Dead Snow
Metascore
61 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    May have a dull title, but it's lively, idiotic fun, at least until it goes too far past "too far" into the realm of "far too far."
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    Wirkola keeps the narrative taut, wasting not a frame; and he throws in funny moments.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    Cheery, silly, splattery, and respectful of its elders (and betters, particularly Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead").
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Gary Goldstein
    70
    Any horror movie with the moxie to play Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" during a zombie attack can't be all bad.
  5. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    70
    The pic reveals itself as a horror-action-comedy a la "Evil Dead," with amusing twists of fate and over-the-top gore.
  6. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    67
    The concept doesn't go much further than the wardrobe department--that is, until a deliriously over-the-top climax finally rouses the film from its "Evil Dead"-mimicking stupor.
  7. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    63
    If you tamp down your expectations -- those gaping plot holes are dangerous! -- there is a storm of scary fun to be had in this Scandinavian splatterfest.
  8. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    Dead Snow, as you may have gathered, is a comedy, but played absolutely seriously by sincere, earnest young actors.
  9. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    60
    This Norwegian zombie flick is perfect for those who just want a few good jolts and whole lot of gore.
  10. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    60
    For more than half of this 90-minute film, director Tommy Wirkola plays things pretty straight--a mistake, perhaps, since the first half is pretty boring--but once the Nazi zombies start arriving en masse, he abruptly shifts to an "Evil Dead"–style zaniness, including the sight of a potential victim hanging off the side of a mountain while using a zombie's entrails as rope.
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    60
    As is often the case with movies of this type, the real stars are the special-effects team, which does some admirably disgusting work.
  12. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    58
    If you love the genre, you'll likely be engaged. But if not, there's not much point.
  13. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Stephen Farber
    50
    This blood-soaked melodrama -- a far cry from most foreign films -- has been a festival favorite and might well develop a cult following, though it's far too gory to reach beyond the core audience.
  14. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Walter Addiego
    50
    This splatter film is set in Norway, but rest assured, it sticks with the formula. The young people to be killed off are just as obnoxious as their counterparts in American gorefests.
  15. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Stephen Cole
    50
    So Dead Snow fulfills one zombie-movie prerequisite. It's different.
  16. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    Combining the undead and the Third Reich seems like a novel idea--the peanut butter and jelly of trash culture--but in fact Spanish exploitation legend Jesus Franco already got to it back in 1981 with "Oasis of the Zombies."

User Reviews

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User Score
6.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. maciejs
    10
    This movie was awesome, a real cult and revival of the old school zombie movies, and also gorelike movies overallz. Nazi zombies reminds me of a classic film entitled Surf Nazis Must Die.… Full Review »
  2. ILHM
    7
    Martin and his friends head out to the mountains for some hijinks in the snow, but their weekend trip turns in to a bloody battle for survival when they take from a cache of Nazi gold that holds a terrible curse. Now, they bare the wrath of the undead as the Nazi foot soldiers come back from beneath the mountain to reclaim their stolen treasure! Tommy Wirkola's cult-sensation, DEAD SNOW, immediately sets the tone with its frequent genre references and familiar settings. Sam Raimi's unmistakable influence and signature form of splatstic humor is clearly felt in every moment. Unlike the many other homages to THE EVIL DEAD, however, DEAD SNOW stays fresh, fast-paced, and exciting, while scoring big points in the make-up department with several winning zombie designs and a slew of ridiculously gory gags that shock as much as they entertain. Whatever shortcomings exist in the plot or characters are more than made up for in mindless carnage, making DEAD SNOW a real treat for gore fans.… Full Review »
  3. Javike7
    10
    Watch it! Zombie fans out there will not be disappointed.I thought it was a well thought out combination of horror and action, with a gore in tones of the old style movies. There is plenty of reference to great Zombie films such as Evil Dead, Braindead, among others. It is by far one of the very best zombie movies I've watched.… Full Review »
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