I enjoy psychological horror more than rubber monster movies or slasher films. But psychological horror can be heavy on dialogue and light on action, and this is indeed the case here. But what made me want to leave a review, is the following…
THE GOOD. This movie took risks with its dialogue. For example, there’s an exchange about mass psychosis–a topic that upsets some people and can often be ‘fact-checked’ into oblivion in the digital world. But others would argue it is demonstrably real and appropriate after the last few years of world events. Additionally, the story has characters believing they are sick and try various, unhealthy methods of ‘curing’ themselves, including quarantining themselves to death. In general, this movie successful demonstrates the horrific, self-damaging consequences of people giving in to fear, specifically fear regarding illness. I found it encouraging that a film would talk about these subjects knowing they are often mocked and ridiculed on popular forums. It takes guts to go against popular opinion.
THE BAD. How to trap your characters in a single location is a common problem for smaller budget films. Here we have a snow storm. Fuel runs out and firewood runs out and they start to freeze and this is what starts the second act. EXCEPT, they are surrounded by trees. Here begins the ‘horror film decision making’ that hurts these kinds of films. The leader-girl tells everyone they can’t fall asleep because they’ll die from hypothermia. But they know it’s going to be days before they can leave, so that’s horrible advice. And you’re SURROUNDED by trees! Go break off some limbs, start a fire and warm up. The sleeplessness causes hallucinations and amplifies their fear-induced decision making, and we downward spiral to the climax.
CONCLUSION. This is probably a 5 or 6 star movie for me. But I’m giving it a 7 because of the risks they took with the dialogue and the inevitable low star rating they’ll get for that.
Whoever made this, I hope you keep making movies.
A Bad Start To The New Year (For Horror)…Because This Movie Is Idiotic.
When a group of college friends go to one of their parent’s cottages, at a ski resort called Snow Falls, for New Year’s Eve…they end up getting trapped, with no power, little food, and a supply of firewood that they are burning through quick.
However, they still have a safe house…and blankets…and each other…
So when the one girl takes over, with all these rules, designed to prevent hypothermia…it doesn’t really make any sense.
Because…though, it would no doubt be cold. It wouldn’t be to the point where they are actually hypothermic.
So the fact that she suggests they “don’t fall asleep”, only acts to make matters worse…as being sleep deprived would adversely effect their psychological state.
Which is what the entire premise of this film is based on.
Because they can’t even go three damn days before they all start tripping out.
Which is just as ridiculous.
Because, they are quite literally surrounded by trees…yet make no attempt to collect firewood at any point.
Which would have solved all of their nonsensical problems.
Not to mention…THERE IS BARELY EVEN ANY FRIGGING SNOW…for anyone who lives in an area where it snows…you’ll look at the rate at which that the CGI (ugh) snow is coming down…and be like…hey, how pleasant.
With the filmmakers making zero effort to make it seem like they are stuck in an actual blizzard (the snow doesn’t even go above the soles of their boots ffs).
It’s simply laughable.
And this is before they introduce the equally absurd theme of them thinking the snowflakes are infected by some sort of virus.
Which doesn’t even make any damn sense.
The paranoid delusions are, apparently, a result of the sleep deprivation…and the sleep deprivation is all based on one chick’s idiotic direction…and them collectively being too stupid to collect firewood.
Literally nothing in this film makes sense.
If the writers had half a brain, they would have just made the whole thing a cannibal flick…because the only actual problem they have is a lack of food…and even that is giving them the benefit of the doubt, because they still have food at the end!!!
The entire plot here is so stupid…it’s flabbergasting.
Leaving me genuinely confused about what the creators were thinking when they constructed it.
Is the whole point of this film to frustrate you, with how frustratingly stupid these characters are?
Cause if that’s not it…then I just don’t get it.
Hopefully this isn’t foreshadowing what kind of year 2023 is going to be like for horror.
Because this move is idiotic.
Talk about a bad start to the New Year…
1.5 out of 10.
