Frozen: Review By Bryan Yentz

While many films stress characters with sharp machetes, buzzing chainsaws, and pointy claws as nefarious villains, it's typically rare that a horror flick is released in which the environment itself is the true antagonist and it's even rarer to have a film of this ilk to actually be good. Dealing devastating damage with the elements and wildlife alike, the environment can in many cases present more of a threat than something like The Shape slowly waltzing towards you with a butcher's knife. Adam Green's "Frozen" is just such a film which not only develops its environment as a snowy Frankenstein comprised of dropping temperatures, sleet, and gnashing wolves, but stresses the isolation of the land above all else.

When three friends (played by Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers and Emma Bell) manage to acquire a free pass at a ski resort, they find themselves stuck upon a lift which happens to pause directly over one of the highest points of the mountain. As the night continues, the resort's lights are cut and the trio discover that no one will be coming to their aid until the week's end... At which point it will be too late. Having to rely on one another, each begins to formulate a plan on any method which might get them back to terra-firma and find any means of help from the relentless environment.

While Adam Green has dedicated himself to old-school horror with the gory but not good "Hatchet" and now its sequel, appropriately titled, "Hatchet: 2", he's also given his service to the occasional psychological thriller. After his romp through the swamp with Crowley, Green turned his attention to a film entitled "Spiral" in which an artist was showing a gradual mental decline with some good ol' fashioned murder tossed in for good measure. Sometime later, he aided in the creation of the baby-thriller, "Grace" which had a doting mother forced to feed her baby the only way she knew how: with blood. With Frozen, Green has begun to hone his skill as a filmmaker far more capable with character-driven pieces rather than that of the grue-stained kind.

Since the film is solely focused on a single location, one problem which automatically comes into play is that of pacing. How do you keep a flick interesting for eighty minutes if your story never changes its area? Well, Green deals with this quandary by tossing in believable moments of character development amidst plan formulation and execution... Which typically doesn't go well--at all. Jumping down could break one's legs, grabbing the support wire could tear hands to shreds and to simply hold-off would result in freezing to death. For what it is, Frozen's plight presents itself as a believable circ*mstance despite some mild issues with acting. While the majority of the acting is superb (especially when it's down to two), certain portions regarding a protagonist's reaction to aspects of pain and discomfort border on questionable and unrealistic. Outside of this, it's very difficult to fault the movie as it excels in nearly every other way. The dialogue brings out some truly sad moments by making big issues out of little issues. While many might find the verbiage to be eye-rolling, I found it quite compelling as it makes dilemmas important to the character themselves--not what the viewer would deem of importance in a situation like this. Strengthening these moments all the more is the exquisitely somber score by Andy Garfield. Simple, moving and deeply felt, Frozen's musical composition is a thing of emotional beauty.

Even the sequences of horror are handled with a mature hand and an honest execution. This isn't about overflowing the screen with disturbing imagery; it's about the psychology of the situation. Because of the visually limited approach to direction, the bits of physical agony that the audience sees is made far more powerful. When violence occurs, the attention is placed far more on the reaction--not the act itself. The result of this is an honest film which pulls some cold shoulders that I wasn't expecting.

I wasn't anticipating much from Frozen, but at the end of my viewing, I was pleasantly surprised as it was a movie with horror, suspense, and above all--heart. Adam Green has talent, but this is the first of his films which I feel was absolutely accomplished. Its slower build might turn some off, but it became a worthwhile experience whose subtleties left me cold and saddened--yet hopeful.