"These Norwegians definitely know how to generate the right mood for an atmospheric and nightmarishly intense horror film. When is the last time a slasher actually scared you? There's another entry on the way, apparently a prequel set in the 1980's. I, for one, cannot wait!"
The above quote is actually copy/pasted from my own user comment for "Cold Prey II", written somewhere late 2010, when I saw the first two films back-to-back. As you can read, I was very much impressed with this new slasher franchise – especially part two – and eagerly anticipated the third entry/prequel. Unfortunately now I have to temper my enthusiasm, because I have seen the prequel and it's without exaggerating one of the biggest disappointments in years. The refreshing and genuinely suspenseful format has sadly turned into just another mundane and hugely derivative stalk & slash picture without any added value whatsoever. What made the first two movies so exceptional that is missing here? Well, two vital aspects are missing, in fact, namely an extraordinary setting and amiable characters. The first two "Cold Prey" movies were covered with snowy landscapes and largely took place in creepy isolated settings, first an abandoned skiing resort and second a nearly abandoned hospital, and it was one of these rare cases where the main characters were identifiable and sympathetic people that you didn't necessarily wish they died in such barbaric way (but they nevertheless did, of course). The prequel takes place in and around the same skiing resort, but presumably in a much warmer season, as the teenage protagonists go camping in the surrounding woods and sleep under a clear sky without tents. Woods are a much more commonplace and familiar setting for slasher movies and, even though the Norwegian forests and streams are a lot more astounding than American ones, it's not sufficient enough to excel. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the lead characters have become standard "Americanized" stereotypes, including gun-crazy machos and hormones-overloaded skinny dippers. The script also nearly doesn't take enough advantage out of the prequel opportunities. "Cold Prey II" already hinted at a very fascinating background of the killer, a mentally disabled savage dumped by his parents near ravine in the midst of winter, but the prequel inexplicably doesn't explore the basic events any further. After a brief intro set in 1976, which is the best part of the entire film, the film fast forwards twelve years to the late 80's without giving any more clarifications regarding the killer's persona, so I'm actually not even considering as an authentic prequel. Just a redundant episode between the origins and the later films. Not only does "Cold Prey III" not exploit the advantages of the prequel format, it doesn't even grab the opportunity to make this a genuine 80's throwback movie. There are very few elements reminding us that the story takes place in the 1980's, except for the fact that one of the teenage characters listens to horrible punk-rock music on a prehistoric and bright yellow walkman device. Add to this several more dreadful sub genre clichés, clumsy editing, weak acting performances and unimaginative (again, especially in comparison to the previous installments) cinematography and we've got ourselves a very dumb and unmemorable slasher that even would have looked uninspired in the 80's already. There's a fair portion of brutality and gory effects, but those things you can nowadays even find in average TV-series, so don't bother.
