Dead Snow review

If you know me at all, you know that I love the horror genre of movies and am always raring to watch them. Especially zombie movies! Last night we watched Dead Snow which is available on Netflix for instant watch. Upon learning that this was a foreign movie involving Nazi zombies, I was more than enthusiastic about watching it. I cannot think of anything more terrifying.


Dead Snow is a foreign film that takes place near Øksfjord in Norway. The characters are medical students that are having an Easter holiday in a remote snowy mountainous area. The characters are essentially stranded in the mountains; this adds another level of scary to the plot. The snow helps keep the plot interesting by making you wonder what you would do differently in a snow setting while being attacked by these creatures. I picture the American equivalent of Dead Snow involving a group of attractive graduate students vacationing in the Appalachians or Cascades.


Dead Snow is perfectly structured and possesses classic elements of every good horror movie. There are jokes about classic horror movies such as Evil Dead, you get to root for a character's survival, and there's even a sex scene that seems to be out of place with the plot. While watching the movie you get the sense that if any of the characters survive there is no way they can return to a 'normal' life in society after these experiences. Surviving would be nearly pointless but not entirely in vein of course.

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times writes, "(The writer and director of Dead Snow) doesn’t just hit every horror beat; he pounds it to an indistinguishable pulp."

Once the movie finished and Richard was snoring on the couch (he missed the ending), Poppy made it very clear that she needed to go outside to pee before bed. While I was waiting for the dog to finish her business, I was open to the possibility that a crew of Nazi zombies might come charging through the darkness...
Who am I kidding? I was convinced that this was going to happen. The petrified of 'what's lurking in the shadows' feeling is what is so enjoyable about watching horror movies. I think that's what makes a horror movie successful. If extreme gore doesn't bother you and you enjoy horror movies, Dead Snow will not disappoint.