Recensioni degli utenti

This capsule review was published - in an actual newspaper, remember those? - on October 15, 1993, when it was first released on home video by AIP Video (not the same as American International Pictures, by the way) four years after being made:

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DEMON POSSESSED (R) - AIP Video: EVIL DEAD's 'spam-in-a-cabin' routine and WITCHBOARD's ouija board antics are mixed to not-bad effect as six snowmobiles (this has to be the world's first snowmobile horror flick) take refuge in an abandoned children's camp where they are systematically chunked up by an in-house shadow demon (or something like that). Shot in 1989 as THE CHILL FACTOR, this ultra-low-budgeter falters a bit in the logic department (especially when an otherwise eerie narration doesn't connect with the film's Twilight Zone ending), but showcases some tame-but-effective gore and a cast and crew of ambitious amateurs.

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Short stuff, for sure. When I reviewed this in '93, my weekly column focused on direct-to-video titles, particularly schlock like this, which could routinely be found filling up shelf space in video stores (especially mom 'n pop shops) but which was rarely reviewed outside of the back pages of horror mags, assuming you had access to them, and big-city fanzines, assuming you had access to those (the internet, still in its infancy, was essentially useless in this regard). Now, 30 years later, I'm tagging this old review to an IMDb listing in which most of the other reviewers have the advantage of Arrow Video's supplements-laden Blu-ray edition of Chill Factor. As they say, things were different back then, but the spirit of stumping for (or dumping on) b-movies hasn't changed much at all. We're just conditioned by the likes of Arrow, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin et al to believe that all of these films - no matter how crappy and opportunistic - are somehow unheralded classics deserving of special editions loaded with supplements and collectors' booklets. It does get to be a bit much, but if it introduces new fans to old junk, what's the harm?

"The Chill Factor" follows a group of snowmobilers stranded at an abandoned religious camp where they uncover a strange ouija-like game, and proceed to unleash demonic spirits that start taking hold of them one-by-one.

This utter oddity was filmed in the late-1980s but went unreleased until several years later when it surfaced on video under the title "Demon Possessed." Make no bones about it, this is a low-budget flick, and has all the hallmarks of a cheap horror flick: Bad acting (especially from the extras), silly gore effects, and a plot that seems to have been invented on the fly (a voice-over narration from an apparently chain-smoking grandmother attempts to tie up the loose ends). Even with its pitfalls, however, I found myself enjoying "The Chill Factor" for what it is.

The film's greatest strength is that it's quite atmospheric, and recalls other snow-set horror films such as "Curtains" or "Ghostkeeper," which feel like distant cousins. Conceptually, the plot has potential, and is just weird enough to be attention-grabbing; the execution, however, is not quite up to speed, but one can see the seeds of something ominous buried underneath all the ineptitude. I won't attempt to make a case for "The Chill Factor" being a good film, because it isn't, but it is so bizarre and so wonky that one cannot help but get somewhat absorbed in it. There are a handful of decent death sequences, and the finale boasts a snowmobiling showdown that is ridiculous but somehow not out of place.

"The Chill Factor" is worth a watch for horror purists who enjoy cheapjack possession horror flicks; it melds the demon film with the slasher, and packages it in a late-'80s aesthetic that is as perplexing as it is amusing in all its weirdness. 5/10.

Supernatural type slasher set out in the snowy wilderness. Three couples find themselves in a spot of bother when out racing on their snowmobiles one has a serious accident and they take overnight refuge in what looks like a creepy, abandoned summer camp. They discover an unusual type of Ouija board and soon an evil spirit takes hold of the injured man. This scenario did remind me somewhat slightly of Evil Dead, only that is a horror classic and this one certainly is not. The first part of the movie is taken up by snow mobiles etc, gets a bit slow. The opening scene is one of the worst bar fights I have ever seen. Looks like they roped in some of the locals judging by the serious lack of acting ability. The killings are OK but none are very gory, there is some sex but this movie is tame enough for a UK 15 certificate. I think The Crap Factor would be a more appropriate title, however I still prefer this to the bulk of 21st Century horror movies though. There is a creepy musical rendition of the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice", that was pretty cool. AKA Demon Possessed.

Whoa, whoa, wait a sec, this is actually a really cool movie. Maybe it's because I've seen hundreds of poopy horror flicks and my standards are lower, but if you're a true horror fan, you should have low standards, too! Of all Evil Dead inspired horror fare, this has got to be one of, if not the, best. It's got a good (original, well-thought out) story and compelling characters, two things lacking in most modern horror films. Okay, yes, it has the whole cabin-in-the-woods thing going on, but it uses the set-up well, for twists and turns and flashbacks and all kindsa crazy stuff you don't always find in the demon subgenre. If I was Leonard Maltin, which I am not, I would give this two and a half stars. Fer reals, yo. AIP 4eva!

