Dead of Winter

Written by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb, both of which have been credited on some fine films, as musician and actor respectively. So, Dead of Winter was penned by two individuals without a single writers credit between them. How could it possibly go wrong? Watch this film, and find out.

To give it credit, the soundtrack and acting were beyond reproach. In fact, in all aspects apart from the plot, it is a very good film, especially considering that it was likely made to a budget.

It was however, an entertaining and involving 97 minutes, but only if you give yourself over to accepting the numerous bad decisions, plot holes, unfathomable motivations etc that it throws up at regular intervals. Thinking back, the dialogue was surprisingly believable, making it more frustrating to have it in service of such a sloppy plot.

The first great feature of Dead Of Winter is that it is NOT a remake of the 1987 movie of the same name (hated that movie).

This is a German production, filmed in Finland, set in Minnesota. My experience with German movies is they are gritty, story-driven, low budget, and have zero stupid characters. Dead Of Winter has all of those characteristics.

The cast is tiny. 9 people total, only 4 of which are major players. Most of the rest of the cast is seen through Emma's memories, eventually explaining why she has made this trip to an isolated lake. As memories work, Emma never names her own character, so we don't learn her name until the final minute of the film. Even that is an add-on, as most references to her in the credits call her character the fisherwoman.

As you can tell from the preview or blurb, Emma happens across a kidnapping and tries to help the young woman. Everything cascades from there. Emma mostly has no one to talk to so the story has to convey her plan just from her actions. And in places it looks like she's making mistakes. But ultimately we learn it all comes together and makes sense.

The mix of Minnesota-nice character with ruthless moves to effect rescues and escapes is incredibly endearing and Emma plays it perfectly.

You probably won't see an ad for this movie, given the budget. But it's one worth seeing.

The trailer for Dead of Winter made the film look pretty interesting. Unfortunately for me, the story doesn't do enough to make me care about the characters.

Positives!

+Emma Thompson and Judy Greer do a good job with the minimum script.

+Beautiful landscapes (Finland).

+Emmas character was smart in some situations.

+Good use of color grading (Barbs positive memories are vibrant while present is blue).

Negatives!

-No character development. Antagonists have no history.

-Antagonists don't have names! Just "Purple Lady and Camo Jacket".

-Over reliance on flashbacks that don't always have bearing on the story.

I was honestly bored watching Dead of Winter. I appreciate Barbs character details, even if sometimes it felt like too much. But the kidnappers get no story at all. Just little hints. Judy Greer is an amazing actress and was wasted. The film will be fine for most people, I just wanted more depth. 4/10.

-GremlinLord615.

-Full review on YouTube.

The movie was a bit slow but good lord every shot is beautiful. They use that blue-ish lighting that when combined with the expansive forrest transports to you the frozen wilderness. Emma Thompson is always awesome and Judy does a surprisingly good job in a villain role. Totally worth checking out in theaters while it's there.

An above average thriller about a kidnapping, with the added bonus of hearing Emma Thompson do a midwestern accent lol. Her character's backstory (which is revealed in flashbacks throughout the movie), along with her performance, added a touching and endearing enough aspect to the movie that elevated it above just being a run-of-the-mill thriller. Pretty good cinematography in certain parts too.