Blood and Snow

Right, well I had, of course, never heard about the 2023 sci-fi horror movie "Blood and Snow" from director Jesse Palangio, prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. Of course I opted to sit down and watch the movie, on account of it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

The storyline in "Blood and Snow" felt like a watered down homage to the classic John Carpenter movie "The Thing", except "Blood and Snow" was lacking the entertaining storyline, the good cast and the impressive special effects that "The Thing" had. In fact, "Blood and Snow" had nothing even remotely close to what "The Thing" had. And it felt like writers Rossa McPhillips and Simon Phillips weren't even trying.

The narrative in the movie is slow paced, and there isn't exactly a whole lot of anything overly interesting happening. And that makes sitting through "Blood and Snow" quite an ordeal. I was close to giving up on watching it several times throughout the course of the 93 minute runtime.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actor Vernon Wells. And lets just be honest here, he isn't exactly A-list material. The acting performances in the movie were fair enough, despite the fact that the actors and actresses had nothing to work with in terms of an interesting or entertaining script, or a detailed character gallery.

If you enjoy horror movies, and if you have an ounce of love of "The Thing", do yourself a favor and give "Blood and Snow" a wide berth. It simply isn't worth the effort. I ended up tossing the towel in the ring 55 minutes into the boredom that is "Blood and Snow", by then I just couldn't take any more of the suffering.

My rating of this dumpster fire of a movie lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

The abrupt ending of the film brings zero conclusions for the viewer. Worth poor acting and a crap story line, this film is nothing like "The Thing" Og or remake. I luteal feel like I lost 93 minutes of my life that I can never get back again. There was potential but I am left with the following questions: Was the budget suddenly cut? Did someone lose the rest of the film? The most entertaining thing about this film was the ice cream I ate while it was playing. If it hadn't been for my mobile phone and gaming apps, I would really be ticked off as the movie ends. If this is a set up for a sequel, I can assure you...I won't be watching it.

I went in hoping for something good. I LOVED "The Thing" and it's remake. I was let down. The acting was nauseating; I didn't believe any emotion any of the actors tried to portray. This is a college level movie, at best. The characters are one dimensional and have no growth. The story line is completely predictable. I blame the writer. This was hashed out in a drunken weekend. Movies are meant to transport us out of our own lives. To immerse ourselves in something we will never experience. All I felt in watching this movie was "when is the good part coming.". I have nothing bad to say about any of the actors; but, I don't have anything good to say either. I'd pass on watching this.

I'm sure glad I'm just a "movie watcher" and not a "film buff", so I can enjoy watching a decent movie, without picking everything apart. In my humble opinion, the acting was good and the story all held together. I gave it a 7, which is probably high, but just trying to offset all of the unwarranted terrible ratings. Certainly derivative of "The Thing", without all the cool creature effects, but nothing wrong with that. Hey, no one complained about West Side Story being derivative of Romeo and Juliet, did they? Okay, have I typed enough characters yet? I guess not quite yet. How about now? I did it!

"Blood and Snow" attempts to revisit the classic plot of a polar research station besieged by a malevolent force. A very short attempt at copying "The Thing from Another World" (1951) and its successors, "The Thing" (1982) and the 2011 prequel. Sadly, this rendition falls short, offering little more than a pale imitation of its predecessors. The film struggles with poor craftsmanship evident in its direction, acting, and overall execution. Unlike its predecessors, which managed to evoke genuine terror and suspense, "Blood and Snow" fails to capitalize on its potentially gripping premise. The only distinguishing factor seems to be its updated title, which initially piqued curiosity but ultimately failed to deliver anything innovative or compelling. In comparison, the original 1951 film remains the standout, capturing a sense of palpable fear and delivering dramatic sequences that stand the test of time. Waste of time for a Sataurday after lunch.