“Frozen” is a brilliantly laid-out horror film patterned after the famous “Open Water”. True to its inspiration, the film focuses on three skiers whose perfect snowy day transforms into a nightmare as they get stranded on a chair lift with little hope of escape and survival. Talented writer-director Adam Green brings to life most skiers’ worst case scenario. His take on this feature would surely leave a lasting impression way past the 94 minutes of gut-wrenching suspense.
Following their yearly tradition, best friends Joe (Shawn Ashmore) and Dan (Kevin Zegers) head on over a New England resort with Dan’s new girlfriend Parker (Emma Bell) in tow. Not too happy with his third wheel status and Emma’s new experience weighing them down, Joe convinces both of them to head out on a last minute run down the slopes before dark. Heading back, they decide to bribe the operator to allow them on the lift for a smaller fee for its last cycle. However karma hits fast as the operator leaves immediately for an emergency conference leaving behind the trio dangling in a chairlift up in the sky. This decision proved to be fatal later on as the place shuts down for a week due to a huge storm coming in. As the lift stops working and the ski patrol turns its night lights off, the three quickly realize with escalating panic that they’ve been left behind with no way out.
As the frostbite and hypothermia begin to set it, the trio is forces to think of desperate measures to escape the tortures of the gruelling mountain fast before they freeze to death. Once they begin to move, they soon discover that aside from the intense cold, there are other factors they should be more scared off. With the number of unexpected obstacles piling up, they begin to question their will to survive and overcome one of the worst ways to die.
Calling this film as a horror is a mediocre term to be used. It would be more appropriate to coin in as an intense psychological thriller that would surely rack anyone’s brains out. Green takes audience into a higher level of tension and fear with an original theme complemented by compelling emotional depth. The screenplay does its job perfectly and smoothly as it captures the very essence of how people would normally react in the face of extreme stress.
Much praise goes to Green as he manages to overcome the greatest dilemma of creating an exciting film amidst shooting on a tight screen with three characters occupying more than half of the sequences while glues to one location only. On normal circumstances, this would have easily been a snoozefest but fortunately Green offers a great range of camera views that worked to his advantage. His mix consisted of medium shots along with lingering close-ups which captured the character’s raw emotions perfectly. Every change in their reaction and the unexpected sensations elicited were never missed. Surprisingly, all these sequences were actually shot high above the ground, at subzero temperatures in a real snowstorm on an actual lift. Green’s dedication to bring forth a film as realistic as it can get is remarkable.
Aside from the focus he placed on capturing the character’s emotions, he also took time to ensure the audience would feel the tense environment around. He made sure to create a balance between the events happening mid-air to the ones occurring at ground level. In order to create the vibe and atmosphere crucial to the moviegoers film experience, Green incorporated ominous sounds, scarce lighting, and random but necessary shots depicting how abandoned the resort and slope is. It allows the build-up of tension and fear both to the characters and most especially the audience as they truly feel no help would be coming anytime soon. Adapting the first-person perspective contributes to the film’s ability to torture the mind of the idea of facing death with no other means out. Using this variety of skilful techniques, the audience would genuinely feel like they are the ones sitting in the lift and experiencing the tragic situation. Feeling for the characters and connecting with their predicaments are the major successes of the film. This is the kind of horror that would truly etch itself deeply into the minds of moviegoers.
Green together with his brilliant cinematographer Will Barratt has created a wonderful piece of technical achievement. The camera angles and shooting techniques captured perfectly the claustrophobic feeling and fear of the trio hanging on a chair lift against the empty night eating them up both physically and psychologically.
Loading ...
