Dead Snow (2009) Død snø (original title)

Director:

Tommy Wirkola

Writers:

Tommy Wirkola (written by) and
Stig Frode Henriksen (written by)

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (Norway)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Ein! Zwei! Die!

Plot:

A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Nazi Zombie | Snowmobile | Zombie | Snow

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Vegar Hoel	...	Martin
Stig Frode Henriksen	...	Roy
Charlotte Frogner	...	Hanna
Lasse Valdal	...	Vegard
Evy Kasseth Røsten	...	Liv
Jeppe Beck Laursen	...	Erlend
Jenny Skavlan	...	Chris
Ane Dahl Torp	...	Sara
Bjørn Sundquist	...	Turgåer
Ørjan Gamst	...	Oberst Herzog
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steinar Kaarstein	...	Nazi Zombie (uncredited)
Tommy Wirkola	...	Dying Zombie (uncredited)

Directed by
Tommy Wirkola

Writing credits
Tommy Wirkola		(written by) and
Stig Frode Henriksen		(written by)

Produced by
Magne Ek	....	executive producer
Tomas Evjen	....	producer
Jan-Erik Gammleng	....	supervising producer
Espen Horn	....	executive producer
Ingrid Lill Høgtun	....	supervising producer
Kjetil Omberg	....	executive producer
Terje Stroemstad	....	producer (as Terje Strømstad)
Harald Zwart	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Christian Wibe

Cinematography by
Matthew Weston		(as Matthew Bradley Weston)

Film Editing by
Martin Stoltz

Production Design by
Liv Ask

Set Decoration by
Morten Jakobsen

Costume Design by
Linn Henriksen

Makeup Department
Lene Bruksås	....	special makeup effects
Kjetil Flateby	....	hair stylist
Elisabeth Lusie Haugan	....	special makeup effects (as Elisabeth Haugan Sørensen)
Per Steinar Hoftun	....	special makeup effects artist
Steinar Kaarstein	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Steinar Kaarstein	....	special makeup effects
Shino Kotani	....	special makeup effects artist
Ragnhild Prestholt	....	special makeup effects
Janne Røhmen	....	makeup artist
Gudmund Saksvik	....	special makeup effects

Production Management
Benedicte Aubert Ringnes	....	production manager

Art Department
Ørjan Gamst	....	storyboard artist
Rick Marr	....	props designer

Sound Department
Cato Lauvli	....	foley artist
Tom Erik Lie	....	boom operator
Kjetil Trøan	....	sound
Kjetil Trøan	....	supervising sound editor
Gisle Tveito	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Kevin Carter	....	special effects contact lenses
Dan Erik Heggelund	....	pyrotechnician
Hummer Høimark	....	special effects
Carl Oscar Meyer Johansen	....	special effects
Lars Kolding Andersen	....	special effects
Rolf Arild Mikkelsen	....	creature effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Fredrik Arntzen	....	compositor
Georgina Garcia Fiskerud	....	online assistant
Daniel Flehner Heen	....	online technician
Kristin Hellebust	....	visual effects producer
Tom Joelsen	....	production manager: visual effects
Bryan Jones	....	visual effects supervisor: Storm Studios
Henrik Karlsson	....	compositor
Samuel Karlsson	....	compositor
Hans Jørgen Kjærnet	....	tech support
Nikolai Lockertsen	....	digital matte painter
Morten Moen	....	compositor
Sindre Nauff	....	tech support
Espen Nordahl	....	compositor
Magnus Pettersson	....	visual effects artist
Ghislain Rio	....	colorist
Olav Skogøy	....	photographer: visual effects camera
Otto Thorbjørnsen	....	compositor
Erik Ødegård	....	digital matte painter
Monica Østbø Østgård	....	production assistant: visual effects

Stunts
Bas Altena	....	stunt climber
Tom Roger Brumoen	....	stunts
Johannes Eilertsen	....	stunts
Kristoffer Jørgensen	....	stunt coordinator
Kristoffer Jørgensen	....	stunts
Steinar Kaarstein	....	stunt performer
Glen Levy	....	stunts
Joe Perez	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Odd Haugsnes	....	first assistant camera
Sveinung Svendsen	....	still photographer
Benedicte Tverbak	....	assistant camera
Espen Zubi	....	grip