As far as acting go, this movie was the pits. HOWEVER, the story is slightly original because the characters get around on snowmobiles and are stuck in blizzard-like weather. I am always happy to see snow and freezing, bundled up actors instead of bright sun and greased up, bikini clad actors. There is too much California weather in movies, I must say, so this is a nice change. And you could tell that the snow and northern woods were real and not made up on some California ski slope.

It was also pretty creepy how they added the Christian memorabilia into the plot. A giant statue of Jesus on the cross or a crying face of Jesus are both really creepy. Much more creepy than a made up Satanic demon or something, which most movies usually use when dealing with the occult. Although, I don't understand what Jesus has to do with the occult, but it still added a lot of overall insanity/craziness. When people have Jesus things all over the place, sometimes you feel like they will act without thinking because Jesus told them to or something. This is the feeling I got from the old camp in the woods.

However, the "devil eye" ouiji board thing didn't seem to fit. They should have kept with the Jesus theme instead of entering Haitian voodoo into it. That seemed to come out of nowhere.

Tom, the character that gets in the snowmobile accident, had a funky look about him. When he has sex with the ladies and they show his snarly face, I thought it was pretty gross and hard to watch. Good job with the ugly faces.

Did anyone notice that nearly every person in this movie has giant, oversized front teeth like rabbits?

The waitress at the bar in the beginning was really life-like and typical. I thought she was a neat character, though a bit over-acted.

I could have done without the old lady voice narrating it. That was too much unneeded cheese. It would have been better without it.

Overall, terrible acting but a good story that keeps you wondering what is going to happen and succeeds in using effective props/sets. And they get an extra point for using real snow.

Prior to its fancy release on BluRay (thank you, Arrow Video) I had never heard about "The Chill Factor". This can mean two things. Either it's an unjustly obscure and undiscovered masterpiece, OR there is a good reason why it got forgotten over the years; - namely because it's terrible. Usually, it's option #2 and that's also the case for this one. However, this doesn't mean it can't be entertaining and - luckily - that's also the case for "The Chill Factor".

What we have here is a textbook amateur horror flick, thriving on enthusiasm and goodwill rather than on competences. The year is 1993, but everything looks & feels mid-to-late 80s, the plot is ultra-thin, half of the footage is time-filler, the dialogues are embarrassing, the wannabe atmospheric & foreboding voiceover is pointless, and most of the cast and crew members have only this insignificant title on their resumes.

The plot revolves around a group of six twenty-something dimwits, three couples, that get isolated in an abandoned cabin near a frozen lake after a trip on their snowscooters. These scooters appear to be the pivotal gimmicks of the movie. It feels as if someone in the group had the idea of renting snow scooters, and then use them in horror movie because you don't see that often. "What will the movie be about?". "Who knows. Who cares because we got snowmobiles, right!". So, after an endless hour of scootering footage, macho racing contests, and a dumb accident, there comes a silly story about possession by an ancient evil entity that gets unleased via a sort of Ouija board. It turns into a supernatural slasher with a couple of gruesome kills (notably the icicle in the eye), shots of girls in their underwear, and some hysterical screaming. The second half is quite fun and it's over before you know it.

Group of friends go on a snowski holiday in the middle of nowhere. Starts with them meeting up at a pub and almost getting into a brawl with local then they have an argument amongst each other before taking off at speed into the snow.

Naturally one of these kids has a snowski accident and they have to take refuge from the cold in a nearby cabin that has a possessing ouja board. People get possessed, have sex and get killed. Most of them anyhow.

Interesting note, The Chill Factor isn't the first horror on snow-ski's. Ghost Keeper came out over a decade earlier and its a little bit better albeit without any sex scene's but also without those annoying daytime character commentary's which almost don't ever work in horrors I think.

The acting in Chill Factor isn't any better either and the daytime tv music kills any chance of sense of unease developing. What we do get is a cute snow-ski chase at the end.

Upon viewing this supernatural slasher movie, I went into it completely blind as I've never even heard of this movie before and decided to take a chance as sometimes you can come across something great, an underrated gem if you will. But unfortunately this isn't a lost classic by any means, it's a cheesy underwhelming demon flick with very few redeeming qualities.

