Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014)

Still on the run from a group of Nazi zombies, a man seeks the aid of a group of American zombie enthusiasts, and discovers new techniques for fighting the zombies.

Director:

Tommy Wirkola

Writers:

Tommy Wirkola (screenplay), Vegar Hoel (screenplay)

Stars:

Vegar Hoel, Ørjan Gamst, Martin Starr

15 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vegar Hoel	...	Martin
Ørjan Gamst	...	Herzog
Martin Starr	...	Daniel
Jocelyn DeBoer	...	Monica
Ingrid Haas	...	Blake
Stig Frode Henriksen	...	Glenn Kenneth
Hallvard Holmen	...	Gunga
Kristoffer Joner	...	Sidekick Zombie
Amrita Acharia	...	Reidun
Derek Mears	...	Stavarin
Bjarte Tjøstheim	...	Priest
Christian Rubeck	...	Politiman
Charlotte Frogner	...	Hanna
Jesper Sundnes	...	Nazi Doktor
Tage Guddingsmo	...	Zombie Navigatør

Storyline

If the worst day of your life consisted of accidentally killing your girlfriend with an axe, chain-sawing your own arm off, and watching in horror as your closest friends were devoured by a zombified Nazi battalion, you'd have to assume that things couldn't get much worse. In Martin's case, that was only the beginning.

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Plot Keywords:

zombie | soviet zombie | nazi zombie | sequel | stabbed in the throat | 

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Taglines:

The sequel you did Nazi coming... (UK Blu-ray)

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore throughout, and language including some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Norway Iceland USA UK

Language:

Norwegian English German

Release Date:

7 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Snow - Red vs. Dead

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Box Office

Budget:

NOK 35,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tappeluft Pictures, Saga Film, XYZ Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ørjan Gamst and co-star Tage Guddingsmo played together in the Norwegian death metal band "Slogstorm" for several years. Both eventually dropped out of the band.

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Goofs

The Nazizombies are taking Diesel from the touring car to put in the Tiger tank. Tiger tanks ran on Petrol, not Diesel. It would be nearly impossible to start the engine and if that somehow would succeed, it would not run smoothly.

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Quotes

Glenn Kenneth: Please don't hurt me. I have two kittens.

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Crazy Credits

There is a scene after the ending credits.

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Alternate Versions

There is an unofficial FanEdit of the two "Dead Snow" movies back to back, called "Dead Snow 1+2 - The Final Redemption" which omits the intro narrative and is joined as Herzog smashes Martin (Vegar Hoel)'s car window. Runs to just over 3 hours, with all original audio, subtitled for the English audience. It also carries an amusing tagline - "Are you ready to Rot'n'Roll?"

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Connections

References Beyond the Darkness (1979)

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Soundtracks

Total Eclipse of the Heart
Written by Jim Steinman
Performed by Bonnie Tyler
is the last English language song of the movie.

User Reviews

Funnier sequel

Version: Grimm Up North festival screening

Actors: 6/10

Plot/script: 7/10

Photography/visual style: 6/10

Music/score: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

Nazi zombies! 2009's Norwegian horror film 'Dead Snow' was the very definition of a 'high concept' movie, given that it could be fully described and sold with those two words (and punctuation). I found it no more than OK, but someone would appear to have appreciated it because Hollywood tapped director Tommy Wirkola up for 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters', starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton.

Again, critical reviews were somewhat frosty (no pun intended), but H&G:WH made a comfortable profit, and Wirkola has used his industry cred to come back to 'Dead Snow' for a sequel.

The Hollywood influence is evident in several areas of 'Dead Snow 2'. It is considerably larger in scale, for a start, including pitch battles between the undead fascists and their new (or rather, old) Communist adversaries, as well as a tank, large numbers of extras, and a lot more daylight wide shots that indicate a higher budget.

Then there are the American characters, leading to a lot of the dialogue being in English, which is bound to raise the international saleability. It is also a lot funnier. The original played it more-or-less as a straight horror, buying into the ridiculous premise, but the sequel highlights this incongruity for comedic effect.

There are also a few jokes at the expense of the Americans, sly cinematic digs and a whole lot of gore that leans towards the slapstick side. It reminded me more than anything of the Finnish 'Nazis on the Moon' comedy 'Iron Sky', and that is a positive association in my book.

The music is very well-used, and I detected hints of world-building in the nature and rules of the resurrection, raising the prospect of an entire 'Dead Snow' series. There are some slightly uncomfortable hints of terrorist Anders Breivik in the demented Norwegian main character, taking extreme actions in response to a threat others cannot (initially) believe, but maybe I am just reading too much into it.

It's all exuberant fun, with a commendable sense of its own ridiculousness. Some of the gags are a bit low-brow for me, but others are genuinely funny, end even quite witty. Dead Snow 3? Why not, I'd watch!