Austria 2016 78m Directed by: Dominik Hartl. Starring: Laurie Calvert, Gabriela Marcinková, Oscar Dyekjær Giese, Margarete Tiesel, Karl Fischer, Kari Rakkola, Martin Loos, Patricia Aulitzky, Christian Roupec, Christian Schiesser, Martina Schölzhorn, Walter Spanny, Julia Stipsits. Music by: Paul Gallister.
Steve, a young professional snowboarder, ruins a high-paying photoshoot with a silly prank, causing him, his girlfriend Branka and fellow snowboarder Josh to be left behind on the mountain. They seek shelter in a garish, loud aprés-ski tavern that is hosting an all-night party for the last night of the season. Things go from bad to worse when a scientific experiment conducted by a local entrepreneur unleashes an epidemic of zombies and mutant wildlife.
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As a horror advocate I found this to be a refreshing new take with the hilariously-disgusting features such as witnessing a zombie being gouged with ski poles in the eyes. I was able to laugh while still cringing. It isn't so much of what is being done but how its done. Imagine it to be a parody of it's own original zombie comedy. The reason I think this movie falls under the horror category is because of all the guts and gory action. On a more lighthearted note, it is oozing with bloody-fantastic puns, something that sets the tone for this epic satire. See the irony here.
The plot follows three young quirky snowboarders abandoned on a mountain in the Australian Alps as they get caught in a science experiment gone horror-bly wrong which sets up a unique plot twist for the whole zombie apocalypse theme. I was highly amused by the montage of these snowboarders savagely-destroying mutant zombies. In addition, I must acknowledge the mutant wild life and how no one has thought of including that in a zombie film till now. This movie had me dying of laughter, figuratively speaking.
As someone majoring in film I found the cinematography to be very inspiring. When working on a low-budget film, it can be very difficult to create practical visuals that make you feel like you're apart of the movie. Everything from the lively sound effects to the lighting and camera angles played a major role in creating realistic and more believably scenes. Also as a sports fanatic I really enjoyed the wicked aerial shots of the snowboarding stunts. The director, Dominik Hartl, did a fabulous job of incorporating many different movie genres in order to capture the interests of a wide variety of movie fans. There's even romance between characters. Credit goes out to this film for already winning two awards. One award for Best Special Features and another given by the audience for Best Feature.
I'll admit that the movie really captures a specific crowd for those drawn in by dry humor and an appreciation for ridiculousness. The delivery of this movie is meant to be sarcastic and that's a big reason why I was entertained by it. The best way to explain the expectations for this movie, in my opinion, is a combination of "Shaun of The Dead", "Warm Bodies", and "A Million Ways to Die in the West." This one wins my vote and is worth the watch!
Review by Sarah Taylor from the Internet Movie Database.