The
Film: Frozen (2010) BUY IT
The Principals: Shawn Ashmore. Kevin Zegers. Emma Bell. Wolves. Adam F’in Green (who
directed).
The Premise: Three kids get stuck on a ski lift and face brutal weather, scary heights, hungry wolves, and their own psyche.
“It was then that I realized I was no longer fresh faced enough to be in a Bryan Singer film…”
Adam Green goes from hatchet wielding Hodders to Hitchcockian suspense in a high concept little number that works way better than it ought to. I mean, stripped down it’s basically Open Water in a Cold Chair. Two best friends (including chilly X-Man Shawn Ashmore) convene for their ritual of hanging out and partying and skiing, but this time one of them (Zegers) has brought his girlfriend (Bell) and it messes with the dynamic because she’s a novice skier and because it was supposed to be a gentleman’s weekend. As a result they feel compelled to get one more ride down the mountain in but the park’s about to close so they bribe the ski lift operator to let them go up…
…and they’re forgotten about. Hanging up above the frozen earth in the rapidly cooling air with the park about to be closed for a week, three young people come face to face with mortality. And the bonds of love and friendship. And wolves that like the taste of YOU!
Is It Good: Yes!
“Gripping.” – Orlando Sentinel
Is It Worth A Look: Yes, provided one doesn’t expect to be totally blown away. There are some nice moments and Shawn Ashmore really shines in a role that asks us to buy him (sorta) as a nerd. Though the idea of a pack of wolves showing up over the course of one night and really putting a damper in people’s plans is a bit of a stretch [I graduated from Wolf School with a major in Wolf Thoughts and a minor in Wolf Stuff so I know], I’m not too put off by it. And these wolves really like to eat humans. Like hairy snouted piranha, clicking their teeth and licking the blood away and stripping a person down to their bonebody in no time. These wolves are HARSH.
Adding to the mix is the frostbite that threatens to ruin delicate perfect twentysomething flesh. And the impressive heights!
Newsflash: Do not jump/fall from a ski lift chair.
“Zzzzzzzzzzzz-WHOA! Honey I had this awful dream that I was trapped on a ski lift and I concussed you and your best friend and ate you both even though we’d only been trapped for six minutes and…. honey? Honey’s best friend? OH NO, NOT AGAINNNNNNNNNNN!”
The movie cranks along at a nice pace, doesn’t make the conversations too arch and expository, and has the guts to do some pretty unfortunate things to the trio of young people. It’s a painful film to watch at times and that’s how it’s supposed to be. Adam Green’s a good addition to the horror genre and he seems to be in it for the long haul. Frozen‘s a good little flick, and certainly not one I’d overhype, but one that’ll deliver a few nice bends where you expect forks and a flick that is going to set man/wolf relations back a few decades.
See it.
Random Anecdotes: There’s a Sarlaac Pit discussion. There are references to web horror dudes like the lovely Spooky Dan. The wolves are much more menacing than the wolf in Grizzly Park.
“Tastes like Jerry Mintt.”
7 comments
Watched this last week and while it had its moments I thought the actions the characters take made it to too dumb to enjoy. I mean the first thing they attempt to do (spoiler I guess) is have one of the guys plummet from lift to frozen ground. They don't even try to lower him down a bit 1st, or make a "rope" of some kind. I couldn't really get past that since after that goes exactly as we all knew it would, they were fucked.
Servo…if they had built a rope that would require them to remove layers of clothing…which in turn would cause them to freeze by the time they got the "rope" together and either all went down the mountain or one went and came back to get the others…and it wouldnt have matter if they lowered him down a bit…they were landing on what was essentially ice…not snow…he would have broke his legs no matter what
Servo, people jump off lifts all the time. I've done it and the character that jumped told his friends he had done it before. It actually does make the most sense to try that first as even if you got hurt you might still be able to get to the bottom and get help. No one could forsee him getting THAT hurt but then again they were really, really high up. I think the characters did exactly what real people would do and the behind the scenes were amazing to watch to not only see how they did it but also to watch them skewer all of the know it alls online who think they had a better plan. So great!
If we're getting into an argument about reality, I'm pretty damn sure they could've survived the cold long enough to tie their coats together and lower someone down, then untie them and put them back on.
Watched Frozen a couple of weeks back. Enjoyed it – didn't have much of a problem with anything – 'cept of course it's ACTUALLY the Pit of Carkoon in which the Sarlaac resides and not technically the Sarlaac Pit but to knock marks off for that would be churlish. And that Tales of an Ancient Empire just shows how cheap trash used to have charm and spirit – but now just comes off as cheap and crap.
The hour long doc on the Blu-ray is fantastic. The actors bared their souls during the filming of this movie. Frozen was the best $10 I've spent on a Blu-ray this year.
Probably one of the best film I've seen this year. Had me on the edge of my seat like no other movie has done in quite some time. I HIGHLY suggest it.
Comments are shown as archived from the original site; new comments are closed.