Commentaire par gbill-74877

An entry into the horror genre from legendary Czech director Vera Chytilova involving a group of teenagers in a remote ski lodge in the mountains, one that quickly distinguishes itself from others with this kind of premise. For one thing, it's cast with teenagers playing teenagers (as opposed to the 20-somethings typical to American films), which gave it authenticity in the mannerisms and appearance of these characters. For another, while the kids are in danger and strange things begin to happen, we really have no idea where this is going to go, in contrast to films that simply have one person after another being brutally murdered. So, I liked those things about it.

I also liked the depth of meaning underpinning the drama. It's a study in human nature, how people tend to turn on one another, particularly when under great stress. In this case that comes from the camp supervisors, who give them a requirement that of the eleven teenagers, one of them must be sacrificed, and then coolly sit back and observe. There are clear parallels to authoritarian governments here, something Chytilová was all too familiar with over the two decades that followed the Soviet crackdown of the Prague Spring, which give the film another dimension.

As a drama it also has its moments, like the writhing around in the snow and the scene with the snowman, but its story also felt a big fragmentary and not quite fully formed. It was also a mixed bag on the visual effects and edits, with some of them a little rough around the edges, like zooms that seemed random. However, the atmosphere created feels so incredibly real that when shock moments occur, they really pop, as opposed to films that feel manufactured. Worth seeing.