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Released by: Well Go USA
Released on: December 9th, 2014.
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Cast: Vegar Hoel, Organ Gamst, Martin Starr
Year: 2014
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The Movie:
Once again directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead essentially picks up right where the first movie left off. Martin (Vegar Hoel, reprising his role from the first movie) wakes up in a hospital, where he's been recovering since dealing with Colonel Herzog (í˜rjan Gamst) and his horde of Nazi zombies. While this might appear to be all well and good, Martin has a few problems. First off, he's being accused of killing his friends, the ones that Herzog and company dealt with so nastily in the original Dead Snow. The second problem? The doctors 'did him a favor' by stitching his severed arm back into its socket, unaware that it wouldn't quite grow into the rest of Martin's torso without one Hell of a fight…. because it's not his arm, it's Herzog's.
As Martin's arm wreaks havoc, he soon learns that Herzog is still out there and that the zombie officer is intent on finishing what he started - namely, killing Martin. Obviously no one will believe Martin's story, it's pretty outlandish, but then he comes into contact with an unlikely group of American zombie hunter types. The Americans head to Martin to team up with him but don't prove to be as efficient as he'd hoped, all while Herzog rallies his undead troops in hopes of completing a director order from Der Fí¼hrer himself! With no one else to turn to, Martin and his pals find themselves forced to ally themselves with a recently resurrected Russian officer and his troops to stop Herzog once and for all.
If it sounds ridiculous, that's because it is but damn it all if this movie isn't a whole lot of fun. On the surface it may sound like Wirkola and his team have thrown in everything but the kitchen sink but the story actually flows quite well regardless of how many off the wall scenarios and characters are thrown into the mix throughout the movie. The way that the team of 'good guys' comes together is pretty amusing and well thought out and actually fairly clever while the bad guys just continue to 'roll on' as seemingly unstoppable death machines! If the performances are a little over the top at times, that's only because that's what the material calls for - generally speaking, all of that works in the context of story being told.
The effects tend to be show stoppers as well - there's a LOT of gore here and the filmmakers don't pull any punches in this regard. Those who like their zombie movies nice and bloody will appreciate the extent to which Wirkola's crew have gone to deliver the gory goods. Throw in a lot of genuinely effective humor and wrap it all up with some decent production values and some really slick pacing and camera work and Dead Snow 2: Red Vs. Dead turns out to be one of those rare sequels that improves considerably on what came before it.
Note that this Blu-ray release includes the theatrical version of the movie, which was shot with the actor's speaking in English, as well as the international version of the movie, in which the actors all speak Norwegian. Though the dialogue scenes were shot twice (once for each version) the two cuts pretty much tell the exact same story - which version you prefer will really come down to which option you'd prefer: people speaking English with Norwegian accents or English subtitles over Norwegian dialogue.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Well Go USA's AVC encoded 1080p High Definition 2.35.1 widescreen transfer is a good one. The film was shot in HD so making the jump to Blu-ray isn't so much of a stretch and the results are generally very strong. Detail is generally very strong, especially in close up shots, while texture and tone are also good. The night scenes that take place outside have a blue tint to them but that was obviously intentional on the part of Wirkola and his team. There are no problems with any compression artifacts and shadow detail is strong here too. A very solid transfer.
Audio tracks are supplied in for the theatrical version in English language DTS-HD 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. For the International version we get options in Norwegian DTS-HD 5.1 or French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The 5.1 mix is the more enjoyable of the two as it does a fine job of spreading out a lot of the sound effects used throughout the movie in the action and gore sequences. Bass response is strong on both tracks as are levels, which remain properly balanced throughout. As you'd expect for a movie made just this year, there are no problems with any hiss or distortion and the dialogue remains clearly audible throughout the movie.
Outside of the two versions of the movie, we also get a commentary from Tommy Mirkola and writer Stig Frode Henriksen (who speak in perfect English) that covers what was involved in trying to follow up and outdo the first movie. They discuss the casting in the film, the effects work, the humor that is a big part of what makes this movie so fun, the copious amount of gore scenes and quite a lot more. It's a well-paced track and as you'd rightfully assume, it's delivered with a good sense of humor. The effects are also covered in a quick two minute VFX Featurette that is really more of an effect highlight reel than much else.
The Blu-ray also includes a short film called Armen (14:00) about a man whose arm gets severed, only to have it regrow and take on a mind of its own! Outside of that, look for a trailer for the feature, a Dead Snow comic book (on the disc, this is not a comic inserted into the case), promos for a few other Well Go USA properties, menus and chapter selection. The Blu-ray case for this collector's edition release also includes a nifty slipcover featuring cover art identical to the insert but with some slick red foil embossment on it.
The Final Word:
Dead Snow 2 is a funnier, gorier and just more entertaining movie than its predecessor and Well Go USA have really done it right with this Blu-ray release containing both versions of the movie in excellent high definition presentations as well as a few other complimentary extras.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
