The Frozen

Fun fact, I fell asleep while watching this. I had sense enough to pause; when I resumed, it turned out that I'd stopped mere seconds before the course of events first takes a turn, right around the 15-minute mark. Under the circumstance I don't think I can meaningfully blame the movie for me passing out - but on the other hand, I'm not sure that 'The frozen' wouldn't have inspired such a reaction after all. It's not that this is bad, per se, but there's rather a lack of eventfulness, or anything to help the picture stand out. A camping trip goes bad; creepy nightmares, sounds, or happenings pop up - and that's a wrap. However much we sympathize with the stranded couple, major suspense is not forthcoming, and the tale becomes one of many about survival in the elements. I discern no specific fault otherwise, and filmmaker Andrew Hyatt created a fairly sound feature for his debut as both writer and director - only, chances are low that one might stumble across it, and there's no special reason to seek it out over comparable features.

Stars Brit Morgan and Seth David Mitchell are fine. The filming location is gorgeous. I think this is well made from a technical standpoint, and the contributions of those behind the scenes are swell. Hyatt demonstrates competence in his direction, and there are some good ideas in the screenplay. Yet more than anything else what most makes an impression in 'The frozen' are the sound effects, and the original music of James Grundler. Whether ambient themes, light and ethereal guitar chords, or more immediately tense strings or distorted guitar, the score provides a tinge of atmosphere, and is pretty fun of its own accord. Would that the rest of the film came off so strongly, because what we get is only fleetingly and irregularly compelling - and not always convincing, as protagonist Emma sometimes makes choices that raise a skeptical eyebrow.

Only within the last half hour does the story become more interesting, but it's still not enough to stand tall in a crowd. This is especially true as we've been able to guess for a long time an approximation of how the movie would end, and the realization of that ending seems sadly pedestrian. More than that - given certain overtones, seemingly in line with Hyatt's other films since, the ending is altogether hokey and tiresome. I had mixed expectations at the outset, and I suppose they were kind of well met considering that 'The frozen' never makes the best use of its potential. Unremarkable exposition, a middle portion that oscillates between unremarkable and "almost interesting," a third act that comes close but not close enough, a sorrily maudlin ending - I guess there are worse things you could watch, but there's many far better movies than this, too. Watch it if you like; just don't get your hopes up.

Mediocre acting... but a decent plot twist, some interesting scares, and beautiful winter scenery helps keep this movie decent.

This movie starts off bad and gets worse. Terrible acting and equally bad dialogue are the two things I remember this movie for, poor storyline is the third. It is a low budget film granted, but that is no excuse. A poor plot , bad acting and no connection with the two main characters, in fact I found the male lead character extremely annoying and lost count of how many times the phrases,"seriously" and "give me a second" were used. The eventual twist at the end of the film could be guessed well before it is revealed. The only good comment I can make about this movie is that there were occasionally some stunning shots of snow covered landscapes.

Kind of a strange movie. You think its going one way but its really going in another. I'm not sure what I think of it. It was frustrating to watch people fumble around in nature. It's actually not the easiest thing in the world to start a camp fire yet the two main characters were able to do that easily time and time again yet they weren't capable of doing easier stuff like driving a snow mobile in an area where there were no obstacles. Thats what I mean by I don't know what to think about this movie. Maybe I am being too picky. It really isn't easy to get a campfire going in winter...I find many horror films these days are achingly derivative of other previous horror films so much so I can almost count off the other films the producer has seen and incorporated into his personal cinematographic monologue. So many horror films these days fall into the category of see it if you are stuck for something to do rather than go and see it because its a good film. Its not a total yawn but its close.

The Frozen starts off promisingly, with an intriguing and watchable female lead and a better than decent male lead. Their interpersonal dynamics are ridden with ambiguous tension and the situation, a snowmobile accident that leaves them stranded, is grist for the mill of suspense, thrills and maybe horror. This goes on for two thirds of the film. Thereafter, the movie gradually reveals itself to be none of these, neither thrilling, suspenseful nor scary. It begins to drag. Badly. Nothing happens. Nothing keeps happening. The woman wanders, discovers a wedding ring intended for her, lights a fire, and on and on. But nothing engages, nothing moves forward and nothing comes together. This goes on -or off- for a good (actually bad) twenty minutes.

Then comes the finale. A trite, amateurish, bad film student's conception of a "cool" resolution. In fact, what we are treated to is a caricature of a prototypical Twilight Zone conceit. it's the one you were convinced no one would ever try again for its embarrassing familiarity and pretension.

I don't think you'll like this film.