Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo

Maybe I am biased, since I live near the Manitou islands (although the film was really shot in Tecumseh, Michigan), but this was one fun horror romp. The story tied together well enough, and the producers of the film did an admirable job of special effects (watch the battle with the Windigo at the end in super slow-mo, it is a hoot). This is in the Troma library, so if you come across it, pick it up, and support independent cinema!

I came across Frostbiter by renting a DVD called Nightmare Never Ends: Troma Triple B-Header, Vol. 4 (2004). It features "The Nightmare Never Ends", "Igor and the Lunatics", and "Frostbiter". I wasn't expecting too much but thought I would get some entertainment value out of the three movies. Forget about the other two movies. Frostbiter would be worth the rental or maybe even a purchase if it stood alone. This is a blood and guts, horror/comedy, B movie. The Wendigo is a shape shifting monster in this movie and it takes on many interesting forms, some humorous but all deadly. Lots of violence, some nudity, and quite a few laughs. It's low budget movie and it certainly has some problems, but it's not bad. I thought the music was great but had a problem with it being too loud, especially when there was dialogue going on. I recommend this movie but you really have to be a B horror movie fan to enjoy it.

Well well…Lloyd Kaufman and his Troma-Company nearly had me fooled there for a moment! Especially during the intro, "Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo" looks like it'll become an atmospheric and professionally plotted horror film, with an interesting topic and eerie set pieces. Very much UNLIKE the usual Troma products, in other words. In an isolated cabin deeply hidden on Manitou island, an elderly hunter explains that he's the guardian of a mythical monster called the "Wendigo". The Wendigo is an ancient Indian cannibalistic creature and a spiritual circle of human skulls prevents its resurrection. When the new hunting season opens, the circle is broken and, from that moment, the movie also turns into a typical Troma-production! We're talking lousy acting performances, a total lack of tension and continuity and the most absurd gory situations imaginable. The defeated guardian appoints a new one and, even though it totally remains unexplained why this girl is the new "chosen one", she travels to the island and combines forces with a clique of macho hunters. The monster kills every person on the island and it's not even safe anymore to eat chili… "Frostbiter: etc…" is an amusing low-budget horror flick as long as you're not expecting any logic. The gore is plentiful and cheesy, with several decapitations, ripped off faces and hideous cabin-demons that refer to Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead"-films. There even is a giant poster of "Evil Dead 2" hanging on the wall. The dialogs are often very funny because they just don't make the slightest bit of sense. The only truly annoying aspect is the choice of totally inappropriate rock music that even plays when the characters are talking. Overall, worth a look if you're an undemanding fan of cheesy horror crap.

I've been a Troma fan ever since I was a small child, and I can say with confidence that the majority of the company's non-Lloyd Kaufman films tend to be…well, junk. I've wasted many, many hours of my life wading through some of Troma's most despicable pictures, but every once in a while I have the luck to stumble upon a true hidden gem, and "Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo" is one of them.

Despite the "terror" that the DVD box promises us, "Frostbiter" is most definitely a comedy. More so, it's a straight-up parody of the "Evil Dead" movies: after a decades-long curse is disrupted, an army of ghouls and demonic forces see fit to attack the residents of a remote cabin in the woods, and before you know it, one of our shotgun-toting heroes has lost his right hand and a giant stop-motion tree-like monster is attacking the cabin. Just about every major plot point from "Evil Dead" 1 and 2 is spoofed, but it's all done with a knowing wink n' smile, and all approached in the same Raimi-esquire Three Stoogian fashion.

Yes, it's stupid, and no, it doesn't adhere to anything remotely resembling logic, but it's consistently entertaining, and that's mostly because it's considerably well-made for its minuscule budget. The jokes, although mostly low-brow, are funny, the editing keeps the manic comic pace constant throughout the film, and the cinematography is rather good, especially during the action scenes: whenever one of those puppets comes to assault the protagonists, the camera goes into "Coen Brothers mode", whipping around frenetically, exaggerating close-ups, skewing perspectives…although said rubber puppets are insanely silly-looking and hardly plausible, one can't help but get involved in the scene.

As with any low-budget picture, though, "Frostbiter" suffers from uneven acting: some of the actors were decent enough, but a few were distractingly terrible. At the center of the cast is Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, who goofily hams up each of his scenes, coming off as a mix somewhere between a hyper Bill Murray and a subdued Chris Farley. Asheton isn't the best actor, no, but his sheer over-the-top presence seems to fit the zany tone of the movie quite well, and works excellently in comparison to the rest of the cast, who play their roles straight.

'Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo' isn't the best Troma film, nor might it appeal to everyone within the Troma fan base, but it's certainly one of their better horror-comedies, and definitely worth a look for fans of offbeat horror or the "Evil Dead" series.

Yes, it's cheesy. But once you start, you'll enjoy the cheese! Plus, the rock and roll is fun: Great hooks and driving beats.

Frostbiter is about the Wendigo which has been portrayed in many movies and TV shows... even Charmed. But this movie is fun, creepy, cheesy, hilarious, gory, and a great pick for a snowy night when you're in the mood for popcorn and a B-movie! Think back to the days of the Killer Tomato or the Blob or the Gremlins or Friday the 13th or the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. All of those became cult classics because of a certain amount of CHEESINESS! And frankly all were better done than this one, but... I'd love to see this flick in a drive-in theatre, sitting in the backward-facing backseat of an old station wagon. Yup - that's the kind of movie this is.

Ron Asheton ain't the best actor - or really anything even remotely close to the second from worst... but there are still fun monsters, gore, scary faces, creepy old people, a plane flying through a snow storm.

And hey - anyone who's lived in Northern Michigan knows of the tales of the Wendigo. It's Big Man. Really Big!