Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead - A Gore-Filled Masterpiece

You can’t keep a good Nazi zombie down. Tommy Wirkola’s 2009 comedy horror Dead Snow pit a group of snowbound adults against a horde of ghoulishly brutal Nazi zombies led by the formidable Colonel Herzog. Five years later, Wirkola has unleashed a sequel, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, into the world, and it is a better movie in every conceivable way.

A scene from Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead

The film kicks off where the first one ended, with one-armed survivor Martin trying to escape and once again coming face to lipless face with Herzog. But things take a turn for the bizarre when Martin gets into a massive car accident, and Herzog’s detached right arm is surgically reattached to his body. This gives him the power of Herzog, though it comes with the price of randomly giving in to whatever impulsive movements that arm feels are necessary - often beating people up and murdering them.

The Zombie Squad

The final third of Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead sees Martin being contacted by the Zombie Squad, a trio of bumbling Americans who are certain that their dedication to all things zombie-related will actually help them survive within a swarm of the undead. There’s leader-type Daniel, and the sadly underdeveloped Monica and Blake. Monica likes quoting Star Wars for some reason, and Blake hates it.

Gory Delights

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead is a glorious exercise in excess, with several early set pieces that are mere appetizers for a climax that includes a Nazi vs. Russian POWs war that constantly fills the frame with amazingly chaotic stunt work. This might be where some people start complaining about it being too much, but Wirkola’s escalation-focused headspace is the perfect fit for this film.

A chaotic scene from the movie

The film’s storytelling, which employs an offbeat sense of humor, is hardly more than a framework for Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead’s excellent special effects, but having that in mind goes a long way in getting past the moments that just don’t click, because you know some decapitation or explosion will take your mind off of it in the next two minutes.

A Bloody Good Time

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead is a movie to watch with gore-minded friends and then spend 15 minutes post-credits talking about and acting out the many hilariously gruesome deaths (or re-deaths) the pic has to offer. And then you lay down in bed and have nightmares about someone waking up everyone in your hometown cemetery. It’s the perfect horror movie, despite not necessarily being a perfect movie in general.

The Nazi zombies from Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead