Blutgletscher

Scientists collecting data on climate change in the Austrian Alps discover a strange organism that attacks the local fauna, resulting in vicious hybrids.

With its remote sub-zero setting and hideous genetic mash-ups, comparisons between Blood Glacier (AKA The Station) and John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) are inevitable, but really there is no contest: Carpenter's film isn't perfect, but it more than delivers with its amazing special effects; on the other hand, the extras on the DVD of Blood Glacier include a gallery of impressive pre-production sketches, but the film fails to make good on the promise of weird and wonderful creatures, most of its monsters only seen in fleeting glimpses (and what we do see isn't great, which is probably why they remain hidden for most of the movie).

Blood Glacier also suffers from a raft of thoroughly unlikable characters that are nigh impossible to care about: the only death that has any impact is that of Tinni the dog. The movie's mountainous scenery is great, but breath-taking vistas only count for so much - Blood Glacier's stunning cinematography cannot compensate for the weak script (they never explained why a girl was running down the mountain in shorts and a vest), dreary pacing, and a lack of memorable mutations.

3.5/10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

BLOOD GLACIER is an eco-horror film with a definite vibe similar to that of John Carpenter's THE THING. Is it as good as Carpenter's classic? Well, no, but it's not bad.

At a remote outpost in the Austrian Alps, a team of climatologists uncover the titular phenomenon. Terror ensues when the effects of the glacier begin to take their toll on the local wildlife, causing bizarre, highly-dangerous mutations.

The human characters are mostly forgettable, except for Gerhard Liebmann, who plays Janek, the Kurt Russell-type antihero of the story. Also, Brigitte Kren is memorable as the no-nonsense Minister. She has some of the best lines, including the hilarious, "Stop eating that banana while you're crying!".

The mutant / hybrid monsters are fairly well-realized, using both practical and CGI effects. So, if you can overlook some goofiness, this should provide a decent evening's entertainment...

Went in to this after reading many IMBD reviews that compared it poorly to John Carpenter's "The Thing" (a masterpiece of horror and most importanly suspense) so my expectations were low. Even poorly made copies of the original ( and yes I know Carpenter's version was a remake but so much better than the original, a rare thing itself) can be entertaining. So I went in with an open mind, willing to forgive and not make comparisons .

Unfortunately this movie has zero suspense, bad acting ( although you can't really blame the actors given the purile banal script, no one could pull that off seriously). Pseudo-scientific explanations that a second-grader would doubt, characters reacting moronically to further the plot, and a seriously dissappointing ending.

Also, if you read some of the reviews that propone that the special makeup/creature are good, prepare to be dissappointed. Sub-par and usually shot in low light so you can't see how crap they are.

Giving this a 3 out of 10 and tht's generous.

I didn't know anything about "Blutgletscher" (aka "Blood Glacier") prior to finding it in the horror section. And my love for the horror genre and the movie's DVD cover made me pick it up and give it a chance.

For some odd reason I ended up with an English dubbed version of "Blutgletscher", which was a an insult to the original German language. Why? Well, because the dubbing was so questionable and dubious that it was atrocious to listen to. And without the option to switch to German, I was forced to suffer through laughable dubbing work because I really wanted to watch the movie. The English speaking voice over cast that was doing the dubbing had no conviction, no heart or spirit in their voice work, so it was unfathomably monotone, dull and lifeless, and it didn't match the characters on the screen one bit. It was like watching a dubbed Hong Kong movie from the early 1980s.

"Blood Glacier" is definitely inspired by Carpenter's "The Thing" and there is a number of similarities between the two. Whether or not this was intentional, I have no idea. It could be an homage or pure coincidence. I can only guess.

Director Marvin Kren actually managed to set up a fairly good atmosphere in this movie, and again very reminiscent of Carpenter's "The Thing". But oddly enough, it worked well enough in favor of "Blutgletscher". Just a shame that the horrible English dubbing was destroying it effectively with its laughable dubbing work.

As for the acting in "Blutgletscher", then I will say that the people were doing good jobs, and it was nice to see a cast ensemble of all unfamiliar faces. But again, their performances were toned down by the atrocious dubbing audio layer.

There is some pretty interesting creature design in the movie, and the creatures do look rather convincing and realistic, which really works very well in favor of the movie, especially when it is a horror movie of this type of setting.

The special effects in "Blutgletscher" was quite good and realistic and it helped to add to the overall movie, giving it flavor and more enjoyment for the audience. And the make-up effects were also quite good, and came off as rather realistic and good looking. So thumbs up to the special effects department who worked on this movie.

Visually then this movie turned out to be rather interesting. There were some very nice scenes and shots throughout the course of the movie, and the cinematography was definitely in good hands.

The music used in "Blutgletscher" was also quite good, very fitting for the atmosphere of the movie. It was well enough composed to be serving as background music, but at the same time be audible enough to instill an unnerving layer to the visuals portrayed on the screen.

"Blutgletscher" is a rather entertaining movie, especially if you enjoyed the otherworldly element that was in "The Thing", because it is also present here. However, it does not have the same quality to it to render it a classic like "The Thing". But all in all, an entertaining movie with a good story and good effects.

Walking through my local DVD shop I came across this title, "The Station". Quite plain sounding, but it was the comment at top of the case that caught my attention; "A slice of horror reminiscent of John Carpenter's 'The Thing' ". Being at massive fan of that film, I decided to take the chance and in some regards the Austrian made "The Station" comes close. Hey I even enjoyed it more than the prequel / remake that came out a year or two back. What it has in common with Carpenter's film is more so the ice setting, an unknown threat that is a single-form alien organism transforming the local wildlife into gigantic monster mutations and hybrids. It's like "Day of the Animals", but on steroids! Then there's the ending that only paints the apocalyptic mood playing out. This is a basic straight-face creature-feature at heart with a climatic cautionary warning, which tells a simple story that effectively lays it out with a strong grizzled protagonist (a very solid showing by Gerhard Liebmann), well timed suspense, gruesome thrills and a sense of mystery of mankind's fate. The final frame of the film is surprisingly effective in its suggestion, but they spoil it on an uncalled for tacky jump scare.

The premise is far from unique and quite down-pat; a group of scientists/ technicians discover a glacier of blood (an inspired image when shown) high in the mountains, which after testing the liquid discover it contains an alien organism. As they try to survive and hold up against the effects of this organism, on a hiking trip to the station for an official visit is the Minister of the Environment.

The feature is slickly photographed (despite some shaky camera movement early on) and makes excellent use of its vast, breathtaking backdrop. There's a definite sense of isolation and uneasiness, but never does it struck a feeling of claustrophobia and dread. The tension seems to unfold from threatening situations and the punctuated shocks. Its momentum is fairly sedate, but it becomes crazy, excessively so as it goes along and the director keeps a fairly tight hold.

What I got a kick out of was that CGI was virtually little, if unseen, opting mainly for traditional special effects and they do pay-off. The creature designs are creative and horrific with beetle-fox hybrids, giant wood lice, flying crossbreeds. There's a whole range of beasties… and they're not friendly. Squamish moments are plentiful and there a creepy developments. While the generic script doesn't over feed itself, still it had some issues like an appearance of a sudden character for them to only disappear with a poor explanation. The performances are adequate, without anyone really standing out, other than Liebmann.

Clichéd, but fun, strange sci-fi / horror monster romp.

And the title "Blood Glacier" sounds so much better.