As
the controversy surrounding the unrated theatrical run of Hatchet
2 rumbles on, Adam Green's previous film comes to UK
DVD, and while less splashily gruesome than the Hatchet
films, Frozen is arguably a lot more interesting.
The
film follows three people - childhood friends Dan and Lynch, and
Dan's girlfriend Parker - as they take a trip to a ski resort.
Lynch is irritated that Dan has brought his girl along on the
trip, especially as she's a terrible skier and so costs them valuable
time on the slopes by constantly falling over. Determined to make
the most of their visit, the three decide to get one last run
in just as the resort is about to close up. Unfortunately for
them, a misunderstanding sees the power shut off just as the ski
lift is dangling fifty feet in the air.
Much
like Open Water, which this film inevitably brings
to mind, this sets up a nightmare situation that most people will
find all too plausible and terrifying. Stuck in the freezing cold
- and realising that it is Sunday night and the resort won't open
again for a week - the three are faced with a stark choice: freeze
(or starve) to death, or somehow try to escape. And the add to
their problems, a pack of very hungry and very unfriendly wolves
are waiting on the ground.
Green
sensibly offers no respite from his characters' predicament -
no cutaways to worried family members or other distractions. Instead,
we stick with them as they panic, bicker and make bad decisions.
Green's screenplay, alongside solid performances from Emma Bell,
Shawn Ashmore and Kevin Zegers, allows the characters to seem
very real - annoying at times, yet all too easy to sympathise
with. Well paced and knowing exactly when less is more (a wolf
attack is seen through the faces of the surviving characters -
although a spectacularly gory alternative version is included
in the deleted scenes), Frozen works well as
a tense, bleak and often very scary movie - especially if you
have a fear of heights (or wolves!).
The
DVD comes with a beefy set of extras - several behind-the-scenes
documentaries, one of which lasts 50 minutes, alongside the aforementioned
deleted scenes and a lively commentary from Green and his three
stars (Green mentions a second technical commentary, but this
isn't on the disc I saw).
While
the splatter fans will prefer Green's other work, this is a first
rate suspense shocker - highly recommended.
The
film follows three people - childhood friends Dan and Lynch, and
Dan's girlfriend Parker - as they take a trip to a ski resort.
Lynch is irritated that Dan has brought his girl along on the
trip, especially as she's a terrible skier and so costs them valuable
time on the slopes by constantly falling over. Determined to make
the most of their visit, the three decide to get one last run
in just as the resort is about to close up. Unfortunately for
them, a misunderstanding sees the power shut off just as the ski
lift is dangling fifty feet in the air.
The
DVD comes with a beefy set of extras - several behind-the-scenes
documentaries, one of which lasts 50 minutes, alongside the aforementioned
deleted scenes and a lively commentary from Green and his three
stars (Green mentions a second technical commentary, but this
isn't on the disc I saw).
• 
• 