Visitors Review

jonmon (2012-05-22 00:35)

Fascinating... a very hard trick to pull off with no human adversary!

The magic of Frozen is that there's no badguy. It's just humans againstnature. I was worried at first that the film would be slow paced. Imean, how many things can happen within such a small space?It turns out: plenty. Although time passes during the movie, the filmdoes not give in to drawn out melodramatic sequences. They fightagainst nature, but the film is structured to attack them from allsides at once, but also in a way that's not transparently unrealistic.(Although personally I feel that nobody would have survived the coldand dehydration of the first night.)We even learn a little about the characters, in a way that's moreconvincing than most disaster films, I am thinking for example of ThePoseidon Adventure. There are no stereotypes here.And they make mistakes. This isn't like Die Hard where the protagonistcleverly thinks of everything. Everything about the film, includingtheir being trapped up so high, falls together like a series ofcoincidences, and that makes it even more horrific, because you startto believe that it might actually happen. There's even a little comedyto offset the horror, towards the beginning.There is some gore in the film, but hugely less than I was led tobelieve. This is no Quentin Tarantino film and no slasher film either.So having said what it's not, what is it? It's a thrilling look at how,even though we humans have extended ourselves into nature withtechnology, how reliant we are on that technology. It's an intellectualthriller rather than a supernatural or a serial killer freakshowthriller. It's normal people without heroic powers stuck in a situationthat is near to real, the "Lost in Translation" of horror films.I though it was fantastic. I'll give Frozen a 9 out of 10.

(2012-05-21 12:20)

Rubbish, trash, garbage, a landfill of a film,

Were I able, I'd give this film a rating apposite its title: negative zero. The absence of any action, adventure, or intrigue didn't bother me, nor did the aimless, boring, stagnant plot. The male actors were mightily committed to the vapidity and tedium of the script and emoted accordingly. Their inability to act well matched the scriptwriters' inability to create a compelling film. You bored me, lads, but I didn't joyfully anticipate your deaths. Bravo. The actress, however, was insufferable. I wish she had died. I wish it had been slow. I wish the pain had been both exquisitely unbearable and graphic. How the writers managed to fabricate a female character this dull and yet still find a way to ornament her with a personality capable of being so painfully annoying in its unimaginativeness and fatuity, I cannot comprehend. Parker is one of the most insulting female characters I have ever been disprivileged enough to endure. She is annoyingly helpless, whiny, weepy, demanding, insipid, pitiful, pathetic [insert any negative adjective commonly associated with female film characters you can think of]. Granted, I have never been foolish enough to find myself illegally trapped on a ski lift and do not know how I would react in such a circumstance. However, if I did, and any one of my companions comported themselves in a manner akin to hers, I would without doubt, take the chance at possible survival and eventual imprisonment to unbuckle and violently shove her out of the lift. The actress who lowered herself to the level of misogynistic self-loathing required to play this character ought to be stoned with the meagre salary (I'm hoping no more than half a dozen rolls of quarters) the producers paid her to take on this contemptuous role. This film sucked.

(2012-05-20 20:51)

Genuinely Tense and scary

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As another reviewer pointed out, Frozen is not exactly a "horror" movie, despite being billed as one, but I guess that depends on your view of what makes a horror film? To me this was a sort of "open water" set on a ski lift. 3 young friends take the last ride up the mountain and get stuck on the ski lift, in the dark, knowing it's closed for a week. The tension, and scary aspect of the film comes from feeling for the characters, wondering how we would feel, left behind, no way down, dark, very cold, and bleak - truly a frightening prospect.The main characters are also not "serves them right for being idiots" run of the mill fodder, and there is no madman lose on the mountain (as in the excellent Cold Prey a few years back from Norway).Do you give up and die, try to get down and risk life and limb (and some questionable wolf attacks) and do you learn that you have to work together to survive.At a sneak over 90 mins it's long enough without ever being boring, and there is plenty of tension throughout. The 3 young actors play their parts very well on screen, and the cinematics are impressive and remind us how insignificant we all are compared to nature.Well worth watching, and far better than a lot of dross currently around billed as horror movies. 4 stars

Matt Pais (2012-05-20 05:33)

An unremarkable addition to the 'Jeez, hope that doesn't happen to me' genre.

