A farewell to arms: Dead Snow 2 - Red vs Dead
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It contains spoilers for 'Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead' and 'Dead Snow'.
These films are not for the faint of heart, and neither is this review.
Its predecessor, which goose-stepped into theatres under the tag-line “Ein! Zwei! Die!” expanded the list of vengeful entities and criminal organisations that you should never steal gold from (generally speaking, leprechauns and the mob) to include Nazi zombies. Beginning as a fairly standard run through the well-mauled tropes of the monster movie subgenre, 'Dead Snow' followed the misfortunes of a group of Norwegian medical students under siege in a remote cabin. If the film had a flaw, it is that it spent a good deal of its running time searching for an identity, veering from the creepy, to the comedic, before eventually settling on gonzo horror, with the most obvious touchstone being Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' franchise.
Its successor, which strikes a more coherent tone from the get go, is a gore-splattered epic, garnished with dry Nordic wit, where absolutely nothing is taboo and practically everybody is expendable. Events rapidly escalate past the point of absurdity and thereafter the film is somehow held together by its own rarefied logic.
Viewers who have not seen the previous instalment, and who are concerned that they will be unable to keep pace with the nuances of the plot, need not fear. 'Dead Snow 2' opens with a recap of its predecessor – a necessity given that it takes up the story immediately after the jump scare that concluded the first film.
The subtitle 'Red vs Dead' refers to an almighty scrap between the aforementioned Nazi zombies and some WWII Russian POWs who have been resurrected to fight them. This is perhaps the first film since 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy where two armies charge at each other and the result is something other than a massive anti-climax. The ensuing no-holds-barred zombie on zombie action also provides fascinating insights into undead field medicine, which entails stuffing gutted corpses with straw, and repurposing sink plungers as wooden legs.
A more appropriate subtitle for the film would have been 'a farewell to arms', since a farcical mix-up involving severed limbs plays an integral role in the plot. In the previous film, the protagonist, Martin, severs his right arm with a chainsaw after he is bitten by a zombie, thinking that this will prevent him from dying and returning as one of the undead. This extreme act of self-mutilation turns out to be misguided. The Nazi zombies are of the 'magical, cursed to walk the earth' variety, capable of running at full pelt, and in possession of limited powers of speech; a far cry from their shambling, virus-carrying cousins.
When, early on in 'Dead Snow 2', the undead Nazi commander, Herzog, is deprived of his 'sieg heiling' arm, the best switcheroo in movies since John Woo's 'Face/Off' occurs: A well-meaning surgeon sews Herzog's arm onto Martin's stump, assuming that the severed limb must belong to his patient. Meanwhile Herzog uses dark Third Reich magic to fuse Martin's arm onto his body.
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Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead
A film that bills itself as “the sequel you did Nazi coming” is not setting itself up as a poignant study of life under one of the most evil regimes of the 20th century. The dregs of the Third Reich may figure prominently in 'Dead Snow 2', but this film is not 'Schindler's List', or even 'The Sound of Music'.Its predecessor, which goose-stepped into theatres under the tag-line “Ein! Zwei! Die!” expanded the list of vengeful entities and criminal organisations that you should never steal gold from (generally speaking, leprechauns and the mob) to include Nazi zombies. Beginning as a fairly standard run through the well-mauled tropes of the monster movie subgenre, 'Dead Snow' followed the misfortunes of a group of Norwegian medical students under siege in a remote cabin. If the film had a flaw, it is that it spent a good deal of its running time searching for an identity, veering from the creepy, to the comedic, before eventually settling on gonzo horror, with the most obvious touchstone being Sam Raimi's 'Evil Dead' franchise.
Its successor, which strikes a more coherent tone from the get go, is a gore-splattered epic, garnished with dry Nordic wit, where absolutely nothing is taboo and practically everybody is expendable. Events rapidly escalate past the point of absurdity and thereafter the film is somehow held together by its own rarefied logic.
Viewers who have not seen the previous instalment, and who are concerned that they will be unable to keep pace with the nuances of the plot, need not fear. 'Dead Snow 2' opens with a recap of its predecessor – a necessity given that it takes up the story immediately after the jump scare that concluded the first film.
The subtitle 'Red vs Dead' refers to an almighty scrap between the aforementioned Nazi zombies and some WWII Russian POWs who have been resurrected to fight them. This is perhaps the first film since 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy where two armies charge at each other and the result is something other than a massive anti-climax. The ensuing no-holds-barred zombie on zombie action also provides fascinating insights into undead field medicine, which entails stuffing gutted corpses with straw, and repurposing sink plungers as wooden legs.