The plot is very familiar was it follows a group of friends on snowmobiles take refuge in an old- abandoned summer camp after one of them gets into an accident and once there they realize the place was once used by a satanic cult who leaves a demon board there for the group to play with and summon a demon that begins to kill them off on by one.

I was shocked to discover that this movie came out in 1993, as the look and feel of it looks more like something from the mid 1980's, but all that aside there's some enjoyment out of this such as the snowy setting and the camp itself looks great with some interesting exterior shots and the kills are quite creative with some pretty decent special effects, but everything is let down by the inept script and the amateur acting. What's also baffling is the strange voice over narration that pops up from time to time, which feels like it comes right out of nowhere and an awkward subplot that strangely never gets developed and quickly gets forgotten.

Overall despite a promising idea, the filmmakers fail to do anything special with it and instead just becomes yet another terrible campy horror movie that isn't cheesy enough to be entertaining.

'The Chill Factor' aka 'Demon Possessed', while initially receiving a decidedly chilly, 'blink-and-you-will-miss-it' debut on VHS in back in '93 was honourably salvaged from undeserved slasher obsolescence with a beautifully restored Blu-ray presentation in 2018. The dazzling Arrow edition is a welcome improvement over the rather inauspicious-looking DVD-R bootleg!

The viewer bemusedly discovers via a soothingly monotonous prologue that during a fatefully frosty sojourn with fellow snowmobiling chums, blonde-mopped orator, Jeannie (Dawn Laurie) had been very much in love with her dreamily handsome collegiate beau, Tom (Aaron Kjenaas). Reciting blandly that '...the year 2000 was just around the corner, and maybe we were all a little crazy! I was young, and I was pretty, and I could drive a sled better than any of them!' This exquisitely prosaic opening gambit might seem incongruent to some, but for reasons bizarre I enjoyed it immensely!

Following some enjoyably acid sniping, our querulous clique of speed-crazed snow-bunnies discover their daredevil Snowmobile race has brought them fatefully to an eerily desolated, ice-bound expanse known as Friars Lake. To compound their miseries night falls especially inclemently forcing them to seek shelter in a spookily abandoned chalet. None of these snowbound adrenaline junkies could ever have imagined that the coming storm would be occult-born, and the terror tempest unleashed within this isolated, eminently Slasher-worthy lodge would freeze their blood into plasma popsicles!

What bloodily ensues is some evilly icy, Ouija-spawned, Satanically slashing murder mayhem. Director/producer Christopher Webster takes a curiously dry, largely humourless, yet appropriately glacial approach to all the celluloid carnage. It is this apparently deliberate lack of irony which frequently lends the wonderfully kooky, low-budget slasher some additionally dramatic gravitas few might have expected.

While the 'actors' performances are earnest enough, their lack of subtlety frequently allows for unintentional levity, but overall the standard of filmmaking is solid. 'The Chill Factor's' three snow-glistering highlights are the spirited, demon-raising soundtrack by, John Tatgenhorst, the exceptional lighting by gifted DOP, Joseph Friedman. Friedman's expert lensing maximizing the lurid crimson punch of splashy SPFX by no less credible makeup artist, Jeffrey Lyle Segal, and the chillsome, sinisterly spooky, cabin interiors have an atmospherically Raimi-esque quality.

Sure, I had never heard about this 1993 horror movie titled "The Chill Factor". But given my love of the horror genre, of course I opted to sit down and watch the movie, as I stumbled upon it by random chance here in 2024.

Without knowing what I was in for, since I had never heard about the movie, then writer Julian Weaver and director Christopher Webster had every chance to entertain and impress me with this 1993 movie.

Sadly, that didn't happen. The storyline in "The Chill Factor", as written by Julian Weaver, was sluggish and felt as if there wasn't really a red thread throughout the course of the 86 minutes that the movie ran for. So director Christopher Webster really didn't have a snowballs chance in Hell, because he had nothing to work with.

I wasn't familar with the cast in the movie. And that is something that spoke well in favor of the movie. And the acting performances were actually fair, despite the fact that the storyline and narrative utterly failed to entertain me.

Visually, then you're not in for anything grand here. "The Chill Factor" is not a movie that made use of an abundance of special effects. Not that it would have made much of any different I guess, because of the pointless narrative.

If you enjoy horror movies, then you're not in for anything grand here, should you opt to sit down and watch "The Chill Factor".

My rating of this 1993 movie lands on a two out of ten stars.

Ok, so this isn't the greatest movie around so here is a list of the good parts:

No real nudity, although there is a lot of underwear shots.

