“reckless, hilarious, and violent camp / a double feature”
Tommy Wirkola’s two movies, Dead Snow (synopsis, trailer, cast & crew, rating), and Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (synopsis, trailer, cast & crew, rating), stand out as some of the most entertaining films (funniest, and most fun) that I have seen in the last two decades; and what truly sets these movies apart is the unbound creativity and wild sense of humor that drive them. From the filmmaker’s perspective, the quest at the heart of these movies seems to have been, how to find the comedic in a horror-type movie (a genre, by the way, that does not really interest me); well, it takes a particular kind of imagination, kind of like the one at play in Sam Raimi’s (and Bruce Campbell’s) Evil Dead movies (especially 2 & 3).
It is not by chance, then, that Dead Snow makes reference, both textually and filmically, to those movies. However, these are not some Evil Dead “wannabes”; no, these are original works, while also being fully aware of the cinematic universe that preceded and that surrounds them (and not only within the genre; thus, in DS 1 one of the characters is a cinephile who often references or quotes from other movies; while in DS 2 the clash between the Nazi zombies and the Soviet ones is informed, visually, by the choreography of the battle scenes from Braveheart – for example).
Nazi zombies, you say? What, Soviet zombies? What is this? What this is, is camp, and of the best kind; and in these two movies a lot of the entertainment comes from taking these ridiculous premises to their “natural” conclusions, while in the process also allowing for the outrageous violence inherent in the genre (and in these premises) to play out – without inhibitions. Not grimly, mind you; and the best way to explain how this works would be to say that violence (and action), when played in a ruthless and camp manner, results in slapstick; slapstick that has weight (these are real characters, we even care about them – especially in DS 2), but that is also unbridled and wild and unexpected. This is why I mentioned “unbound creativity,” as a defining trait of Wirkola’s work in these films (he both wrote the scripts and directed them) – because while working within a defined genre (“slasher,” maybe – in DS 1), or even “creating a new genre” (as one character says, tongue in cheek, in DS 2), what sets these movies apart is the wild recklessness (and yet, also artfulness) with which violence, gore, accidentally resurrected zombies, evil Nazis, and a possessed arm create a mix of mayhem and humor that plays freely through the realms of camp, kitsch, action, and – even – war.
But here one must make a distinction between Dead Snow, and Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, in the sense that, in the first movie, that aspect that I mentioned as setting these movies apart and making them tremendously enjoyable – namely that wild reckless violent camp – only really kicks in during the last third of the film. Taken as a whole, the first Dead Snow is an enjoyable romp, really in the mold of Evil Dead 2 – a group of students, in a cabin, in the snowy mountains of northern Norway, who accidentally resurrect (or draw the attention of) Nazi zombies. As said, the bulk of the action starts around the middle of that movie, and then really accelerates and devolves into excellent and juicy mayhem, in the last third (or thereabouts). The sequel, however (Dead Snow 2) – which also benefited from a higher budget (not that the first did not have good production values) – takes what was the best from the first one, accelerates it, and starts with that – with a reckless abandon of fun and violence, and then keeps it up throughout (yet never in a monotonous way), culminating in a final, most enjoyable battle between the “Red” and the Nazi (un)dead.
Recklessness is a word that I mentioned several times – and this is, in many ways, where the humor comes from. What do I mean? Well, why are so many comedies or even horror movies actually… boring? Because their humor seems canned and pre-planned; mediocre sit-com like, they say funny (or do scary) things, but none of those words or actions actually takes us by surprise, is unexpected. Well, in the best parts of DS 1, and in most of DS 2, Tommy Wirkola pushes the pedal to the floor exactly in the right spots – because, let’s be honest, this is a ridiculous premise, and zombies are ridiculous in themselves, and gore and mayhem is inherently funny, if played out with ruthlessness both toward the principal characters (some surprises there), and, of course, toward (all) the bystanders. Yes, because nobody is spared; for a long time, in DS 1, I did not even know who was supposed to be the main character, whom I should be rooting for – and who, if anyone, should I expect to survive, at the end of the movie (well, do any?); while in the second – well, nobody, no category of population, is spared – with the most hilarious consequences.
Because where does the hilarity come from, in fact? Where does the humor come from? Well, from the clash between our regular, tame expectations, and what actually happens; from encountering the paradoxical and the contradictory, even the absurd; but, here’s the thing, within the context of these scenarios, none of what happens is actually “absurd” – only that the other movies of the genre do not dare to go “out there” and to swing so wildly (for comedic effect). This is why while watching these movies I have laughed more, and more heartily, than probably at any other movie that I have seen over the past two decades (and this is no exaggeration). In addition, I always find it so very rewarding to encounter a truly creative mind, and freely roaming artistic creativity.
