Frozen - Eiskalter Abgrund

I've always loved 'trapped in a single location' type films – from the likes of PHONE BOOTH to CUBE. Frozen is the latest effort, a thriller with horrific overtones in which a trio of people find themselves trapped on a chair lift in sub-zero temperatures. There's very little in the way of build-up and exposition, and instead the film gets on with tackling the various dangers that the stranded folk face: everything from frostbite to the possibility of being eaten alive by wolves.

The movie emphasises realism throughout; there are no outlandish heroics here, no contrivances, just a very real chance of dying in an increasingly horrible way. I always judge the success of movies by how well they make you feel like you're there in the situation with the characters, and FROZEN achieves that effect very well. There's plenty of suspense en route, and if the characters aren't the most likable or interesting you'll find in a film, then they're far from the least interesting either. Instead they're presented as ordinary folk, little different from you or me, adding to the 'what would I do?' feel.

Director Adam Green – the man behind the HATCHET movies – is clearly a horror lover first and foremost, thus the emphasis here is on the horrible nature of the scenario. Although much of what occurs is kept off screen, this makes it all the more powerful and there's no denying the sickening feeling that accompanies one unforgettable event, achieved through sound effects alone. Don't be fooled - there's also a fair amount of gore and unpleasant stuff on-screen, too. All in all this is an effective and tension-filled little thriller with much to recommend it.

Okay so this was a great movie, but i never want to watch it again.

Ever.

You get so involved with their situation and you're sucked into it, you feel their pain and horror. Ir leaves you feeling unsettled. A lot like 'Buried' did if you have seen that film.

95% of the film is set in the same location but this doesn't mean it is boring at all. Absolutely not.

So be prepared for an unsettling experience if you choose to watch this film.

By no means is it bad though, it just motivates powerful feelings.

A college student goes on a weekend ski/snowboard outing with his girlfriend and his jealous buddy. It was supposed to be just the guys, but Parker came along, much to buddy Lynch's dismay. She is still learning, and as a result of this, the trio spends most of the day on a bunny slope. After some complaining from Lynch, they decide to go on a quick run down the mountain before the day is through, but there's bad weather moving in. They manage to convince the lift operator to let them go, but through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the lift is stopped midway up the mountain leaving them stuck as the place shuts down for the week. With bad weather, the freezing cold and a large drop between them and the ground, the chances for survival are looking slim. And that's not taking the pack of hungry wolves into account.

I caught this at the Parks Mall AMC back in February and thought it was fantastic. It's from the Open Water/Black Water/The Canyon school of survival horror. All of those films are intense portraits of people stuck in some form of wilderness nightmare with little hope of escape, but Frozen may just be my pick for best of the bunch. At one point early on into the trio's predicament, I discovered that I had unknowingly squeezed my hands together so tightly that they had fallen asleep, so it's safe to say that the tension got to me. The characters also really grew on me as the film wore on, and I actually felt really bad for them. This is Emma Bell's first film, and I was quite impressed with her performance. While she has a spotty moment or two, for a first-timer, I'd say she knocked it out of the park. Her standout scene takes place when she's relaying her fears about what might happen to her puppy if she dies on the lift, and if he'd think she abandoned him.

Kudos to Adam Green for shooting this film on location. There are no green-screens or studio sets to be found here. Green and company found an actual lift to go out and shoot on. Equal amounts of kudos must go to the actors, as they were the ones up on the lift braving the elements for the authenticity a film of this type needs. Their hard work and tolerance paid off, as I often felt like I was right there on the lift with the characters. The chilly atmosphere vividly leaps off the screen, the bleak nature of the situation in which these three find themselves never in doubt. This film also hit a little closer to home for me, as I spent a week of skiing, etc. in Winter Park, CO not two months prior to watching this at the theater. With that fresh in my mind, I was left with an even stronger feeling of "What if?".

Also effective is the sparingly used score, usually played over visuals of the abandoned ski park. There are some gruesome bits, particularly the hand scene from the trailer and a discovery towards the film's end, but most of the tension comes from the predicament itself and some of the debasing things the characters have to do. Needing to take a leak while stuck on a ski lift may not be a big deal if you're a guy, but Parker's options aren't so easy.

I didn't think much of Adam Green's Hatchet. Frozen, on the other hand, is worth raving about.

"Frozen" is a great suspense movie that works -and does so extremely well- with very few elements: a natural environment as beautiful as hostile, three helpless characters, and time running against them. That's it. Filmmaker Adam Green somehow manages to pull this off -keep the interest and the viewer's attention almost without a break for an entire hour, that is, the whole running time except for about 25 minutes to introduce the characters and create the atmosphere for their horrific experience -which is, in my opinion, a good point, because the characters are nice people and I cared about them and their luck.

These three characters are Dan, his girlfriend Parker and his best friend Joe, all on a skiing vacation. One evening they get on a chair lift back from skiing, but it stops without notice, with them being its only occupants -hanging 50 feet above the ground in the middle of nowhere and no hopes of being found in three days.

Like I said, the suspense and the thrill work very well and go in a crescendo, especially for the first half since their situation begins. There are some truly horrifying moments, proving once again that it doesn't take a lot of blood and guts splatted all over the viewer in order to convey a real feeling of terror. This is survival horror at its finest -experiences that can happen to anyone, because they involve all real life elements.

The pace goes remarkably down toward the end, and there are a few scenes that, though not long, drag it down a little bit and don't seem to serve any real purpose, except to linger the denouement a little more.

The only real problem I have with "Frozen" is its ending, which I find objectionable not because I may think it is bad, but because the rest of the movie is so terrific, I expected something on par with that. It is, however, a very worthwhile movie and one I recommend to all fans of thrillers and horror movies full of tension.

My score: 9 over 10.

Frozen is a unique horror film. I enjoyed it as it has good acting, an interesting plot, and excellent cinematography/lighting that helps give the movie a bleak, cold vibe. It's also very stressful and anxiety inducing. I wouldn't claim it's scary in a traditional sense, but it causes feelings of uncertainty, nervousness, and stress. I further like the film because it makes you think about what you'd do if you were in the characters' situation. That being said, the movie has issues. First, it is long and boring in some parts. That's to be expected though, since most of the film takes place on a ski lift. It also features cheesy emotional music in a few moments, which I felt ruined the horror element a bit. Next are the wolves. I'm not going to spoil anything about them, but let's just say they're a bit repetitive. It was frightening seeing them for the first time, but after that, it just became dull. Lastly, and this one is stupid, but the characters are on a frozen ski lift, and they somehow don't zip their jackets all the way up. It would be way more realistic if they did so haha. Anyway, I enjoyed Frozen despite its flaws. It's certainly a unique horror film!