The words “Nazi Zombie horror film” will either repulse you immediately or entice and spark your imagination with unbearable horror fanboy glee. If you are the latter, your prayers have been answered thanks to a flawed but undeniably fun romp. Owing more than a debt of gratitude to Evil Dead 2 and Shaun of the Dead the brilliant idea works despite some routine human characters and unfortunate dialogue. Regardless the image of a hundred Nazi Zombies running through the blood soaked Norwegian Alps is a sight to behold.

This Scandinavian horror film starts innocently enough with a group of horny medical students enjoying an Easter vacation in a remote mountain cabin. The skiing and alcohol consumption soon give way to a fight for survival as they are invaded by a legion of Nazi Zombies who crave human intestines.

The great:
The film’s action set pieces are low-budget horror heaven. The blood is relentless and the contrast against the white snow creates some memorably gruesome moments. Making the Third Reich part of the living dead was a stroke of genius.

The good:
The film acknowledges how much it owes to Sam Raimi and this makes the whole experience much more enjoyable. Rather than focusing on the blatant rip off, the name dropping makes the movie a benign homage from a loyal fan. As with Evil Dead 2 this film is good ol’ dumb, blood-filled horror fun.

The not so good:
The sexed up student element doesn’t work as either parody or straight horror, which makes the first appearance of the Fuhrer’s henchman a welcomed relief. Since the human element is so poorly developed it’s hard to find anyone to care for.

Dead Snow is not the greatest horror film ever made but it has enough scares and sense of fun to make the 90 minutes fly by. Did I mention the film has Nazi Zombies?

3 ½ stars.

Dead Snow is showing at the Melbourne International Film Festival tomorrow (Saturday, August 1) at 11.30pm at Greater Union. It's also showing on Friday, August 7 at 7pm at Greater Union. For ticket information hit up the MIFF website.

Here's the Dead Snow trailer: