers Buy Blu-Ray, DVD