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.
Today on FilmCouch we re-examine the intersection of web video and cinema. Specifically, how does a filmmaker find the land of milk and honey that lies somewhere between the flash-in-the-pan uber-meme and making videos for three Youtube contacts. To aid in our search we talk to two internet-famous creators who have found the sweet spot. First up, Brad Neely, the demented mind behind The Professor Brothers, Baby Cakes, and that unbelievably funny George Washington rap video. Then we talk to Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, whose film Star Wreck has found a global audience online. Vuorensola and company are now on to their next project, Iron Sky, a sci-fi romp involving a super secret Nazi Moon colony, which is currently generating funds using a brilliant grass-roots effort called Wreck A Movie.
Of course, like many others I would wish for them to have never existed, because millions of lives are more important than any number of classic movies. But the Nazis did happen, and they continue to populate cinema for better or worse. We all know about the latest product of Hollywood’s Nazi fetish, Valkyrie, and we’ve seen a ridiculous trailer for a new Russian Hitler farce titled Hitler Kaput!, which shouldn’t be confused with Germany’s recently announced Hitler comedy Mein Kampf, based on a play by George Tabori (I Confess). And now, because we still need Nazi sci-fi, there’s Iron Sky, for which a teaser trailer (see above) has just been released.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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