Frozen

Frozen, directed by Adam Green, is a psychological thriller taking place on a snowy mountainside where three college students have gone for the day to get away from their classes, for a little snowboarding and skiing. The two boys, Dan (Kevin Zegers) and Joe (Shawn Ashmore), are lifelong friends. Dan's girlfriend, Parker (Emma Bell) has come along for the ride, and there's clearly some distention between them. A storm coming in ends their night early, and the chairlift operator turns them away before they can make their final run. The kids push for one more quick run, since they've only had a few, and he reluctantly accepts. A miscommunication with a coworker takes place, and the chairlift is shut off. Parker, Dan and Joe are suspended in air without warning. Then the lights go out, and the snow starts falling. They soon realize that they've been left 30-50 feet above the ground on a frozen chairlift without any food, water, or way to get into contact with the ground on a Sunday evening, and the resort won't be open again until Friday, on a mountain where the temperatures reach well below zero, and wolves roam hungrily after dark.

This is not a film for everyone. For one thing, there is one location shown in the bulk of the film, because naturally, the characters are isolated on one chairlift. Therefore the action relies heavily on dialogue, insight into character fear, possibility of escape, and probable terrors that could and will happen to them on their long wait for human contact. The thing about all of those things is that they require a likeability in the characters so that you CARE about those things, otherwise it's just a snorefest dialogue heavy movie with a lot of terrified faces and gore. Different characters appeal to different people, and when dealing with college students, many might tune out to them at first glance. However, being a college student myself, I gave them a shot, and was pleasantly surprised. I found them all at least believable if not likeable, though a stronger cast would have really helped the movie along. Kevin Zegers had the most likeable character in my opinion, but the others weren't too bad.

What was great about this film was that their terror seemed real. And, how hard is it to make a CHAIRLIFT sound frightening? I imagine it's no easy feet. The things that happen to the kids on the mountain did not make me say, "Really? That sounds forced," or "Get over it all ready," as some horror movies do. This film was realistic. It put real people on a real chairlift, which is a real danger, and left them in a climate that is really life-threatening. So as long as you can get into the characters at least a little bit, this movie is an odd idea that really worked in my opinion.

The movie didn't reach a level of fame due to the cast and writing, critics said. The actors weren't big enough to support the movie, and the writing wasn't strong enough to make you cry (basically). But, if you're into HORROR, as this movie is not often grouped with for some reason, you might like this one. There's certainly enough terror and screams for the genre, as well as a decent amount of gore- which, try as I may, I can only keep coming back to the film The Ruins for a comparison to this one on the level of gore. The special effects are believable, and you grit your teeth at the pain they represent. Between the isolation and the pain, I found myself going," JUST GO!" at certain points in the movie. When a movie can drive you to speak out loud as if the characters can hear you, it's either really good, or really bad. I pick the first for this one.