Dead of Winter

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 more I think of the plot the more painfully incredulous the motivating factors of the antagonists are laid bare. It is more than a bit bizarre and you wonder why on earth you would think they could do this.

Having said that, Emma Thompson really does carry the film. Her characters emotional depth is certainly felt and we instantly know how her backstory influences the decisions she makes during the course of the film.

The barrenness of the winter landscape certainly adds to the sense of emotional desolation but also later the strange sense of peaceful solitude.

Still, I think the initially different tone of this thriller develops into a fairly absurd plot that lets the film down a bit.

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.

I just watched. My rating is 5.0 - average at best.

What I like: the movie, most of all, has good cinematography. The barren, snow covered winter setting looks so peaceful, like someplace you'd read about in a Robert Frost poem. I like the lead actress. She is likable and charming, with her Sarah Palin-esque lines. The movie's set-up is excellent: the first 30-40 minutes really had me hooked, and I thought I was in for a great suspense/thriller

Unfortunately, I think the movie stumbles hard in the middle and end. The movie's pacing really begins to drag; certain scenes are drawn out to the point where they felt like fluff. Basically, I kept getting the feeling of, "Can this movie just move along now?" ... in addition, characters begin to make dumb decisions, like not killing someone when they have a chance. There's some bad CGI in the finale. The conclusion is unsatisfying. Given their intentions, the villains could and should have been presented with more shades of gray instead of the simple "they're the bad guys."

It's an average quality movie at best

5.0/10.

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.