Frozen (2010)

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frozenA review by C J Dee
  • Director: Adam Green
  • Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers
  • Other notable appearances: Snow, ice, a chair lift and Kane Hodder
  • Running time: 93 minutes
  • Watch this if you like: Movies that feel like they will never end
  • Rating: 1/5

Three skier/snowboarders head up a chair lift for one last run down the mountain. The chair lift attendant switches places with another and due to a misunderstanding the three friends become stranded halfway up the mountain. With five days until the slopes reopen, the friends must decide how to make their way down before they freeze to death.

I seriously didn’t think this movie would ever end. I watched it because it was marketed as a ‘thriller’ and because I thought it might be a fun contrast between the brilliant Disney movie of the same name. Contrast? Definitely. Fun? Nope.

The characters in Frozen make some of the stupidest decisions in the history of cinema. I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. All horror movies have that ‘don’t go in there’, ‘don’t do that’ or ‘what are you thinking’ moment and thrillers often do too but for some reason these stupid decisions really grated my cheese.

While I’m on the subject of the characters, the female lead was insufferable. I understand characters, as in real life, can break down during times of crisis and this was clearly one of those times. However, even before they were stuck dangling in freezing temperatures, the character of Parker (Bell) was irritating. The most tolerable character of the three was Dan (Zegers) who played middle man to irritating girlfriend Parker and whiney best friend Joe (Ashmore).

I feel that Frozen is probably a decent cinematic achievement. There are beautiful landscapes, sweeping shots over the frozen world and it is set almost entirely in one location. This doesn’t make up for the uninteresting characters, a wafer thin plot, a run time that is far too long for the content and a thriller with less thrills than a cheap market ghost train.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone.