Holy shit, it’s cold! M.L. Miller aka the @$$hole formerly known as Ambush Bug here. Let’s continue the countdown fun with the Best Snow-Covered horror films into the chilly month of February. To be fair, I’m going to forgo repeating myself with Holiday horror films since we covered that last month.

The frigid air, the crunch of snow underfoot, and the contrast between red blood and pure white snow makes Snow-covered horror films one of my favorite sub-subgenre’s of horror. I’m going to count down the films that made me feel the chilliest while watching. As far as how I compiled this list? Well, there’s no real method to my special brand of madness. I’ll be counting down every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through December to my favorite snow-covered horror film of the year. I’m sure there are some that I’ve missed, overlooked, or simply haven’t seen yet, but that’s what the comments section below is all about.

So let’s get to it! Chime in after the article and let me know what you think of the film, how on the nose or mind-numbingly wrong I am, and most importantly, come up with your own damn list…let’s go!

#5 – DEAD SNOW – #5

Why is DEAD SNOW #5? This bombastic gore-party in the snow deserves it’s spot high on this countdown. It celebrates the horror genre in ways few films do—by making a pink slushy snowman out of bloody snow. Gore filled and proud of it, DEAD SNOW is simply amazing. You can find it here on DVD/BluRay and on Amazon here!

DEAD SNOW (2009)

aka DOD SNO, RED SNOW
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Written by Tommy Wirkola, Stig Frode Henriksen
Starring Jeppe Beck Laursen, Charlotte Frogner, Jenny Skavlan, Lasse Valdal, Evy Kasseth Røsten, Jeppe Beck Laursen, Jenny Skavlan, Ane Dahl Torp, Bjørn Sundquist, Ørjan Gamst

Much like many iconic horror films, I remember the night I first encountered DEAD SNOW. It was a midnight movie at the Music Box (the Chicago equivalent to Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse) and I watched it with a crowd full of horror fans and gore hounds and we all hooted and hollered in awe at the gory mayhem Tommy Wirkola unleashed with DEAD SNOW. To this day, I still marvel at the madness of this film and it remains one of the most enjoyable gorefests you’re ever bound to see.

The story of DEAD SNOW is going to be a familiar one to gore fans, but all it takes is a few tweaks Wirkola adds to the mix that makes this film a true classic. A group of friends get together for some hearty partying and happen upon an ancient relic that resurrects the dead and turns them into flesh hungry monsters. It’s a story told and told again in the genre of horror—everything from EVIL DEAD to CABIN IN THE WOODS follows this well-worn path. But what makes this film so much fun is that it is set in the snow covered hills of Norway, the undead are Nazi zombies, and the film is as gory and tasteless as all get out. Adding these three elements is what makes Wirkola’s film so superb.

The genius of this film comes from it’s wholehearted acknowledgement of these tropes. Characters joke about horror movies, wear horror movie memorabilia, and obviously have seen these films, still they take the same path as the countless victims have taken in the same movies they have seen. While Nazi zombies aren’t anything necessarily new (see ZOMBIE LAKE or SHOCK WAVES), this film casts them in a much more cartoonish and dare I say it, fun light with the horror they unleash unfolding in slapstick ways as they tear through the party people. But don’t feel bad for these humans, a lot of cartoonish violence is inflicted on the Nazis as well. In tone, this is the closest you’re going to get to the raw gory mayhem found in EVIL DEAD II and early Peter Jackson films like DEAD ALIVE and BAD TASTE.

And the effects themselves are amazing. Seeing these people getting torn apart in gory, gory ways contrasted with the pure white snow is pure splatter poetry. Intestines are dragged out of folks. Heads are split in half and lopped off. And it’s all done in a Loony Tunes manner that will send the prudes for the exits and have the gorehounds howling.

DEAD SNOW is a film filled with horror fanboy glee. The love of the horror genre is palpable here and better yet, the film’s insanity continues in DEAD SNOW 2, another amazing horror film in its own right. I envy those who have yet to enjoy DEAD SNOW. You’re going to remember the experience, never mind when or how you see it.

If you like what I wrote above, help me out and buy it on Amazon here

THE COUNTDOWN SO FAR…
#14 – THE LAST WINTER
#13 – THE DARK BELOW
#12 – POD
#11 – EXTINCTION
#10 – DEVIL’S PASS
#9 – MUTANTES
#8 – TROLLHUNTER
#7 – COLD PREY
#6 – LET THE RIGHT ONE IN/LET ME IN
#5 – DEAD SNOW

M.L. Miller goes by many names—Ambush Bug, Mark L. Miller, hey you jerk over there! He’s an original @$$Hole/wordslinger/writer of wrongs/reviewer/interviewer/editor of MLMILLERWRITES.COM. Follow Mark on the Twitters @Mark_L_Miller.

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