There are some wonderful individual touches, as well. The way the first movie starts with the image of a girl being chased by (what turn out to be) zombies, through the snowy mountains of Norway, on the soundtrack of music from… The Nutcracker (music that keeps accelerating, ever so slightly). The hilariously “aesthetic” framing (positioning) of the zombie Nazis, lined up artistically around their leader, at various moments – for example, while preparing to attack. And how the movie plays on our expectation for the heroes to truly become heroes, and to bring a much deserved comeuppance upon these nasty zombies – with chainsaw and machine gun and so on. And the rewarding scene of the Soviet zombies rising menacingly from the frozen ground, to compose an army for our hero, in order to fight the Nazis! And the relentlessly and unfailingly funny – and continuously amplified – running gag with the “pet zombie,” in DS 2. And DS 2 culminating with that side-splittingly hilarious and truly outrageous scene – with references to Titanic (!), and set on the soundtrack of a famous, kitschy pop ballad; and yet also, somehow, rewarding – because Wirkola also manages to insert, amid all the mayhem and chaos, a central emotional thread, going throughout the second movie, and tying it together, to a degree, and making us care (!) even more for the main character.
Of course, there are less than successful moments, as well. I think that the “guts” gag is a bit overdone (used too much), in DS 1; also in that movie, I find the mauling scenes somewhat underwhelming, neither scary nor shocking; however, also in DS 1 there are two jump scares (which, by the way, do not abound, thankfully) that are very effective (while there are none, really, in DS 2 – because it does not need them anymore). In DS 2, which is overall most enjoyable, some weaker parts come from the presence of the American characters – mostly because of the characters of the two girls, in fact, which do not feel as realistic and as grounded as the rest of the characters in the movie (Norwegian ones). Perhaps this is because these American actors bring a bit of that canned, clichéd approach to what is otherwise a grounded, dirty, very realistic (!) (within the conventions of this ridiculous plot) Norwegian story. But I think that the American “guy” does a good job, overall – playing it adequately campy, but not unserious.
And this takes me to another aspect that is worthy of being discussed – that in order for humor (or horror) to work, it needs to be played straight; comedy results when we see reality clashing with appearances or with expectations; but for this to happen, we need to feel that the characters are real people, in real situations, acting fairly realistically (as we would, in their stead). If the story and acting feel artificial, then the comedic effect is lost; because that unexpected discovery of the clash between appearances and truth does not take place (and what is “truth” in a given narrative is what corresponds to its premise and conventions, no matter what those might be, and what the genre is – be it fantasy, horror, sci-fi etc.).
For example – speaking of taking the premise to its natural conclusions, and of Wirkola’s free and funny imagination – how about that scene with the Nazi zombie “MASH” unit, “treating” the “wounded” zombies, during the battle with the Soviet undead… I mean, seriously!
All in all, then, a mix of violence, horror, camp, wild imagination, and a wicked sense of humor, recklessly and ruthlessly following the story wherever it takes us, make these movies an exceedingly entertaining double feature. Because I would insist, indeed, that these two movies are best watched as a double feature, as DS 1 truly sets up and grounds DS 2 (while also being, in itself, an entertaining little gem of a movie, within its genre) – and while DS 2 is thereafter an unbridled and free-roaming adventure that hyperdrives the camp and the action, while also constructing a fairly rewarding narrative.
As a side note, I would recommend that you watch DS 1 in the original Norwegian (there is also an unlikable version dubbed into English, which I avoided like the plague); the second movie, however, seems to have been released both in Norwegian, and in a version in which the Norwegian actors dubbed (ADR’d) themselves in English; well, since most Scandinavians speak English well, and since this approach keeps their natural voices and their accents – and also since DS2 has some actual English dialogue, as well, due to the presence of the American characters – I would recommend the “naturally dubbed” DS2, as an authentic and very enjoyable version.
(Speaking of releases and versions, I should also note here that the trailers to these movies do not do them justice, exactly because they do not seem to understand what actually sets these movies apart, and because they try to present them as fitting into the usual horror or slasher clichés – which they do not, and which they are not.) Speaking of genres, I would not even classify these movies – well, at least DS2, as a horror movie; instead, I would rather call it an action-adventure comedy with a horror premise. Because this is how one can best enjoy it – kind of like Evil Dead 3.
AFTERFILM 