Frozen

"Frozen" is a great suspense movie that works -and does so extremely well- with very few elements: a natural environment as beautiful as hostile, three helpless characters, and time running against them. That's it. Filmmaker Adam Green somehow manages to pull this off -keep the interest and the viewer's attention almost without a break for an entire hour, that is, the whole running time except for about 25 minutes to introduce the characters and create the atmosphere for their horrific experience -which is, in my opinion, a good point, because the characters are nice people and I cared about them and their luck.

These three characters are Dan, his girlfriend Parker and his best friend Joe, all on a skiing vacation. One evening they get on a chair lift back from skiing, but it stops without notice, with them being its only occupants -hanging 50 feet above the ground in the middle of nowhere and no hopes of being found in three days.

Like I said, the suspense and the thrill work very well and go in a crescendo, especially for the first half since their situation begins. There are some truly horrifying moments, proving once again that it doesn't take a lot of blood and guts splatted all over the viewer in order to convey a real feeling of terror. This is survival horror at its finest -experiences that can happen to anyone, because they involve all real life elements.

The pace goes remarkably down toward the end, and there are a few scenes that, though not long, drag it down a little bit and don't seem to serve any real purpose, except to linger the denouement a little more.

The only real problem I have with "Frozen" is its ending, which I find objectionable not because I may think it is bad, but because the rest of the movie is so terrific, I expected something on par with that. It is, however, a very worthwhile movie and one I recommend to all fans of thrillers and horror movies full of tension.

My score: 9 over 10.

I'm not jumping up and down for this one but I thought it was a very well done survival/thriller that had some shocking, gruesome scenes as well as some thrills and definitely chills. The acting was pretty decent but the stand out here is newcomer Emma Bell who gave an heartbreaking performance as one of the stranded skiers on a ski lift, man I felt all of her pain. I thought the director did a great job using different techniques with the camera and used his one location effectively that makes you think and feel that you're right there with them on that ski lift, the thought just terrifies me but doesn't make me fear going skiing just makes me think twice about going on a ski lift. I think it's a tad overrated saying it does for skiing what Jaws did for swimming, not really and to be honest it's more Open Water than Jaws just with more action and a different situation, sorry it just didn't put the fear in me, it just had me feeling sorry for them and rooting for them than actually being scared. It will have you thinking throughout questioning what would you do in that situation, what lengths would you go in order to survive and some of it to me wasn't plausible while other scenes were very realistic and will have you on the edge of your seat. What makes this so special is the fact that they took a simple idea and went to great lengths to make it powerful and had three leads that could be anyone's friend, sister, brother, lover and it makes you feel for them even more and makes the whole situation more unsettling and shattering with some scenes that will make you a little teary eyed, good effort. This film actually has a heart and is refreshing from most horror offerings lately but it's more of a drama/thriller and I can't wait to see what director Adam Green has up his sleeve next! Overall it could of had a slightly better conclusion and I don't think it's going to be the best genre flick of the year because I just don't see that happening but if you want to see something different, new and bone chilling go support Adam Green's latest effort Frozen, though more of a renter on a snowy night to me. Recommended!

I've always loved 'trapped in a single location' type films – from the likes of PHONE BOOTH to CUBE. Frozen is the latest effort, a thriller with horrific overtones in which a trio of people find themselves trapped on a chair lift in sub-zero temperatures. There's very little in the way of build-up and exposition, and instead the film gets on with tackling the various dangers that the stranded folk face: everything from frostbite to the possibility of being eaten alive by wolves.

The movie emphasises realism throughout; there are no outlandish heroics here, no contrivances, just a very real chance of dying in an increasingly horrible way. I always judge the success of movies by how well they make you feel like you're there in the situation with the characters, and FROZEN achieves that effect very well. There's plenty of suspense en route, and if the characters aren't the most likable or interesting you'll find in a film, then they're far from the least interesting either. Instead they're presented as ordinary folk, little different from you or me, adding to the 'what would I do?' feel.

Director Adam Green – the man behind the HATCHET movies – is clearly a horror lover first and foremost, thus the emphasis here is on the horrible nature of the scenario. Although much of what occurs is kept off screen, this makes it all the more powerful and there's no denying the sickening feeling that accompanies one unforgettable event, achieved through sound effects alone. Don't be fooled - there's also a fair amount of gore and unpleasant stuff on-screen, too. All in all this is an effective and tension-filled little thriller with much to recommend it.

The actors, crew, special effects people, the writers, animal trainers, all, I think, made a good-faith effort. That being said, the movie is lacking in terms of verisimilitude. I wonder how familiar all were with skiing and cold weather. I had a similar experience. Stupidly, for the last run of the the day I went off-piste (trail). I skied in powder up to my waist, fast, dodging boulders and trees. All of a sudden I did a face-plant and was buried. My left hand broke when my pole strap slapped it back. I was lucky. The highest lift was still running, and, thank God, it was visible through the trees. So I waved my pole, and despite heavy snow, I was rescued. If not, I am certain I would have been dead by morning. I put a spoiler alert as one might infer these kids survived. But all I'm saying is, the movie is not realistic re cold. One character stupidly throws her mitten off. One of the guys has a jacket with a hood and he doesn't use it. And they're trapped on a ski lift with no help expected for five days! The girl who threw the mitten got frostbite of course, but she still gets a good bit of use out of her hand. My wife says to mention that their breath isn't freezing. There's another antagonist in the film, but, as far as I'm concerned, the cold would have been enough if they'd played it right. I have just read other reviews and was astounded at the number of positive reviews. Those writers must never gone skiing, but also are not familiar w/cold. The film is SO unrealistic. Not only does the girl throw off one of her mittens, but she sleeps with her exposed hand on the safety rail--I got the latter from other reviews, but I did mention the stupidity of her throwing her mitten away for no reason. It just bothered me that she almost never put her exposed hand in her pocket! Other reviewers have found other really stupid elements. I originally rated this a five 'cause I'm nice guy. But I've gone down to three. If I weren't nice, I'd give it a one. Any avid skier would find this movie totally unrealistic. Again, I'm AMAZED at the number of good reviews. What were they thinking? If this thing can draw positive reviews, hell, I'm going to make movies!

The director (whom I didn't know before this movie) gets to generate an authentic tension from a real suspense story: the panic gripping the trio is absolutely palpable, although the strong implausibility of no one having a cellphone is not that believable. The terror due to their predicament mounts minute by minute and is made genuine by showing a harsh environment and by imposing tension on each of the characters. The cast is not famous at all but the way the story is set and the three personalities are described keeps attention and tension high and strong. I recommend it also for the wonderful location (movie shot in Utah's Rockies).