FROZEN (2010)

Written & Directed By: Adam Green Cinematography By: Will Barratt Editor: Ed Marx Cast: Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers, Kane Hodder At Mount Holliston, snowboarders Dan Walker, his girlfriend Parker O'Neil and his best friend Joe Lynch don't have enough money to buy lift tickets. Parker bribes Jason, a lift-worker, with one hundred dollars. When the system is nearing closure, they force Jason to let them have one last pass. However, Jason needs to resolve a problem and his colleague misunderstands his instructions and stops the lift. The trio of skier and snowboarders gets stranded on the chairlift near the top of the mountain. When they see that the lights of the ski resort had been turned off, they need to make a choice: leave the chairlift or freeze to death. Adam Green is a good director with a lot of imagination. I have become a bit of a fan of his work. Looking forward to each new feature. He is one of the main reasons I gave this film a chance. I’m not sorry I did. The film while rather thin and with a ridiculous concept that seems more like the type of outlandish story that get’s a blurb in a newspaper or a few pages in a magazine. The film is a thought thriller that at many times dives a bit into drama. So much so that it almost feels like a play at times. With it’s heavy dialogue and few locations. As the characters desperation grows. They reveal previously hidden sides of themselves. The film feels like a longer episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, Though never the gory heights of a TALES FROM THE CRYPT, Nor Supernatural for a TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. There is terror but very little surprises. I can say that I was never bored. It keeps the audience interested in the characters and their situation. The film was shot entirely practically, meaning no sound stage or green screen or CGI. The actors were truly suspended over fifty feet in the air on the side of a real mountain in Utah. What I liked is that unlike other horror directors Mr. Green shows restraint in his sense of direction. Letting things happen naturally. Even in scenes of violence. Where it would be easy and advisable to go for a shock cut or gore. He let’s the action just happen. Not flooding the screen with violence and over the top antics. It’s solid and realistic independent thriller, to a point. He makes the film more about the characters and making the moments they spend together dramatic and real. To get the shots of the chairlift moving with the actors speaking on it, director Adam Green and director of photography Will Barratt shot everything themselves as the film's hired camera crew was too nervous to dangle at those heights. It entertained but I never felt anything except for a bit of a sense of dread. A dark Cloud hangs over the film throughout. The acting is ok. Like I said the premise does feel a little too coincidence ridden, but without it of course you’d have no film. GRADE: C+