Ice from the Sun

Uhhh…I guess it is about a man named "The Presence" that rules an alternate universe between Heaven and Hell encased in "ice from the sun" (not making this up). A suicide victim named Allison is hired as an assassin to hunt him (still not making this up). She must make him remember who he was as a person to break the ice. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is that you must sit through 30min of dialogue before you watch her take what can only be described as a 60min trip through a NIN music video.

Okay, here we go again (see Savage Harvest review). Stanze insists on casting unattractive people with no charisma. You will not want to watch them on screen or care to listen to them talk. This is a problem considering his films boast 30 minutes of talky-talky before you see anything. I have a feeling he has good stories to tell, which is why he continues to bore us with lengthy tales before sending us some ghastly images. I dare you to watch this without hitting the fast forward button once. I get the feeling that if Stanze had a decent budget and hired good actors, his films would be better. He has good ideas, but does not achieve them.

There is decent gore and sound quality here. The only scene that would be of interest was an innocent woman stripped, tied to the back of a truck, driven a mile, then covered in salt as you watch her squirm. I have no idea who this person is or why this is happening or who the nice gentleman is driving the truck. Again, the dialogue was so boring, you fast-forward, and then stop when you get to a good scene, but it has no meaning.

Favorite Quote: Stanze during the commentary when he says that this was the lowest budgeted film made at the time. This would mean that any film up to 1999 cost more than this. I think Lloyd Kaufman would beg to differ. Stanze also mentions that Super 8 looks like a music video, not film, so my description of the film is correct.

DVD Extras: Trailers, Still Gallery, and Commentary.

Bottom Line: If you like slow-moving modern horror fantasy tales, then I guess you might dig this.

Rating: 6/10

Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook

1st watched 10/21/2001 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Eric Stanze): Although technically this is an amazingly complicated production and the story is just as complicated, the reliance on blood and gore deter from what could have been a very mysterious and well-done psychedelic fantasy/horror film. If it didn't have so much reliance on shocking us with violence and gore I believe I could watch this a second time just to understand it better. I would like to see what other efforts this filmmaker puts out just because of his wild visual styles, but hopefully his topic will not be quite as disturbing as this one.

I'm a mainstream horror fan giving the world of B movies a try. I bought this DVD having read the synopsis and believed that this would be more interesting than some of the Hollywood rubbish I've seen lately.

So disappointed, excellent story idea, reams of imagination displayed by the director but in the end it looks and feels a real mess. The seller warned me that this film was 'difficult' and only viewing allows you to understand that simple, yet perfect definition.

It's deep, disturbing, badly acted and full of unnecessary camera effects.

If you're unaware please note threes a whole level of B movie strata out there with zero budget. What your looking for is a team effort of talented individuals to overcome their budget and give you something to remember. Ice from the sun is unforgettable and I'll certainly look out for the director again but don't buy, rent.

Wow. What a crazy ass flick! I've read a lot of good reviews about this one (and some bad ones as well). I'm really into films that aren't afraid to take a few chances and so I thought I'd get this one a shot! This flick was insane! Yeah, it's low budget, but it was way more creative than most of the flicks I see coming out of Hollyweird these days.

I dug the story (even though it was a little talky in the beginning), the visuals and the editing were great and it had some awesome gore effects. What I really loved was the music. It features a great collection of songs from the St. Louis music scene (like the Ded Bugs and Johnny Magnet). I got to pick up a copy of the soundtrack. To top it all off, the movie had a great performance from DJ Vivona as The Presence. I think most of the acting was pretty solid overall (I've seen a lot of low/no budget flicks and compared to them, the acting in this is pretty impressive), but I thought the character of The Presence was very interesting and unique and Vivona did a lot to make the character memorable.

Like I said, this movie was made on a low-budget, so imagine my surprise when I get this tricked out 2-disc edition. How awesome is this? You don't see too many movies made at this budget level get such a nice presentation on DVD. Well, I loved the film and the DVD with all its extras was money well spent. If you're looking for something different and unusual, you should do yourself a favor and check this flick out!

I've always been a fan of Eric Stanze's ICE FROM THE SUN. It has a very unusual visual style, a cool storyline, great music, good performances (especially DJ Vivona, who I thought was good in CHINA WHITE SERPENTINE) and some awesome gore! Still, I wasn't all that thrilled with the original DVD release. It had a few extras, but it kinda felt a little barebones for my taste.

This new release from Image Entertainment kicks ass! This 2-disc edition has a ton of extras! ON THIN ICE, a feature length documentary about the making of ICE FROM THE SUN that was released on VHS is included on this edition. It was fascinating to see the whole process on how the movie was made. Besides the new commentary tracks (nice), the improved picture and sound (very nice), and all the other extras, it has the trailer for the new Wicked Pixel flick DEADWOOD PARK, which looks amazing. Can't wait to check that one out.

If you love the flick like I do, you gotta pick this baby up. You won't regret it!