Dead of Winter

An extremely improbable assemblage of obnoxious d-bags head out into the snow for a scavenger hunt. Who will win?

Who cares.

Not the director, because the plot is quickly abandoned once the bodies start stacking up. In short order essentially nameless cast members are decapitated, ripped limb from limb, pincushioned with arrows, and so on. The big mystery is: who is responsible for the murders?

Who cares.

It turns out the director doesn't care about the mystery either, because the killer is shown firing the cross bolt halfway through the film. So much for the mystery. Half the movie to go and we have no plot and no mystery. Oops.

Poor acting, though that is more due to the "and then" nature of the script than a lack of effort from the cast. And then the bus blows up, and then a girl has her arms tipped off, and then a guy is decapitated, and then... No story, no plot, no rising action. Just a series of unconnected scenes. And then a guy is shot with arrows, and then...

The music is laughably bad. The less said about it the better.

On the plus side the scenery is pleasant and the threatened found footage video cam filming from the beginning was mercifully quickly forgotten.

Four stars.

Countless horror films deal with young people trapped in a remote place, and getting killed off one by one. Dead of Winter is yet another example...

The story starts out simple enough. Recently paroled "John Garber" (played by Damon Runyon) lives in snowy Colorado. He is unemployed and desperately needs a job. His sister suggests he work as a bus driver for a local company that sponsors treasure hunts. John agrees to do it.

These treasure hunting events are specifically called "Geocache Treasure Hunts." It is similar to looking for Easter Eggs. Strange clues will indicate where to find them. There is a prize of $25,000 for the person who finishes first.

John takes a busload of treasure hunters on a drive up to the mountain. During the several-hour drive, we meet different characters, all hoping to win the prize money. The character of "Bradik" (played very well by James Wallis) is particularly obnoxious, annoying people as well as making moves on an open lesbian couple.

The bus finally parks. The wintry destination is truly breathtaking, as well as freezing and desolate. The treasure hunters then break into small groups, and set out to search for clues.

Very soon, it is apparent that things are not as planned. People are starting to die, and then they unexpectedly lose the bus! The are stranded far away from civilization, have no phone signals, and must find shelter. Who wants them dead? It is unclear if any of them will survive.

I enjoyed watching this movie though I have seen variations of it many times before. For a relatively low-budget film, they did a great job. The acting was convincing enough as well.

This film is entirely Canadian-made, location as well as actors. Interesting that they set the story in Colorado (USA.)

If you can bear the early caricature introductions, poor plot development and lack of real suspense, you might enjoy the wintry scene and last until the final few minutes where some action finally breaks the tedium.

Short and sweet, no spoilers.

Actually...I felt it was between 4 and 5 but rounded up.

This is a very average independent, low budget film. The overall bent of the characters being picked off one by one is not new, but the plot itself is a new take on an old trope. Thankfully, the acting is average to slightly above, so at least it's (a little) "believable." We get no subtext or history on the characters, so what you see is what you get, which is very little so there is no real development or attachment to anyone except what is formed during the movie. I would compare the group of geohunters to their own "Breakfast Club," since each one is a cliché. That's not a bad thing, only an observation.

The direction, cinematography, script...all average to above average. There are some good moments in the cinematography, as the snowy (and legitimately cold) landscape offers some great opportunities. The story and script are the worst offenders, as the story content is at times sickeningly cliche (eg "love" interests, "speeches")

Re: parental content:

• no sex or nudity
• very little profanity. It's there but not gratuitous
• the directors include violence that might otherwise be gory but for the relatively bad CGI fx. There are a couple of practical fx scenes, but for the most part the blood and "gore" are all digital...and not very well done "digital" at that
• I suppose some scenes could be considered intense, but for the most part the intensity comes with the killings.

Overall, it's a very "meh" film. I don't regret watching it, but I wished it had been more. Small budgets don't mean a movie is damned from fx but this could have been a really fun, bloody, gory slasher had there been a little cash behind it. Don't go out of your way to watch this, but if you find it on late at night, it will kill the time.

It should be noted...it's a bit slow. And by slow, I mean there are multiple areas where the pace lags behind what the viewer wishes.

Hated the end.

Started off great minus the weird and annoying theme song. Some decent acting and great scenery.

The treasure hunt makes for an interesting storyline though. Worth watching if not much on.