Editorial Department
Cato Lauvli	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Maria Elisabeth Angell	....	production assistant
Kenneth Olaf Hjellum	....	script supervisor
Martin Hykkerud	....	production assistant
Lasse Selvli	....	runner
Sveinung Svendsen	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Euforia Film
• Barentsfilm AS
• FilmCamp
• Miho Film
• News On Request (NOR)
• Yellow Bastard Production
• Zwart Arbeid

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Euforia Film (2009) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Iae (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• King Record Co. (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Volga (2009) (Russia) (theatrical)
• CCV (2010) (Finland) (DVD)
• CatchPlay (2010) (Taiwan) (all media)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2010) (Spain) (all media)
• E1 Entertainment (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Film1 (2010) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• IFC Films (2009) (Canada) (all media)
• IFC Films (2009-2010) (USA) (all media) (subtitled)
• Madman Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Midget Entertainment (2009) (Denmark) (all media)
• Nelonen (2011) (Finland) (TV)
• RTL Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL7)
• Splendid Film (2009) (Austria) (all media)
• Splendid Film (2009) (Germany) (all media)
• Splendid Film (2009) (Switzerland) (all media) (German-speaking Switzerland)
• Splendid Film (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Splendid Film (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Vii Pillars Entertainment (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Vii Pillars Entertainment (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Storm Studio

Also Known As:

"Død snø" - Norway (original title)

Runtime:

USA:91 min | Norway:90 min

Country:

Norway

Language:

Norwegian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Norway:15 | UK:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:18 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:R | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-15 (TV) (2011) | Finland:K-18 (DVD) (2009) | USA:Not Rated | Spain:16

Filming Locations:

Alta, Finnmark, Norway

Company:

Euforia Film

Trivia:

The English translation of the town Øksfjord is Axefjord.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: One of the zombies (one of the two chasing the girl up the tree) is wearing a white (snow) camouflage jacket. The jacket shows plastic parts (or is completely made out of plastic) which can only be found at modern day jackets. Maybe the zombie took it away from a earlier victim but as all the others wear "original" war gear this is supposed to be a WWII Jacket - and is way too modern.

Quotes:

The Wanderer:Believe me when I say this, These were some evil sons of bitches.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Welshy Reviews: Ozombie (#2.5)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

NR2

Ich bin ein zombie!

Heading into Dead Snow I was pretty much expecting a Shaun of the Dead type horror flick. Something with more comedy than horror. Which isn't really the case here. It's consistently filled with small or big jokes, but thankfully it's more horror oriented. I suppose I thought this because of the awesome poster displaying a decapitated half-head of a nazi-zombie lying in the snow giving the onlooker a weird look. Not too mention a dude with a blood-drenched chainsaw behind the head. I'm not the biggest fan of hor-coms, but I was really interested in this one because of the whacky premise. So, was it a blizzard of bliss, or a storm of suckage?

The story revolves around a bunch of medical students getting away for some rest and relaxation during the Easter break. Unknown to them, they've set up camp at the absolute wrong place. Back in the day, evil Nazi's used these hills for an escape route or safe haven way back when, and it's said that this is where they supposedly holed up and eventually died. Well, they ain't all that dead. They look it, but they ain't dead. Our medical students eventually meet these blood-thirsty German maniacs and the red stuff starts flowing. A mad dash for survival ensues, and it all ends up being a 'hail' of a lot of fun.

The flick isn't perfect as it suffers some from small horror clichés, like dumb decision making. But at the same time, they handle these clichés in a somewhat refreshing manner. Some cheap scare tactics are used early on to get you on edge, but those are barely used later on, when violence and creative gore take hold.

Dead Snow really surprised me. I wasn't expecting such a fun flick. The characters were all well-fleshed out, the dialogue well-written and funny, the gore aplenty, the horror nods abundant and awesome (Braindead t-shirts?!), and even the score and soundtrack were good. This should become a pretty big hit for horror fans, well I hope so anyways.