If you are a skier, you are probably familiar with the alarming feeling of being randomly stuck in a ski lift for a few minutes.  Most times when this happen, morbid humor comes into play. Suddenly you find yourself joking with your friends about how high you are and you might also find yourself conducting ridiculous ‘what if?’ scenarios to pass away the time before the ski lift eventually starts moving again.  However, the difference between your experience which eventually turns into a funny anecdote you tell all your friends and the events that occur in Frozen is that director Adam Green actually puts the characters in one of those horrific ‘what if’ scenarios and forces his audience to watch in horror as they realize everything that they are viewing ‘could actually happen.’

The film starts off with two best friends named Dan and Joe (played by Kevin Zegers and Shawn Ashmore, respectively) and Dan’s girlfriend (played by newcomer Emma Bell) trying to enjoy their day of escape at a local ski resort in New England.  Trying to get one last run in before an early closing of the resort, the three beg an employee to let them on the lift before the resort closes.  After an unfortunate mishap, the three are left stranded on a chair lift high off the mountain as they realize in horror that they have been forgotten about and will not be able to get back down until the resort opens up again in five days.  As they fight the freezing weather, hypothermia and horrible frostbite, they soon come to realize there are other unforeseen hurdles that Mother Nature has thrown at them.  Thrills, chills and unbelievable moments of terror ensue.

Watching Frozen is like being bound and gagged while also being dragged against your will to your doom.   Writer/director Adam Green relies heavily on the audience’s dire sense of helplessness as the movie unfolds into one of the most upsetting survival horror films viewers will ever be witness to.  Psychological elements of impending doom play heavily in Frozen as the constant interaction and lack of instincts for self-preservation amongst the characters make this tale of terror a far more realistic one. Unlike most horror films, the mistakes our three protagonists make along the way do not induce groans or screaming at the screen.  There are no moments when you feel hopeful for the three unfortunate souls. There are no scenes of drawn out and tense chase sequences accompanied by a jarring score. There is only dread, trepidation, and despair. Like Michael Haneke’s Funny Games, viewers are forced to feel like voyeurs watching a hopeless situation unravel into a fairly gruesome one. Its running time of ninety-four minutes will feel much longer as viewers will feel just as trapped and isolated as the characters onscreen.

What also makes the film even harder to watch is that Green makes the ballsy decision of shooting the film in a practical way. There are no green screens or CGI snow. The actors and crew are really fifty feet up in the air enduring the harsh weather and freezing temperatures. It was a clever and courageous move on Green’s part and all the actors’ give authentic and heart wrenching performances because of it.

To give away the obstacles the three stranded characters face will definitely do viewers a disservice as the scares might not have the hard hitting impact they would going in completely blind.

All I will say is that after watching a series of avoidable events unfold onscreen, this reviewer screamed, closed her eyes, yelled out obscenities, let out nervous laughter, gasped, squirmed in her seat and then bawled like a baby all in the exact order…and all in the span of ten minutes. Those reactions alone should prove how bleak and emotional this thriller truly is.

Now were there any negatives to be said about the film? Of course there were and after my first viewing of Frozen, I was prepared to give the film a lower rating for its sometimes obnoxious and far too personal dialogue that at times felt like only close friends of Green would find funny. (Shawn Ashmore’s character is named Joe Lynch for God’s sakes. ) I also felt a character deserved a far more memorable send off, but after watching Frozen a second time, I realized I had fallen in love with each character.  I found myself memorizing the number 830-7860 for Joe, laughing at Parker for saying she had to pee “wicked” bad, and admiring Dan’s loving affections for his girlfriend.  Multiple viewings made the flaws disappear, which is something I can’t say for most horror films.

Like Open Water and The Ruins, Frozen is a traumatic, unapologetic and relentless punch to the gut that only truly affects you after you have viewed the film. It provides a nauseating and unsettling sense of dread that will send more chills up your spine than the icy weather the characters in the film are subjected to.  If you’re lucky to catch this one in theatres, please do so ASAP and then promptly take a hot shower and call your loved ones to tell them you love them.  I know that’s what I did. 

Rating:

Tags: adam green, FROZEN, Funny Games, Kevin Zegers, Open Water, Shawn Ashmore, THE RUINS