When I saw the trailer for Frozen I groaned my discontent
loudly. It looked like just another killer-in-the-woods mediocre
slasher flick. Well I'm eating my words now, because Frozen is actually a creepy, tense film that will have your hair standing on end.
The
premise is simple: Joe (Shawn Ashmore), Dan (Kevin Zegers), and Parker
(Emma Bell) spend their Sunday snowboarding and skiing at a local
resort. When Joe complains that they've been on the bunny hill all day
because Dan brought his inexperienced girlfriend, the three decide to
do one last (real) run before the hill closes. That's when things take
a nasty turn. Halfway up the hill the chairlift comes to a stop. The
three skiers wait a few minutes thinking it will start back up -- it
doesn't. Night falls and they realize they're stranded. Panic sets in.
Will they survive the night or will the frigid temperatures, not to
mention the hungry wolves watching them from the woods below, take
their toll before help arrives?
If there's one thing the film
does well it's build tension by using sound, or the lack thereof.
Quieter moments where all you can hear is the wind blowing and the
humming of the wire holding the chairlift had me so unsettled I swear I
could feel the temperature drop in the theatre. The film is also
superbly shot and the sweeping images of our three helpless victims
dangling actually made my fear of heights kick in. All of this is
refreshing to see onscreen when most horror films these days rely on
buckets of blood and gore to get a reaction or are cheap on locations
and shoot against a green screen.
Director Adam Green is a hardcore horror fan and it's nice to see he's grown as a filmmaker since Hatchet, the 2006 slasher film he wrote and directed. And although I found Hatchet
to be a decent enough film at the time, it is exactly the type of movie
I thought this would turn out to be. Instead, Green delivers the
ultimate thriller and proves that it's what you don't show that is the
scariest. The cast deserves kudos too considering the entire movie is
focused on them. Especially Bell, who as the only female character
delivers such a strong performance I wouldn't be surprised to see her
land some huge roles after this.
Similar to 2003's Open Water, where two people were accidentally abandoned in shark-infested waters, Frozen
will cause you to feel uneasy and anxious. And if you choose to watch
it I highly recommend seeing it in the theatre where the overall
experience will be heightened.
**** out of 5 stars
Rated R
Cast: Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers
Directed by: Adam Green
Official Site IMDb
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
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Top image: Emma Bell in a scene from Frozen. Courtesy Anchor Bay Entertainment.