In premise, "Dead Snow" is a pretty standard horror flick. A group of young adults embark on what appears to be an exciting weekend in a secluded mountain cabin. Of course, things go awry and they find themselves being brutally murdered by cursed Nazi-zombies. Pretty much the same outline as thousands of b-movie horrors before. Thankfully, "Dead Snow" doesn't take itself too seriously, and as one can tell from the clip, it has some pretty spectacular gore.
Heads are cleaved, limbs are separated via chainsaw, and some Nazi-zombies feel the wrath of the hammer and sickle once again, literally this time. The violence is so frequent and gore so gaudy that it becomes inconsequential. You're not shocked by the eviscerations or head bashings, or do you ever feel for the victim. It becomes purely a comedic tool as you laugh at the absurdity that unfolds before you. Even when the victim is one of the young adults, you hardly feel for him as the pure absurdity of his demise is what distracts you, and oddly enough invokes laughter
I cant say I've ever laughed harder at a something this gruesome.
Obviously "Dead Snow" amps up the violence for this particular reason and it works, but is it really right? Is it okay to use violence that in real life would be devastating, and use it as a means of entertainment and laughs. It's probably in bad taste, but is it right? Harkening back to the gladiators of Rome, it seems man has always had a taste for blood. Now in this "civilized" age we my kill less frequently, but our appetites are satiated through film and other means.
If you thought the last clip too gross, skip this.
I love Dead Snow. I'm a long-time zombie movie buff, so even the dregs of the genre are a lot of fun for me. I think what really works in this movie is the sheer absurdity. There are a lot of crappy zombie movies that try to take themselves seriously, and that really works against the strength of the genre. Obviously some of Romero's stuff is serious, but in some of these modern incarnations the genre has gone into a really new direction, which is interesting. Shaun of the Dead is the most prominent example of a zombie-comedy, but movies like this and also Zombie Strippers (same idea as Dead Snow, only with zombie strippers instead of zombie Nazis) are other great examples of comedy that depends on horrific acts of violence. The examples you posted are great, by the way: I love the silence that follows the brain plopping down and the way the zombies turn in little choreographed unison.
ReplyDeleteI feel like zombie movies never get old. They keep coming out with new ones and although they are all basically the same, I just love watching them. But I agree that recently, zombie movies have had to switch directions in order to keep people interested in the genre. I recently watched zombieland which is along the lines of Shaun of the dead in that comedy, instead of fear, is the main direction the movie is playing towards. Although Im sure there are some zombie movie purists out there who cant stand these new types of zombie flicks, I see them as a great step up from the past.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the deal with Nazi zombies? Dead snow and Call of Duty are famous for having them, and there must be more in the media.
ReplyDeleteI doubt there will ever be a movie with Nazi zombies that takes itself too seriously, because they are basically a plot devise to allow for unapologetic violence on the director’s part (I especially enjoyed the hammer and sickle decapitation). Plus seeing them get pummeled and chainsawed just gives you a happy adrenaline. Heck, no one will ever feel sympathy for Nazi zombies.
Why do you think zombie movies are so gory? I understand the survivors are pissed and are want to curb stop zombies left and right. But why is it that in most if not every zombie flic, one of the survivors needs to have their limbs quartered/ cranium crushed/guts torn out? My guess is it is done to keep the violence homogenous for both sides, thus eliminating inconsistencies in the carnage.
Zombie Nazis: they say “two wrongs don’t make a right”, but these two sure do make a “righteous, dude!”
Yes, Zombieland was excellent. If there ever were a zombie apocalypse, Bill Murray had the right idea on what to do.
ReplyDeleteWe're already taught to feel little sympathy for Nazis and I doubt anyone can feel for the ungodly undead.I really think the director chose to make the zombies Nazis as well solely for the pure absurdity of the whole thing! The movie has a B-movie vibe going on and the Nazis punctuate it to a new level of absurdity the makes it satirical of lesser zombie flicks.
I didn't catch the hammer and sickle bit until writing this post, but it really shows some thought and humor from the director's part.
This is a socialist propaganda film. Righteous Norwegians bravely defend their snow-dumped homeland against the evil fascist invader zombies with a hammer and a sickle. All the while Soviet-style chanting is inspiring the heroes.
ReplyDelete