Sundance 2010 Review: Adam Green's FROZEN
Written and Directed by: Adam Green (Hatchet)
Starring: Shawn Ashmore (X-Men 1-3), Emma Bell and Kevin Zegers
Synopsis: On a chilly winter night, three skiers huddle together on a chairlift, confused as to why their ride to the summit suddenly stops. The sting of the icy wind worsens when the floodlights power down, leaving them stranded in the dark. As they wait for help, the reality of the nightmare hits them. The ski resort has just closed, stranding the group high above the mountain slopes in an oncoming snowstorm. With ominous howls echoing through the surrounding woods, they will need to make some tough decisions to survive.
Review:
Frozen jumps off a great premise and features surprisingly realistic dialogue, but the thrills and suspense are few and far between. Frozen flourishes in keeping everything in commonplace -- no serial killers, zombies, or anything supernatural. The setting isn't given some dark, otherworldly look. For many mountain riders, this is simply their worst nightmare come to life.
But if you're looking for an all out gore fest... You're not gonna get it. This definitely tries to give a more real-world character driven portrayal of such an unfortunate predicament. But there are gross-out and cringe moments, as opposed to full on horror or shock.
X-Men's resident literal Iceman, Shawn Ashmore, gives a solid performance braving the cold. While Kevin Zegger and newcomer Emma Bell may lack some of Ashmore's experience, they do a formidable job adding a believable chemistry to the characters, as unsympathetic as they may be.
I expected one of the few movies at Sundance that has already snagged distribution, especially a very soon Feb. 5th release, to really have a bit more to offer. This may disappoint the hardcore horror fans that Green has garnered. But Frozen is a welcome change to the traps and trends that low-budget horror films have been falling into lately. You don't need gratuitious nudity and torture to generate buzz for a film. Even with its shortcomings, Adam Green has definitely constructed a film that would best be enjoyed on the big-screen, with a large audience.