Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead

This may end up being a fairly short review, because I really don't want to do any spoilers. I know I always say that, but this time I'm sticking to my guns, or in this case bloody hammer. Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead is the sequel to Dead Snow, a Norwegian zombie movie. Now, Dead Snow was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but for the most part it is a just an over-the-top zombie movie. What made it unique was the Nazis. I mean if zombies are awesome, Nazi zombies are, umm, what's better than awesome.

I saw Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead in an encore screening as part of the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival. Going in, all I knew about it was the title. From the Red vs Dead, I figured it would be, Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies. How awesome would that be? So in the couple of days leading up to it, what was going through my mind was:

Please let it be Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies.
Please let it be Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies.
Please let it be Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies.
Please let it be Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies.
Please let it be Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies.
...

Well, it did not disappoint, and to be honest if all it was was Commie zombies vs Nazi zombies, I would have been happy. Oh, but it was so much more than that. Miguel Rodriguez who organized Horrible Imaginings Festival said that it was like they took the first movie and turned it up to 11. That's pretty accurate.

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead starts pretty much immediately after the Dead Snow. There is a brief recap of the first movie, so if you haven't seen the first film, you'll be up-to-speed by the time the second movie starts. 

Now, I'm not what you would call a zombie purist. I figure the mythology of the modern zombie film, goes back to Night of the Living Dead (1968). Any mythology that was created in my lifetime is fair game. I am fine with zombies being the result of a curse. I am fine with them being the result of an infection. I'm okay with slow moving zombies. I'm not real crazy about fast-moving zombies, but that's mostly because they freak me out. Admittedly, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead does take some liberties, but in my mind, I'm okay with it because they are doing it to serve the story.

I don't know what else I can say about it without giving away too much, except that the story was for lack of a better word, clever. For example, something happens fairly early in the film that was very funny, and I would have expected it to be a throw-away gag. It turns out it was a plot point the drove the entire film. In fact, the film would have fallen apart without it. You see, clever. Plus, it had the best use in intestines ever. It surprised me, in a good way. 

I'll close with my 14-year-old daughter Jasmine's review. We have been watching a lot of movies together lately, and she has this way of describing a movie in about 10 words in a way that is both funny and insightful. Her reaction:

Pure genius, but what did I just see and why?