FROZEN is a film that doesn’t fall easily into any particular category. With director/writer Adam Green’s previous films some will say it’s a horror story. Others will note that it seems more like a thriller. But this movie falls into a category all its own, one that touches on elements of both yet doesn’t completely take on either.
Kevin Zegers and Shawn Ashmore play Dan Walker and Joe Lynch, two best friends since childhood who are now college students. This particular weekend finds them on a skiing trip with Dan’s girlfriend Parker O’Neill (Emma Bell). The three are about to hit the slopes and hopefully along the way, become better friends. To date, Joe and Parker seem to be vying more for Dan’s attention, now its time to develop friendship.
The day starts with the group trying to con the lift operator to give them lift tickets on the sly for far less than they normally costs. Cash in hand, Parker talks him into it and the three head to the snow covered mountain. Taking the bunny slopes (since Parker is still in the learning phase) they have some fun but eventually Joe and Dan (more experienced skiers) want to take on the regular course. Parker volunteers to wait for them but Dan wants her along.
With a bad storm on the way, the lift and mountain are in the midst of closing. But the three convince Jason, the lift operator, to let them go up for one last run. They are the last on the lift. A set of inconvenient circumstances results in a change of operators on their way up and the lift is shut down with them midway up the mountain, sitting in the lift high above ground. No one knows they are there. The cold is coming. And no one can hear their calls for help.
The movie crawls along in stages as the three go from feeling it’s a quick mistake or malfunction that will soon be solved to realizing the only people who can save them is themselves. Sitting on the bench, bombarded at first by the hail storm that arrives, they talk anything to keep themselves from worrying about their situation. They eventually discuss solutions from climbing the cable (which is razor sharp) to dropping down and hoping for the best.
Eventually Dan makes the decision to drop and go for help. But it’s much further down than they realize. Will he make it? Or will he do more damage than good? And is there more in the woods than they realize?
The movie is less about special effects and whiz bang storytelling and more a character study between the three people we see on screen for almost the entire film. Each one has their own reasons for being here, though they might not really be apparent. Each one has hopes and dreams. Each one is young and thinking about the future. But with every moment stuck on the lift in the freezing storm they each, along with you the viewer, worry that their future may never come.
This is a movie for actors. And while the Ashmore, Zegers and O’Neill might not be mega stars, this film can only add positive notes to their resumes. Director Green made the right choice in not using name recognized stars because their celebrity status would have taken over instead of their performances. With these three he brings out emotions and plays with them, giving you the chance to feel for them rather than recognize them.
Given that the film takes place on a lift in the middle of a storm, there are some painful moments as well. Frostbite has rarely looked so real and harmful as it does in this movie. There are small moments where you not only feel the emotional pain but the physical as well.
The pacing of the movie is slow but that’s on purpose. This is not about gunplay or car chases. This is about isolation, desperation, hope and possibly surrendering to the elements. It runs the gamut from the best to the worst in human experience. But it isn’t boring. In fact the only reason you might press fast forward on the remote isn’t to move the story along but to avoid sense of unease as it progresses.
One thing is certain after watching FROZEN. You’ll never want to convince a lift operator to let you make just one more run. And chances are you’ll make sure you have plenty of warm items packed away in your car just in case something happens during the cold winter months.
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