The Norwegian horror film about Nazi Zombies, Dead Snow, had it’s U.S. premiere at Sundance. I always try to make at least one midnight screening at Park City’s Egyptian theater so as to be able to tap into the rowdy revelry of the late-show crowd, and the filmmakers for Dead Snow knew how to pack ‘em in. According to staff this sold-out screening was their busiest one in five years. Small wonder… the viral marketing for Dead Snow was so successful that I’d gotten three different trailers forwarded to me by friends who didn’t even know I was at Sundance. The filmmakers also know how to have fun with their screening in a way that would make William Castle proud; they had two guys dressed up as Nazi zombies playing to the ticket holders and, later, the crowd inside. The film was preceded by Treevenge, a disturbing and amusing Canadian short film about killer Christmas trees.

Here’s the description of the film from the Sundance catalog:

For eight medical students, Easter vacation begins innocently enough. They pack their cars full of ski equipment and enough beer to fuel their escape from everyday life to the snowy, isolated hills outside of Øksfjord, Norway. Once there, they receive a late-night visit from a shady hiker, who tells them a story about Nazi occupation of the area during World War II. After doing their fair share of raping and pillaging, the dreaded battalion faced a brutal and vengeful uprising by the citizens of the town. The soldiers who managed to survive the onslaught, including their dreaded leader Colonel Herzog, were driven into the hills by the angry mob, where they supposedly froze to death, never to be seen again. But if the horror genre has taught us anything, it’s that the raucous behavior and promiscuity of the younger generation always have a way of bringing evil spirits back to life.Director Tommy Wirkola pulls no punches in the carnage department—heads roll, blood flows, and entrails ooze as the young vacationers attempt to make it through the night. Wirkola adeptly utilizes the snow’s eerie and ominous backdrop to its fullest extent while orchestrating this wickedly gory, yet somehow delightful, tale of Nazi zombie terror.

Being a half-Norwegian horror-genre fan, I’ll admit to having unfairly high expectations. While Dead Snow never failed to amuse and entertain, I found it disappointingly obsessed with gross-out gags. Missing in action, for me at least, was any sense of true dread or real scares. I know many would disagree with me as during the Q&A one enthusiastic fan hailed it the best film he’d seen so far at Sundance (in my book, that honor goes to three other works: Johnny Mad Dog, The Cove, and Stingray Sam).

I should give Dead Snow director Tommy Wirkola his due; he’s a promising young talent who knows his zombies. When asked about his decision to have them speak he cited Day of the Dead as an example of a precedent and he also spoke of his obvious admiration for Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films. But despite the fetishism of Three Stooges-style splatstick, Sam Raimi knew how to balance humor with genuine tension. The other obvious influence for Dead snow is Peter Jackson – but here what comes to mind is Jackson’s first film, rather than anything that followed. And even Bad Taste made better use of its New Zealand location shots. Aside for a few nice aerial shots and cliff scenes (most of which can be seen in the trailer below), Dead Snow never fully takes advantage of Norway’s unique and awesome scenery.

Also, there was a huge missed opportunity in terms of any subtext. There is longstanding animosity between Norway and Sweden, and this is (in part) because during WWII Sweden was a neutral country that allowed the Nazi’s to set up camp and make it possible to completely obliterate many Norwegian towns. Some fjords still serve as watery graves for countless boats sunk during WWII. But instead of resurrecting any real ghosts, Dead Snow goes for the poop jokes.

On the upside, Dead Snow did remind me that I’ve been meaning to watch another film featuring Nazi zombies for quite some time: Shock Waves, (with Peter Cushing). IMDB gives it 5.6 stars, so that should temper my expectations appropriately. And, also, I have to admit to being old school: I like my zombies to be slow, stumbling, mindless, hungry meat eaters – not a bunch of fast, jumping, and punching clowns who – as is the case in Dead Snow – are more interested in gold coins than in primal hunger abatement requiring fresh flesh.