Filthy Review - 'The Frozen'

The Frozen (2012)

Review by Jude Felton

A movie does not have to be 100% original for me to enjoy it. Hell, if that was the case I really wouldn’t enjoy many films at all. I am, however, not a fan of laziness when it comes to the naming and marketing of them. So, when I first glanced my eyes over the artwork and title of The Frozen, many things came to mind; first and foremost being that there appeared not to be an ounce of originality in it.

Fortunately though, The Frozen does have a few things going for it, probably not enough to make it all that worthwhile, but still, you can’t win them all.

The basic premise involves a young couple who head out into the snowy wilderness for a little camping fun. The shit hits the fan when they have an accident, causing them to find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere. To make matters worse it seems that someone else is also out there, and they are following them.

I will tell you right now that I had worked out what was going on after about five minutes of The Frozen, and I daresay others will too. However, there are some pretty creepy moments to be found in this meandering slice of psychological horror, which could have been utilized to better effect, if I am being honest. The scenery and score are both terrific, with the score added another layer to the sense of isolation.

This would be all good and well had the script not been absolutely horrible. Simplistic and repetitive are two words I could use, and probably two of the more polite descriptions. It clunks along and is delivered by the two leads with such a lack of drama that I felt myself yearning for another view of the gorgeous scenery.

There is a decent enough idea hidden away here, not especially original but decent nonetheless, yet the execution of the parts that really matter fail fairly painfully. If you can imagine a combination of Wind Chill, Cold Prey and Frozen (the superior Adam Green flick) you would be heading down the right path. Just subtract the elements that made those movies so enjoyable.

The Frozen does look good but who will find yourself hard pushed to get too much enjoyment out of it. If writer/director Andrew Hyatt had put more focus on delivering a worthy script, and expanding on the film’s creepier moments, he could have had a winner. As it stands though, there is not too much to offer here.

The Frozen is available now on DVD from Arc Entertainment.