A more appropriate subtitle for the film would have been 'a farewell to arms', since a farcical mix-up involving severed limbs plays an integral role in the plot. In the previous film, the protagonist, Martin, severs his right arm with a chainsaw after he is bitten by a zombie, thinking that this will prevent him from dying and returning as one of the undead. This extreme act of self-mutilation turns out to be misguided. The Nazi zombies are of the 'magical, cursed to walk the earth' variety, capable of running at full pelt, and in possession of limited powers of speech; a far cry from their shambling, virus-carrying cousins.
When, early on in 'Dead Snow 2', the undead Nazi commander, Herzog, is deprived of his 'sieg heiling' arm, the best switcheroo in movies since John Woo's 'Face/Off' occurs: A well-meaning surgeon sews Herzog's arm onto Martin's stump, assuming that the severed limb must belong to his patient. Meanwhile Herzog uses dark Third Reich magic to fuse Martin's arm onto his body.
Ultimately, it is the former medical student who gets the raw end of the deal. The chief Nazi's arm won't stop going berserk and murdering people. Adding insult to injury, the arm is also racist.
Most successful sequels attempt to replicate elements of their predecessors on a larger canvas. In 'Dead Snow 2' there is a noticeable escalation in stakes. The undead, who previously only wanted their stolen gold coins returned to them, have raised their ambitions significantly and set their sights on murdering everyone in the fishing port of Talvik.
The unfettered levels of ultra-violence that the zombies engage in, as they rampage through the outlying villages, is something to behold. Nobody is spared, with even innocent children and the disabled suffering the same horrible and humiliating deaths as everybody else.
The gore seems to be have been amplified in comparison to the previous film, or maybe there is just more of it. There are brutal scalpings. Heads are pulverised. A truck driver attempts to perform the kiss of life on a zombie with predictable results.
The undead Nazis have a penchant for meting out poetic deaths: A man requesting oral sex from his wife is presented with her severed head. A priest of questionable virtue is hacked to death with his communion chalice.
The film's director and co-writer, Tommy Wirkola, continues to explore his fascination with intestines: “This isn't what it looks like,” says one of the characters to horrified police, as he attempts to stuff the guts of the child he has just inadvertently killed back inside the body. Elsewhere the enterprising zombies use the viscera of one of their victims as an improvised hose to siphon petrol from a tour coach, into a WWII tank that subsequently becomes their primary mode of transportation.
This graphic violence plays out on a level of grotesque slapstick. A fist fight between Herzog and Martin has the attributes of a classic Tom & Jerry cartoon, with one or the other being thrown though plaster walls, while frying pans and stacks of baking trays are hastily repurposed as improvised weapons.
A running visual joke is Martin's plucky pet zombie, who suffers continuous abuse, and who is repeatedly raised from the dead in an increasingly wretched state.
The film gleefully undermines any poignant moment when it appears that a character might be on the verge of recovering a shred of dignity: During a long car journey, Martin awakens from a moving dream where he recalls his dead friends.
“Are we there?” he asks, sleepily.
“We're getting there, but we're also stuck,” replies the driver, who has apparently bogged down the car in mud and has been waiting patiently for his passenger to regain consciousness so he can tell him the news.
The audience is not spared this treatment either. 'Dead Snow 2' is continuously playing around with expectations. A jarring transition from Norwegian to English, about 20 minutes in, accompanies an unwelcome turn in the story. For a few minutes it seems as though the film is on the verge of derailing into cliché, only for it to abruptly course-correct in the most appallingly-hilarious manner imaginable.
Hope is consistently being put on the table before being cruelly, but humorously, snatched away: The US-based Zombie Squad, whose website implies a slick paramilitary organisation, turns out to be a trio of attic-dwelling geeks seeking validation that will offset the “laughter, ridicule, wedgies” that have so far been the outcome of their unusual career choice.
Their leader, Daniel, who has based his wardrobe choices on Neo from 'The Matrix' films, channels some of the unintentional deadpan humour of Egon Spengler from 'Ghostbusters'. He is accompanied by the nerdy mouth-breather Blake, and by Monica, whose Star Wars obsession extends to her use of replica 'Empire Strikes Back' macro-binoculars, that were last seen scouting approaching AT-AT walkers on the ice planet of Hoth.
For a few seconds the local chief of police looks like the kind of guy who might repel the zombie horde, before the mask slips and he is revealed as a posturing would-be badass of questionable competence, with an intuitive talent for low level corruption – a ridiculous man who wistfully believes that his job would be a lot easier if there was a machine that would allow him to translate the language of seagulls into English.
Surveying the carnage of a recent zombie attack, he enquires whether the technicians have made any conclusions. His second in command informs him that the technicians are just his colleagues who have put on white forensic suits to look more professional.
