Something Cult, Foreign-Language or Indie #20: DOUBLE FEATURE! Dead Snow (2009) / Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014).

Seven young, horny medical students have arrived in Oksfjord, Norway for an Easter holiday in the snow. Their itinerary consists basically of drinking, skiing and fucking. They are Martin (Vegar Hoel), Roy (Stig Frode Henriksen), Hanna (Charlotte Frogner), adventurous Vegard (Lasse Valdal), Liv (Evy Kasseth Rosten), movie geek Erland (Jeppe Laursen), and Sara (Ane Dahl Torp). They are just settled into their cabin when an enigmatic wanderer (Bjorn Sundquist), arrives, after a cup of coffee, to warn them of the area's murky history. It turns out during the Second World War, the Nazis abused the local residents for three years until, with the war's end and Germany's defeat imminent, the soldier's looted all the village's valuables. After the locals them ambushed and killed many of them, the survivors then were chased into the mountains where they were thought to have frozen to death. But they did not. And now our gang are about to awake angry Nazi zombies who want their gold back.

Obviously, Dead Snow (2009) is no respectable Holocaust drama, but it was never meant to be. Director (and co-writer with Henriksen) Tommy Wirkola, who's since made the modern horror adaptation of Hansel and Gretel in Hollywood, massacres good taste here with extreme prejudice and takes to the pacing of the whole thing like a kid with a new toy. There's even an arm amputation scene (leaving 127 Hours for dead) that still challenges even me, but if you have the stomach for it as I do, you'll lap it right up.

Now if you're up for seconds, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014) may be even more enjoyable, which is literally miraculous for a horror sequel. It immediately picks up where the first left off, with our sole survivor (who I won't name for spoiler reasons) having a car crash and then waking up, sedated and strapped down in hospital. After now hearing of a so-called American "Zombie Squad" from a tourist who sneaks into his room and then surviving yet another zombie attack which the police pin on him, he flees their custody and has to learn what the squadron's commander Herzog (Orjan Gamst) wants. Now the Zombie Squad, after he contacts them, are revealed as nerdy friends Daniel (Martin Starr), Monica (Jocelyn DeBoer) and Blake (Ingrid Haas), and once they arrive they get sucked right into the battle to truly make the Third Reich history once and for all.

As much as I still love Dead Snow, this one has revealed more of itself to me over repeat viewings, and its gore is slightly more convincing given the bigger budget (although both still stand on their own well enough), and its in-jokes are broader and cleverer. That's essential in any horror comedy, and these two, it must be said, leave most of their American counterparts for undead. And finally, after seeing Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead, I promise you will NEVER listen to Total Eclipse of the Heart in the same way ever again.