Picking up mere moments after the original film ends, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead finds lone survivor Martin (Vegar Hoel) fleeing the horde of gold loving Nazi zombies. After narrowly escaping the grasp of the undead Nazi general (Ørjan Gamst), Martin wakes up in the hospital only to find that he is going to be charged with the death of his friends and girlfriend. It seems that zombies awakening in the mountain, killing your friends and making you accidentally impale your girlfriend with an axe, is not considered a plausible story by police standards.

When Martin begins to get visions of the Nazis making their way down the mountain and heading towards the general population, he knows that it is only a matter of time before they take over Norway and then the world. With his once severed arm now reattached, and seemingly possessed with a mind of its own, Martin escapes from the hospital and set out to try to stop the pending zombie invasion. Seeking the help of American zombie experts known as the Zombie Squad, a trio of undead enthusiasts who have yet to even see a zombie in the flesh, Martin sets out to build an army of his own to combat the pending evil.

Finding a wealth of humour in Martin’s reformed appendage, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead is a vast improvement over the original film. Playing like a zombie version of the Evil Dead 2, director Tommy Wirkola’s film moves at a fairly brisk pace. Unlike the original film, Dead Snow 2 takes itself far less seriously. Wirkola is clearly having more fun this time around. He even pats himself on the back with lines regarding the fact that he is “creating a new genre.” While these claims are debatable, he does bring a certain level of insanity to the proceedings.

The film features everything from zombie surgeons to dark magic that can reanimate zombies multiple times. The “Total Eclipse of the Heart” scene alone will have you contemplating the sexual nature of zombies…a mental image no one should have. Though some of the logic is head scratching at best, those who willing go into Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead will not be there for a coherent plot. For their part, the cast is more than up for letting loose. The addition of Martin Starr to the series, as the Zombie Squad’s fearless leader Daniel, is probably one of the best decisions Wirkola makes. Starr nicely captures the silly tone of the film and is a joy to watch on screen. While several notches above its predecessor, which is not that hard considering how bland that film was, Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead is a film that will primarily please hardcore zombie fans.