Killings include: Driving into barbed wire fence A hanging Icicle in the eye Demon possession 1 body blown up Sliced throat by ceiling fan

Bottom line: If you keep your finger on the fast forward button, this is an okay movie.

How about snowmobile races? Snowmobile accidents? Well, that's a sizeable portion of this film. Oh yeah, there's a horror movie in here somewhere.

6 kids are really into snowmobiling in northern Wisconsin, and two of them challenge each other to a race. The race ends in a near-fatal crash for Tom, and his buddies drag him to a secluded cabin to take shelter and try and get help. Turns out it was the former home to a satanic cult. One of the ladies finds a Ouija board (or "Devil Eye"), and the gang summon a demon who takes over poor old Tom.

I basically live for these unearthed-from-obscurity slashers that Arrow produces. This particular one has an interesting history, in that it was produced at Windsor Lakes Studios, this fully functioning, self-contained movie studio... in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Which fascinates me. I know they did 6 horror movies there in the 80's and 90's (maybe there's more?). One of those movies is Trapped Alive (also put out by Arrow), which, frankly, I enjoyed a lot more, but it was also that movie that drew me to this one.

You can't fake how cold it is up there, or that the snow and frozen lakes aren't real. This is a great environment for a horror movie. And the snowmobile stunts and action were good, too. The story is of a demon who picks kids off one by one, with a pretty amusing demon/girlfriend snowmobile chase to cap it off. And his death is real satisfying!

Plenty of sexual shenanigans at the cabin, and... zero nudity (well, they toss you some side-boob). The final girl had a nice body, too. I thought they really dropped the ball there -- A slasher made in the 1980's. (But technically not released until 1993, under the name Demon Possessed).

The Arrow Blu-ray includes several awesome interviews, a work print of the film (sourced from VHS), an audio commentary, stills, and a trailer that I think spoils all the money shots. I love it when they roll out the red carpet on these little oddities.

Six snowmobilers have no recourse but to find succor at a long defunct summer camp facility. But curiosity killed the cat and they may not make it out alive.

"The Chill Factor" was shot in the winter of 1989, but not released to video until 1993. It has also been released as "Demon Possessed" (USA) and "Demon Snow" (Canada). The actors are unsurprisingly no-names, but they do a serviceable job. Meanwhile the (too loud) score is competent, but kind of unfitting, yet it grows on you and becomes part of the movie's Indie charm.

Blonde Dawn Laurrie stands out in the female department as Jeannie while brunette Connie Snyder is worth a mention as Karen, along with Eve Montgomery as Lissa, a black lass. Their beauty is effectively captured on camera in a respectable way.

Besides them, the best part of the flick is the remote Great Lakes ambiance in the dead of winter (pun intended). The snowmobiling sequences are reminiscent of the same in "A Simple Plan," shot eight years later. The bar sequence in the first act is great (disregarding some less-than-stellar acting), involving a drunken jerk who has to be confronted and reprimanded.

The second half becomes increasingly spooky. The voiceover narration from the 'final girl' effectively ties the story together, obviously influenced by Captain Willard's narration in "Apocalypse Now" (at least a bit here or there, anyway).

If you require a blockbuster budget in your viewing experience then I suggest staying away, but if you appreciate proficiently made Indies with a modest budget, this delivers the goods.

It runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot at Eagle River in northeast Wisconsin and nearby Sugar Camp, which is 11 miles southwest of there. The border of Upper Peninsula Michigan is only a half hour away.

GRADE: B.

This movie was extremely awful. The cover looks cool. I will never again do that rent a movie just for the cover, they probably spent more money on the cover than the movie itself. The acting, storyline, and everything else is painfully awful. Everything you expect in a B-movie. This movie wasn't too bad, it's funny. It's just plain BAD!!!!!

I give this film 0 out of 10

A trio of young couples is on a snowmobiling holiday when one of them is seriously hurt in an accident. Desperate for shelter, they happen upon an abandoned lodge in the middle of nowhere.

After noticing religious artifacts everywhere, they decide to play a "wheel pf fortune"-type game (think: Ouija board) they've found. Bizarre occurrences and deadly "accidents" soon follow.

THE CHILL FACTOR is a slow-moving supernatural horror movie with a few ghoulish set pieces. While the characters are pretty vapid, they're not annoying enough to ruin everything. Gorehounds will find sustenance here, especially during the death-by-icicle sequence!

If you have a taste for the occult and don't mind a bit of gruesomeness, then this might hit the spot...