Dead Snow comes highly recommended by several members of our horror family as a terrifyingly fun winter watch. This Norwegian film, released in 2009, has been labeled a horror comedy. Typically, films in this sub-genre fail to raise the heart rate on our FearScale. Find out if this wintry zombie movie could shock our subject’s pulse to life.
Where to Watch:
SYNOPSIS:
A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.
Test Subject: Leah
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Fears: Hylophobia (Fear of Woods, Forests, Trees)
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
An electric opening kicked off the film raising our subject’s heart rate to 71bpm. The pacing slowed however as the cast of characters enjoyed snowmobiling through beautiful mountain scenery. Only sixteen minutes later a haunting outhouse scene freaked out our subject and we recorded an 80bpm spike. These spooky build-ups worked on her nerves. They maintained high levels which carried her into bigger heart racing moments. Generally, excessive gore does not affect our subjects due the abrupt nature but Dead Snow delivered lengthy cringeworthy carnage. The incredible special effects along with effective jump scares produced several peaks above 90bpm. Even though the scares diminished during the third act, her heart continued to race through a frenetic finale.
CONCLUSION:
Dead Snow (2009) is a gorefest in broad daylight that drenches the wintry landscape in blood red. From reading the synopsis or looking at the cover art, we did not expect the film to generate such high heart rate results. Intense and sometimes uncomfortable moments created memorable scenes worthy of a hilarious post film discussion. A combination of laughs, jumps and a bit of acid reflux make Dead Snow the scariest horror-comedy we’ve monitored to date.
Dead Snow: Burns an average of 212 Calories
Sno-Cone (3 pumps of Syrup): 270 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Dead Snow? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
