WIND CHILL

WIND CHILL
Dir. Gregory Jacobs
Sony Pictures (2007)

In an era when the horror film genre is plagued by a seemingly endless slew of remakes on the one hand and a dreary succession of “torture porn” flicks on the other, one is tempted to give a lot of credit to a horror movie that’s at least idiosyncratic and individualistic, regardless of how good the final result. Although briefly dumped into theaters by Sony Pictures without critics’ screenings, the tip-off that WIND CHILL has more on its mind than cheap scares is its executive producers Steven Soderberg and George Clooney, whose Section Eight Films makes a point of encouraging talented, often nonconformist directors. But do good pedigree and good intentions a good movie make?

The film starts off with a college student played by British actress Emily Blunt (doing a serviceable American accent here) needing a ride home to Delaware for winter break. Responding to the mysterious last-minute offer of a ride by a fellow student (Ashton Holmes), she heads off into a wintry landscape with him and almost immediately suspects his intentions are less than straightforward… and not without reason.

When Holmes (impulsively?) takes the ever popular Short Cut That’s Really a Dead End and the car is run off the road and lodged into a snow bank, Blunt must decide if trusting him any further will be her only hope of survival or her final mistake. Of course, there’s also the matter of some ghostly apparitions outside the car that are either the result of paranoia brought on by the freezing weather and isolation or a genuine descent into the supernatural. After a taut and skillful opening, though, the film drifts into hit-or-miss territory, albeit with more hits.

Blunt (L) gets taken for a ride

The film would have benefited from both more and less: more clarification of its supernatural elements and less of its running time. At 91 minutes, the film feels a bit padded, at times even repetitive. Had the film been 10 minutes or so shorter, it might have packed a leaner and meaner punch. Amongst the first things to go should have been several of the “explanatory” flashbacks which come as a distraction right at the moment the claustrophobic intensity of being trapped in a freezing car in the dead of night should have had us feeling as if a noose was tightening around our necks.

Still, the film has a terrific sense of atmosphere and even a surprising sense of poignancy, courtesy of Joe Gangemi and Steven Katz’s screenplay which admirably takes the time to develop its two lead characters. The film even weaves in some philosophical themes that, far from being mere literary gloss, are relevant to the story.

Given the obvious sincerity and craftsmanship behind WIND CHILL, it may be tempting to give it more credit than it’s earned. The credit it has earned, though, is sufficient enough to designate it a solid effort that will likely lead to more impressive future works by the filmmakers.

VAMPIRES IN LAPLAND

In the long dark days near the solstice, I finally got around to seeing FROSTBITEN (or FROSTBITTEN as the English language cover of the all-region DVD has it), the Swedish vampire film set in the 30 days or so of darkness up in midwinter Swedish Lapland. "Dawn is a month away" sounds suspiciously similar to the premise of Steve Niles’ 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, but I don't know how this film compares to that comic series or the film made from it because I haven't got around to them yet, mostly because I’m not all that keen on vampires. Yawn. Nonetheless, I’d be tempted to attribute the similarity to zeitgeist rather than wholesale lifting. It is really a genius idea to set a vamp tale in the long twilight of the north; since NOSFERATU gave vampires an allergy to sunlight (Dracula was merely weakened by it), you’d have thought someone might have used that naturally extended danger zone. The same rules apply in both films: it’s a free-for-all with no dawn in sight.

The film starts out during WWII when Swedish and German soldiers come across a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods. For a minute I thought I had mistakenly thrown in Pekka Parikka’s TALVISOTA (THE WINTER WAR) with its snow white vistas and ghostly pines, but the supertitles tell us it is the Ukraine in 1944. The soldiers, pinned down by enemy firepower, take refuge in a humble cabin in the woods. Their haven becomes a death trap as something begins to pick them off in the dark.

The story then jumps to the present where a research physician, Annika, and her daughter Saga arrive in Swedish Lapland for her new job with a prestigious researcher. Guess his specialty? Go on, guess--and doesn’t he look a bit familiar? While the vampire tropes used here might be totally unsurprising, the film has a charming and engaging nature which kept me involved. The interactions between Annika and Saga are sweet, and the way cool-kid Vega takes pity on the shy Saga long enough to get the new kid in with the in-crowd is both funny and believable.

" ...for death awaits you with nasty, big,
pointy teeth..."

The narrative is a little disjointed at times, but there are some wonderful moments, such as the newly vamped med student Sebastian finally meeting his gal's super-religious family with crosses and icons all over the walls--and a really cute little cuddly white rabbit that looks like it’s auditioning for Cute Overload. Yeah, you know what its fate will be, but it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. I really liked the inevitable collision between the doctor's secretive experiments with vampire blood and the bored kids in search of drugs, any drugs, for partying. The resulting party out of bounds proves an enjoyable carnage. I don't know why Hearing Dog’s speech should be an aspect of vampirism (really acute hearing, I guess), but I loved it and just about bust a gut laughing at the dogs’ comments--especially the nasty little pug. The cops were wonderful, too--especially when they were dealing with a vamp in lockup. The dry back-n-forth between the partners was perfect. The best death is far too funny to give away; I mourned the loss of the character, but I think I hurt organs laughing at the mode of death.

Petra Nielsen who plays Annika is good, even if Grete Havnesköld who plays her daughter is a bit too reserved. Emma T. Åberg as Vega, however, is absolutely magnetic and brings a lot of life to what ends up being a fun film. The best thing about it was the sense of humor—that gruesome streak of hilarity that made me laugh out loud, something I can't say about most of the so-called comedies I’ve seen lately. Suffice to say that I enjoyed the film and would gladly check out further films from this northern bunch. If you buy the DVD from the Website, you also get a bunch of extras including deleted scenes. It’s worth it for this fun addition to winter-themed horror films.