Frozen

Skiers beware! After seeing “Frozen” your next vacation will likely be in the warmest location possible. Unlike most horror film directors, writer and director Adam Green requires no elaborate torture devices, no grotesque supernatural entities, and no masked psychopathic killers to terrify his audience. Instead, Green expertly captures the realism of dying at the hands of Mother Nature to craft his latest success.

The film centers on a couple, Parker and Dan, and Dan’s long-time best friend Joe, as the three go skiing for a weekend. They try to squeeze in one last run at the end of the day, but a mix up leaves them stranded on a ski lift.  The trio soon realize they are trapped, as no one will return to the mountain for days. They are too high to safely jump and it’s too dangerous for them to climb across the lift cable, leaving them in a seemingly hopeless predicament.

The plot is not particularly original. The film is mostly a transposition of 2004’s “Open Water.” Instead of being stranded in the middle of the ocean with a group of sharks, the protagonists of “Frozen” battle freezing temperatures, lack of food or water, and a pack of hungry wolves below.

While the plot may not be particularly inventive, the brilliance of the film is that, compared to modern horror film standards, freezing temperatures and a pack of wolves do not sound particularly frightening. However, Green portrays the group’s desperation in such a hauntingly realistic manner that he manages to make frostbitten faces and frozen limbs be just as disturbing as the most expensively elaborate special effect.

Because it focuses on the single stationary chair lift for three quarters of its running time, the film easily could have given become tiresome to endure. However, though Green lacks a measure of technical freedom due to the airborne nature of the lift, he still manages to capture the protagonists’ plight from a multitude of angles, which makes the movie constantly engaging on a visual level. Green’s imaginative directing is one of the greatest strengths of the film and is the main reason why it works.

By contrast, Green’s writing is considerably weaker. The script is not particularly deep and relies too much on exaggerated emotional outbursts. This is a bit unexpected as Green’s most popular film to date, 2006’s “Hatchet,” was primarily buoyed by its inventive screenplay, which played popular horror conventions for laughs.

However, while the movie may be a bit too heavy-handed at times, the emotional core of the film is both unexpected and effective. Surprisingly, the central focus is not on Parker and Dan’s relationship, but instead on the evolution of Parker and Joe’s friendship. Joe, disgruntled that Parker monopolized Dan’s time since they started dating, resents her presence. While stuck in the chair lift, the two are forced to grow and support each other. The two develop genuine rapport with one another, and it is surprisingly touching to see how they are able to bond through adversity.

The friendship of the two, however, is somewhat blemished by the acting of Emma Bell, who plays Parker. The performances of her two male counterparts, played by Kevin Zegers and Shawn Ashmore, are perfectly serviceable. However, Bell’s unceasing whining is downright annoying at times and her performance is unconvincing.

Part of the problem is that her character is written to be helpless—she often panics and lacks the common sense one should have in a dire situation. Her biggest lapse in judgment comes when she falls asleep with her bare hand gripping a pole. The audience must watch as she peels her frostbitten hand off in sheer agony.  Moments like these provide great thrills, yet one wonders how anyone could be so foolish when the stakes are so high.

For thrill-seeking horror fans, the movie may not be perfect, but it is a blast, providing a breath of fresh air in an often formulaic genre. The film leaves a strong lasting impression, and it will likely creep unexpectedly into your mind, especially when hitting the slopes for that last run of the day.

—Staff writer Edward F. Coleman can be reached at efcolem@fas.harvard.edu.