Most successful sequels attempt to replicate elements of their predecessors on a larger canvas. In 'Dead Snow 2' there is a noticeable escalation in stakes. The undead, who previously only wanted their stolen gold coins returned to them, have raised their ambitions significantly and set their sights on murdering everyone in the fishing port of Talvik.
The unfettered levels of ultra-violence that the zombies engage in, as they rampage through the outlying villages, is something to behold. Nobody is spared, with even innocent children and the disabled suffering the same horrible and humiliating deaths as everybody else.
The gore seems to be have been amplified in comparison to the previous film, or maybe there is just more of it. There are brutal scalpings. Heads are pulverised. A truck driver attempts to perform the kiss of life on a zombie with predictable results.
The undead Nazis have a penchant for meting out poetic deaths: A man requesting oral sex from his wife is presented with her severed head. A priest of questionable virtue is hacked to death with his communion chalice.
The film's director and co-writer, Tommy Wirkola, continues to explore his fascination with intestines: “This isn't what it looks like,” says one of the characters to horrified police, as he attempts to stuff the guts of the child he has just inadvertently killed back inside the body. Elsewhere the enterprising zombies use the viscera of one of their victims as an improvised hose to siphon petrol from a tour coach, into a WWII tank that subsequently becomes their primary mode of transportation.
This graphic violence plays out on a level of grotesque slapstick. A fist fight between Herzog and Martin has the attributes of a classic Tom & Jerry cartoon, with one or the other being thrown though plaster walls, while frying pans and stacks of baking trays are hastily repurposed as improvised weapons.
A running visual joke is Martin's plucky pet zombie, who suffers continuous abuse, and who is repeatedly raised from the dead in an increasingly wretched state.
The film gleefully undermines any poignant moment when it appears that a character might be on the verge of recovering a shred of dignity: During a long car journey, Martin awakens from a moving dream where he recalls his dead friends.
“Are we there?” he asks, sleepily.
“We're getting there, but we're also stuck,” replies the driver, who has apparently bogged down the car in mud and has been waiting patiently for his passenger to regain consciousness so he can tell him the news.
The audience is not spared this treatment either. 'Dead Snow 2' is continuously playing around with expectations. A jarring transition from Norwegian to English, about 20 minutes in, accompanies an unwelcome turn in the story. For a few minutes it seems as though the film is on the verge of derailing into cliché, only for it to abruptly course-correct in the most appallingly-hilarious manner imaginable.
Hope is consistently being put on the table before being cruelly, but humorously, snatched away: The US-based Zombie Squad, whose website implies a slick paramilitary organisation, turns out to be a trio of attic-dwelling geeks seeking validation that will offset the “laughter, ridicule, wedgies” that have so far been the outcome of their unusual career choice.
Their leader, Daniel, who has based his wardrobe choices on Neo from 'The Matrix' films, channels some of the unintentional deadpan humour of Egon Spengler from 'Ghostbusters'. He is accompanied by the nerdy mouth-breather Blake, and by Monica, whose Star Wars obsession extends to her use of replica 'Empire Strikes Back' macro-binoculars, that were last seen scouting approaching AT-AT walkers on the ice planet of Hoth.
For a few seconds the local chief of police looks like the kind of guy who might repel the zombie horde, before the mask slips and he is revealed as a posturing would-be badass of questionable competence, with an intuitive talent for low level corruption – a ridiculous man who wistfully believes that his job would be a lot easier if there was a machine that would allow him to translate the language of seagulls into English.
Surveying the carnage of a recent zombie attack, he enquires whether the technicians have made any conclusions. His second in command informs him that the technicians are just his colleagues who have put on white forensic suits to look more professional.
This vein of eccentricity and dry wit humanises the living characters while adding an absurdist twist to the film.
'Dead Snow 2' is not for everyone, but succeeds spectacularly on its own terms. This is no more true than in the final scene – which plays out over the entirety of Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', giving the viewer ample time to grasp what is about to happen and be suitably appalled by it.
Fans of this movie, and the one that proceeded it, will be pleased to hear that a third instalment is planned to close out the trilogy, and that it will apparently feature zombie Hitler.
'Dead Snow 2' is not for everyone, but succeeds spectacularly on its own terms. This is no more true than in the final scene – which plays out over the entirety of Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart', giving the viewer ample time to grasp what is about to happen and be suitably appalled by it.
Fans of this movie, and the one that proceeded it, will be pleased to hear that a third instalment is planned to close out the trilogy, and that it will apparently feature zombie Hitler.
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| image generated by Craiyon |
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