Norway. Home to black metal, the most extreme form of underground music on the planet and birthplace to some of the most creative minds of recent times, be it music, literature or the arts. So it’s about time they took a stab at the horror genre, and they should be commended on their effort. Everything about this film has cult written all over it, I mean honestly, who can resist a zombie Third Reich? This film created quite a stir at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, earning rave reviews for first time director Tommy Wirkola and his band of merry men. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more of this guy in years to come.

Opening with a painfully catchy orchestral piece by Edvard Grieg, you’d think you were watching a Tim Burton film. But it does not take long for this films true colours to show. A genre film at heart, we get the usual setup: a band of friends off trekking through the mountains for a weekend retreat at an isolated cabin (Cabin Fever anyone?) Each of the lead actors fill their roles satisfyingly enough, with some very sharp dialogue that manages to drop reference to the classic Sam Raimi films of the 80’s, as well as poke fun at Mr. Schwarzenegger. Cue the late night door knock and a visit by an old man with a creepy story to tell. It’s like an old pirate story about stolen treasure with the pirates in this case, being Nazi soldiers on the run, who after the war fled to the hills with their stolen bounty. Things unfold at a brisk pace with some very cool original music by some unknown metal bands as well as a solid orchestral score which gives atmosphere to the more jumpy moments.

The gore isn’t over the top like recent fare such as The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn & Saw franchises, but still manages to be suitably nasty, with a variety of weapons used as tools of destruction, much like the games Dead Rising & left 4 Dead, and there are some well thought out action set pieces ably back by great makeup effects that don’t rely too heavily on cgi. The film is very well shot, with some fantastic cinematic shots of the beautiful Norwegian countryside and not to mention a downright dirty sex scene, credit also has to be given to the sound mix, with every gust of wind, creaking floor board and zombie groan heard perfectly if your lounge room is equipped for Dolby audio.

It’s not the most original film you’ll watch, but as far as the zombie genre goes, it’s a breath of fresh air from the straight to dvd nonsense we’re subjected to each month (yes Lionsgate, I’m talking to you!) This film should find its way to our stores soon enough, so if you fancy a Friday night movie to kickback and crack a few beers to, this will be sure to suffice, just make sure your  common sense is elsewhere at the time.

Written by ‘Los Skullptor’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.