Sundance standout 'Frozen' week's top art film
The makers of this movie were careful not to mention where they shot this film during Sundance. After seeing the movie, I can understand why. It makes the ski-lift operators look like bumbling idiots and the chairlifts unsafe. But I think the ski resort is missing a great opportunity. People love this stuff and know it’s just a silly horror movie. If I were the operators, I’d tell everybody and even put animatronic wolves under the lift at the exact same spot — so skiers can REALLY freak out. The story is simple enough. Three friends, two guys and a girl, want to make one more ski run before the chairlifts shut down for the night. Now, I know what you’re thinking. It would be highly unlikely for three skiers to be left stranded like this, but trust me, the writer/director covers all of his bases to make it reasonable to assume. Also know that the filmmaker grew up back East, where it was not uncommon for a ski resort to only be open on the weekends. OK. So the chairlift shuts down. The lights go off. And a blizzard approaches. They’re too high to jump (safely) and they’re a long distance away from the nearest support tower. What do they do? What would YOU do? Especially if you looked down and saw a pack of hungry wolves circling? I thought it was fairly intriguing. Sure, some of the dialogue gets goofy. And frankly, the payoff is less than satisfying, but it scared the heck out of me and grossed me out in all of the right places. So, I’m actually recommending this low-budget thriller for those who like this sort of thing. It’s not great cinema, but it’s a lot better than some of the other horrifying movies that have come out of late.
