It seems the Scandinavians know something we don’t: the Nazis are coming back. There are a slew of delicious looking indie features coming out of Northern Europe, three of which share a common antagonist: Nazis. Why this sudden interest in a decades-old threat? What is it about the present day that makes fascism even scarier than usual?

Iron Sky, a Finnish film about Nazis escaping to the moon at the end of WWII and returning to destroy Earth in 2018, is currently in pre-production. The filmmakers did a terrific job promoting their last film, Star Wreck, online. For Iron Sky, they are involving fans in every step of the process, including funding. They’ve already produced a killer trailer (see above).

The English subtitled version of the trailer for Dead Snow hit the web last week (via Twitch). The film, produced in Norway, follows a group of young people in a secluded cabin, fighting for survival against a horde of zombie Nazis. It looks like classic horror based on a fresh and funny premise.

But why Nazis and why now?

The third film that comes to mind when thinking about this trend is not a genre film like the other two, but a WWII period piece. Flame & Citron, a Danish film about the true story of resistance fighters in Copenhagen, is a superb blend of action, espionage, and high drama.

Nazis have been villains in movies for as long as they’ve been around. In many ways they’re the perfect adversaries. They’ve driven, methodical, and ruthlessly evil. Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer, and Hellboy, among many others, have had success inserting Nazis into fantasy. In the case of these movies, as well as Iron Sky and Dead Snow, the Nazi threat is amped up by a fantastic trump card, a hidden ace that would let the fascists overturn the precarious balance of power. It could be a jet pack, the Ark of the Covenant, a secret moon base, or hunger for brains long after death.

So in one sense, the move toward more Nazi villains is obvious: they are scary and evil. But I think there is more to it. This is somewhat speculative, but there is a sense of dread and paranoia that is very palpable, especially in Flame & Citron, which seems more relevant now than ever before. I normally devote this weekly column to post-apocalyptic or dystopian futures, but talking about Flame & Citron seems appropriate here. Although it is set in WWII, it is essentially apocalyptic, the characters are struggling to prevent the end of their world. Without the advantage of hindsight there was no light at the end of the tunnel. While the cost of the War on the United States was tremendous, I imagine the impact of the war on nations that were occupied or otherwise strong-armed by the Nazis was even more dreadful.

What Flame & Citron reveals is that fascism is such a sneaky enemy because while it seeks to destroy dissenters, it also rewards the party faithful. In other words, every individual has to choose whether to oppose fascism and face certain doom, or tolerate it and try to play it to their advantage.

It’s not unreasonable to say that the renewed interest in the threat of fascism, especially from a part of the world like Northern Europe, is directly linked to current global politics. With the proliferation of terrorist watch lists, warrantless wiretapping, and secret prisons, nations and individuals not directly effected by the conflict are forced to choose: remain complicit, or stand up to a threat you may feel powerless to stop. Either way, these are scary times.