Presos no Gelo

While snowboarding in the ice mountains with Jannicke (Ingrid Bolse Berdal), her boyfriend Eirik (Tomas Alf Larsen), Mikail (Enfre Martin Midtistigen) and his girlfriend Ingunn (Viktoria Winge), Morten Tobias (Rolf Kristian Larsen) has an accident and breaks his leg. His friends seek shelter to spend the cold night and they find an abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere. They discover that the hotel was closed in 1975 when the son of the owners vanished in the mountains. However on the next morning they find that they are trapped in the hotel with a psychopath killer, and they have to protect themselves trying to survive.

"Fritt Vilt" is an engaging thriller that has a predictable story but entertains. I startled many times along the feature, and I liked the performances of the unknown cast. The gorgeous Ingrid Bolse Berdal has the strongest character and her performance is very convincing. I have just seen in IMDb that there is a sequel of this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Presos no Gelo" ("Trapped in the Ice")

A group of friends go on a skiing trip... when tragedy strikes -- one of them breaks his ankle. Taking shelter in an old hotel, things seem to be okay for the time being, and one of them leaves to go for help. But wouldn't you know it? They've taken up residence in the home of a brutal, nasty killer.

My past associations with Norway are varied. When I was much younger, my family took in two Norwegian exchange students for a week. They were nice enough, though they had a strange aversion to showering. Instead, they relied heavily on Neutrogena, not coincidentally a Norwegian product. I have never used Neutrogena myself, but have a soft spot in my heart for it due to its spokeswoman being a huge love of mine...

Later, Norway arose again when a group of friends decided they would move to Norway following the 9/11 attacks, to live in a more peaceful country with more progressive values. They went so far as to learn Norwegian, and while I was not intimately involved in this, I did supply them with some Norwegian books and read a few of them.

A few years later, a Norwegian film crossed my desk -- "Naboer" ("Next Door"), one of the best films I had seen in a while, and very psychological. My past experiences of Norway on film were with "The Thing", so this really opened my eyes. And that was the last I saw of Norway, until now... with "Fritt Vilt" ("Cold Prey"), another winner.

This film really revives the slasher genre. I enjoyed the new "Friday the 13th", but felt it wasn't anything special. "Cold Prey" brought the idea home. A group of young people in isolation, hunted down and hacked to bits. That's horror gold, people. You can quote me on that -- horror gold. No clichés about drug use, sexual promiscuity or anything else... this plot is sold on good storytelling and bloodshed.

The film does start a bit slow, and this is intensified if you're not into reading subtitles. But there's a good cast (I especially enjoyed Viktoria Winge, whom I can't wait to see in the sequel) and the build up pays off. Even the killer stands out. He's not a mutant, not a revenge addict... when you finally get to see him, he's terrifying in his normality. Nothing supernatural here -- you get trapped in the mountains, and this guy might get you! This film should be available at all video stores and shopping centers.

I strongly urge a rental and perhaps even a purchase. It hit home for me, and I think many others will agree. (I also suggest tracking down "Naboer" if you haven't seen it yet, as the two would make a great couple for a Norwegian double feature.) If this is what the Norse have to bring us, I say long live Odin and long live Thor. I'm ready.

After reading the other user comments about how good this movie was I have to give it to you people straight, the movie is okay but we serious horror fans have seen it all before.

The story starts with a couple of guys and girls heading for Jotunheimen(a big ass mountain)to snowboard. When one of the guys breaks his foot they have to seek cover in a abandoned mountain hotel... get the picture? I mean why the hell do they think it's abandoned in the first place?

Anyway, after settling down and all that other crap they agree to stay the night in the hotel. And of course as in any other horror movie we ever seen there is always a bright guy saying: "Hey wanna check out the rest of the hotel?" Whats very fascinating though is that one of the couple end up in room 237,guess these guys haven't seen "The Shining" yet? Okay, from know on you get the idea whats gonna happen, they discover that they are not alone, they wanna get out, they cant get out because the psychopath killer is one big Jason mother#¤%&/! or something like that AND (pause) the killing spree begins..

"Fritt Vilt" has borrowed a lot from movies like "The Shining","I know what you did last summer" and a kind of "Hills Have Eyes" beginning, mostly cheap scares but some good ones to. Like I said, the movie is good but we have already seen a lot of this stuff before, as a Norwegian movie its a step in the right direction but if you wanna see a horror flick beyond this see: Villmark. Thats a great horror flick ;)

Thanks for reading!

People have talked and talked about the revolution within Norwegian films for a few years now. That everything has become so much better. In my opinion, most of the films produced in the last few years, within this so-called revolution, has been the same old stories and concepts that Norway has made from day one, except the productions has become better. I have visited the theater for basically every new Norwegian film, with high hopes and a wanting to like what they show, and every time I walk out disappointed and with less hope for our present generation of filmmakers. This all changed today. I went to the premiere of Fritt Vilt expecting a nice slasher film, and I walked out 95 minutes later, with hope restored and a nice smile on my face. I actually felt good.

The film is a slasher film, through and through, and that is both one of it's strengths, but also it's weakness. The film contains basically every little slasher movie clichè you can think of. It's just they do it so very well. It is a genre film and it doesn't bring anything new to the concept, but it's fresh for us Norwegians. The film doesn't try to be anything more than a good horror film.

The setting is excellent. An old abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere up in the mountains. The back story is not exactly original, but it works well enough to pull of some really scary scenes. The look and feel of the hotel and the isolation is all there, and the evil that is lurking sure is creepy.

Roar Uthaug does a few neat tricks early in the movie, which makes you sit at the edge of your seat through out the film, and his direction is good. The script is good enough for a horror story, but sometimes, especially in the opening scene, the dialoges are pretty campy and lame. But they redeem themselves quickly when the sh#% hits the fan.

The acting is excellent from most of the cast. I hope we'll see a lot more of Ingrid Bolsø Berdal in other films. Having her in the lead was a smart move. I would also like to credit Rolf Kristian Larsen. He had some funny commentaries and face expressions. The weakest actor, and at times so bad it was annoying, was Endre Martin Midtstigen. I'm not sure why he was in the movie. He must know someone in the production team, cause he has no acting talents what so ever.

A creepy horror film from Norway, and one of our finest films in recent years. I hope to see more of Roar Uthaug in the near future. I think this is a director with much to come. Also Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, we want more of you! Keep Up The Good Work!

I first saw this in 2007 on a dvd which I own.

This movie raised my curiosity since it was part of FrightFest n there were n are many glowing reviews.

Revisited it recently.

Most of us do love horror films set in a snowy backdrop n this movie managed to capture the beautiful mountains of Norway splendidly.

The disappointment is that the kills are few, too quick n they are not gory or gruesome enough but still somehow I enjoyed the movie.

The killer's story is revealed in the end and it is a very poignant one.

In the movie Blood Runs Cold I have complained how the killer is able to see thru those glasses n costume was beyond me. In this movie too I am surprised how the killer manges to see n out run the victims.

The lead actress Ingrid Bolsø Berdal reminded me of Charlize Theron.