Scandinavian TV and cinema — not to forget literature — have been spreading their goodness around the world for a while now, having produced some of the best work in crime and dark fantasy seen anywhere. TV shows such as The Killing (2007-2012), The Bridge (2011- ), Borgen (2010- ), The Eagle (2004-2006), The Protectors (2008- ) and the several versions of Henning Mankell’s Wallander novels have set high standards for crime and political drama worldwide. Then there are genre films such as Let the Right One In [aka Låt den rätte komma in] (Sweden-2008; dir. Tomas Alfredson) and Trollhunter [aka Trolljegeren] (Norway-2010; dir. André Øvredal), which both made enough of a splash to be granted the dubious honour of a Hollywood makeover.
So what about the zombie apocalypse subgenre? Well, a Danish crew have decided to dive into that particularly bloody pool with the low-budget independent feature Escaping the Dead (Denmark-2014; dir. Martin Sonntag and Bastian Brinch Pedersen).
Clearly it will involve a lot of running. And blood.
Inspired by the incident where Ronald Poppo had his face eaten by a naked man hooked on bathsalt in Miami, combined with a series of articles regarding the so-called deathdrug “Krokodil”, Escaping the Dead features what director Martin Sonntag describes as “the perfect zombie plot”, that is, a deathdrug that turns people into cannibalistic zombies. Sonntag describes it here:
The film has its starting point in a typical day for the lead character, David. David is the local marihuana pusher, but he is the kind of dealer that smokes more than he sells. In the meantime the country has been hit by a new deathdrug and when David and his partner-in-crime Ahmir is offered some exceptionally cheap cocaine they see it as an opportunity to earn big money at the big techno concert the following Friday, but the cocaine turns out to have a terrible side effect that creates a giant zombie outbreak that spreads across the entire Copenhagen. In the film we follow David and his bloody fight out of the city.
Check out the first trailer for the film:
[youtube sXtaCB6mt7U]
Directed by Martin Sonntag and Bastian Brinch Pedersen, Escaping the Dead stars Bastian Brinch Pedersen (who is also the co-director and producer of the film) as David, Rama Øzel as Ahmir, along with Daniel Hutera, Ali Öezkan, Iben Ma Bønnelycke, Nicolai Huan Nguyen, Camilla Ludvigsen and Kim Sønderholm (“Blood Fare”, “The Winedancers”, “Sinister Visions”) playing Lars the policeman.
The above picture shows Bastian Brinch Pedersen and Kim Sønderholm, “exhausted from escaping a horde of zombies and having finally found a safe resting place. Or is it?”
Escaping the Dead is due for release this year.
More Stills from the Film:
Source: Apotheosis PR
