Wind Chill

Wind Chill (2007) 4 of 5 Dir: Gregory Jacobs Stars: Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan

A girl (Blunt) is in need of transportation home for the holidays. She hooks up with a guy to share expenses for the trip home to Delaware. But a scenic detour gets them in proverbial hot water when out of the snowy darkness a vehicle runs them off the road. Now stranded in the cold with the wind chill quickly approaching 30 below zero they thought find out that the cold is the least of their worries as strange figures appear around them and a ghostly patrolman appears to harass them. This snowy stretch of road may well be a highway of a different kind.

'Wind Chill' is a refreshing change from all the entire Saw'-like entertainment lurking about as of late. It takes its time getting where it wants to be while establishing characterization and eventually building up a pretty decent atmosphere from about the mid-point. I liked the sort of red herring that the filmmakers threw in regard to the relationship between the boy and the girl. The twist is an interesting one, not fully realized but still done very well. The acting is done very well and since Blunt and Holmes nearly have the screen to themselves they play off each other excellently.

I recommend 'Wind Chill' for those who may like a change of pace. Nicely acted with a solid script and interesting premise.

Being the horror aficionado that I am, I enjoy all kinds and can analyze each movie based on its predecessors and what it brings to the genre. Wind Chill is a movie that was on the border of being a very original horror story told in a new way, but it slightly misfires and ends up settling for mediocrity. At first, I had it figured for an elemental thriller about survival but it goes deeper. It evokes the tortured past as the story unravels. This combination is exactly what a new age horror movie needs to do to establish itself. It did come up short in a few areas. Mainly, in a movie that tries to juggle themes, you end up with two sets of slightly unsatisfying emotions. You don't get the full elemental thriller or story twists of the tortured past. The acting is done well enough, and Emily Blunt impresses in the role. Ashton Holmes plays the role of the unsure, overwhelmed male character well, but I felt the story didn't capitalize. With very few other characters, it was hard to survive with just those two personas. Though this may sounds overly critical, I felt that this movie could have been a top film and I do believe it was still very well done in its own right. Overall, everyone should at least watch this movie, however, if you don't enjoy the two main characters from the get go, find another way to spend your time.

It is a surrealistic film, like a nightmare. Very claustrophobic n heavy on atmosphere. Saw this first in 2007 on a DVD. Revisited it recently. The movie is about a college girl who is trying to get home on Christmas break. She hitches a ride with a complete stranger by getting his number thru a college ride board. Strangely, the stranger knows everything about her. The stranger takes a short cut through the forests..... The acting by the two leads were very good, especially Blunt. The director did a good job with the settings n atmosphere. The story was decent but audiences may find shades of Dead end, The Abandoned 2006, Triangle, No mans land aka Reeker 2 n Haunter. Also ther r aspects in this movie which ain't original. In this movie u can make out when the terror is approaching when the song starts playing in the car a la Jeepers creepers style. Also most of the film is shot in the car a la Joy ride n Penny dreadful. The score is very good, in particular the piece at the beginning and end. Very haunting n sad. Despite nearly the entire film being set in the broken down car n almost in one location it never gets boring.

A boy and a girl (whose names are never revealed) share a car ride home to Delaware, which is strange once you realize no film in history has ever taken place in Delaware. Luckily, they get stranded on the roadside and don't make it there, saving us the chance of this being the first film to take place there. But the stranding was just the beginning -- ghostly figures live in the woods and the girl slowly learns the guy is not who he says he is.

I have to hand it to the creators of this film. Gregory Jacobs is a relatively new director (though he has helped on many projects) and Joe Gangemi is a new writer. Steven Katz also co-wrote this film, but hasn't written any screenplay since 2000's "Shadow of the Vampire" (which was quite good, for the record). Being new doesn't hamper these guys -- they put together a tight picture.

The writing is much stronger than the plot or directing, I have to say. I enjoyed the plot of the boy's mysterious background (this alone could have carried the film), but the ghosts and the violent cop just weren't all that interesting to me. I enjoyed the isolated car story much better in "Penny Dreadful". The dialog was astoundingly incredible. I could have listened to these two talk about pointless things for hours. The inclusion of Nietzsche's eternal recurrence was a nice touch, and actually ties in to the plot. As a philosophy major, that tugged at my heartstrings.

The guy was a decent actor, but the real star here is Emily Blunt. You might know her name, and you're familiar with her if you've seen "The Devil Wears Prada" (I haven't). Miss Blunt has several projects in 2007 and 2008, and I'm not surprised -- she is a dynamic actress that is both talented and beautiful. And not the dainty type of beauty Hollywood likes, but a more powerful brand.

The film is a bit tedious and drags in the second half. Things get repetitive (hence the eternal recurrence) and the ghosts aren't really all that interesting. The cop is bland, the priest is just mildly intimidating and the black man who coughs up an eel is not nearly as creepy as it could have been. I mean, he's coughing up an eel -- that should have been the highlight of the film, but it was just a quick scene.

I'm glad I saw this one. It had solid writing and a nice dynamic between the two leads. I was expecting the music to be better, with the score being done by the same man who composed the score for "The Fountain" but I was instead treated to bad Christmas songs. I've had enough of Christmas movies and music. But, I suppose it's better than Creed or Rush. If you're curious, pick this one up. It's not a bad beer and pizza movie, though you could probably do better.

For Christmas break, a bitchy college girl (Emily Blunt) is in desperate need of a ride home to Delaware. When a classmate (Ashton Holmes) overhears this, he puts up an ad on the school's billboard since he has a crush on her. She winds up taking the ride, but it soon becomes obvious that he's a tad bit obsessed with her. Naturally, this leads to a tense atmosphere for the long drive home, so he takes a shortcut. While heading down this lonely road, they're involved in an accident which leaves them stranded in the snow. With no one around to help and the cold reaching below zero temperatures, their situation isn't exactly enviable. It becomes even less so when they realize that this isolated stretch of road is haunted by unsettling apparitions, one of which is quite dangerous.

I've been extremely fond of Emily Blunt ever since I first saw her in 2004's "My Summer of Love". Aside from being a stellar talent, she's a stunning girl and infinitely charming. The film is worth seeing just for her, but her co-star, Ashton Holmes, is much better here than he was in "A History of Violence". I found him so annoying in that film, but here, he was actually likable. What a shock!

The film is definitely creepy at times. Thankfully, no weak jump scares either. It's all built up subtly through mood, atmosphere and shadows. There's one especially effective scene about halfway through. You'll know it when you see it, but I'll just say it reminded me of a similarly unnerving scene from Wes Craven's underrated "The Serpent and the Rainbow".

I was thrilled to see Clint Mansell's name in the opening credits, as I knew right away that the film would have a particularly strong score. It did wonders for the film's tone, and especially shone through during the ending. Speaking of which, the ending is somewhat on the weak side. It seemed too simple, and the connection between these two characters wasn't strong enough to support it. Actually, they're pretty much at odds with each other for the majority of the picture, so there's hardly a connection at all. It speaks volumes about the power of Mansell's score, as it manages to give the ending a feeling of emotional weight where there otherwise would be none.

In spite of the film's closing moments, this deserved a wider release. The scenes on the deserted road are effective and moody, while Blunt has talent to burn. It isn't perfect, but it's a good little film with more to offer than some of the filth that hits 3000+ screens nationwide. Think of it as a sort of ghost story by way of urban legend, which is supported by the characters just being referred to as "Boy" and "Girl" in the closing credits.