B B (2012-05-20 05:33)

I don't want to see this movie again

First of all let me start by saying, Frozen is a really GOOD movie. Thereason why I never want to see it again because this is one of thosemovies that will haunt u forever. I went through some of the reviews &I'm surprised at the amount of negative reviews, I agree to some extentwith them, but some of those reviews are way exaggerated. I wasn't expecting much of the movie, I only predicted that I'm notgoing to like it, & I was wrong. The first half hour of the moviedidn't grab my attention what so ever, the main characters don't reallygrow into u, in fact, you are going to hate them all a little bit. Thatbeing said, you can't stop but feel sorry & terrified by what happensto them after they got stuck up there, I was literally feeling & livingthe scenes with them & I was really disturbed/stressed/sad......., &all along one thing was going through my head, what if this happened tome, because lets face it, this has happened before & will happen again,& if you are unlucky u could end up going through the same. As much asthe characters sucked, they didn't deserve that kind of death "gettingeaten by a pack of wolves ALIVE", specially when they turn out not sobad after all, u will really feel sad for them. The scenes are toographic, even to me (I see blood & guts & laugh: hahaa it's allmakeup), I was holding my hands to my face most of the time & holdingmy breath every time something was coming up.. Stuff shown in thismovie happens in real life that's why this movie will be like a slap inthe face if u watch it & keep asking yourself, what if it was me intheir shoe, what would I do, what would u wish u had learn before tohelp you save your life here.. We all know we're going to die one day, but it is unexpected, it couldbe in the most unexpected time or place, & watching this movie &putting yourself in their shoes, will make you appreciate your time &situation & might motivate you to finally do at least one the thingsyou kept postponing all this time. Death is right around the corner,make sure u make the most of your moments alive.

Liz (2012-05-19 18:29)

....amazing.

This movie is just...mind blowing. I can't comprehend my feelingstowards it. It made me laugh, cry, gasp, and cheer. I love it becauseof the terror and action, but i hate it because of the sadness anddevastation. When I first started this movie, I had no idea what I wasin for. I didn't expect it to be as amazing as it was. I mean, how manythings can happen when you're stuck on a chairlift? Supposedly, a lot.Starting with the lights shutting off, then the realization of thesituation, and then the tough stuff started. There is something aboutbeing helpless that just tortures me. When Dan jumped off the lift andhis leg bones were sticking out, I was leaping out of my chair. Thethought of being in his position, being so alone and scared and beingin so much pain, makes me want to turn off the movie. But my eyes wereglued to the screen. I witnessed the killing, the immense sorrow, thefear...everything. I felt like I was watching my own lover die, and notbe able to do anything about it. And when Parker finally started downthe hill, I felt a surge of relief. Until she came across Joe - mangledand torn up. Tears rolled down my face and made me angry. But theending made me wish it was all a dream, and at the same time made mecheer for the actors and the director. "Frozen" is a terrifying yetbrilliant film that leaves you full of thought. This movie ishands-down disturbing and amazing, and keeps you mesmerized in thefreezing cold snow.

Peter Keough (2012-05-16 12:10)

Perhaps it's because the wind chill as I write is minus-11 degrees, but this just isn't entertainment I can warm up to.

tiagodon-1 (2012-05-16 02:40)

Can't take it off my mind!!!!

I watched this movie yesterday and I just can't take it off my mind.One of the best thrillers I've seen in years!! Very good performances,very good and clever screenplay, intelligent and precise directing. Themovie holds you in the couch, makes you pay attention to everydetail... you can even feel the cold!! Emma Bell, you deserve an Oscar for this! Breath-taking performance!She really throws you into the drama, the anguish, the desperation...The rhythm of the movie is perfect. Terror and pain going along withchildhood stories and common life issues. Even Spielberg's E.T ismentioned! It goes from heaven to hell, back to heaven and hellagain... Sometimes you see the sun, sometimes you get snow showers, andthe scenes are built together with these interludes of pang. Thrillerfor grown-ups! A must-see!

(2012-05-10 01:47)

Sound foundation, but "jumps the shark"

This review is from: Frozen (DVD) First, great foundation for a story. Chairlift strands three friends 60 feet above the ground at night on a ski lift. Everyone's gone home and no one knows they're up there. Fantastic! I love these "what do you do in this situation" types of stories. This premise is unsettling enough. The writers should not have added the wolves into the story. Should. Not. Have. Done. That. In this day and age of sophisticated audiences, there is not one human being on the Earth who still acribes to the "big bad wolf" mentality. There is enough scientific data to disprove wolves attacking people in the wilderness. The story completely jumped the shark at that point and left me very disappointed. The writers needed to have more faith in their initial story because they really didn't need another "villian" to spice things up. If they HAD to add an villian, a bear is a much more plausible choice because bears WILL attack and kill people.Anyway, good story - could have been so much better minus the "wolves as baddies" ploy. I know too much about wolves in real life. I didn't buy it for a second and it detracted from the film.

(2012-05-09 07:54)

FROZEN

This review is from: Frozen [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This was just OK!! It was a little pedictable and not a good as I was told it would be. But it was just OK!

Richard Knight (2012-05-09 20:40)

Both the audience and the characters are stuck in their chairs waiting and waiting and waiting and...

klh11 (2012-05-09 05:45)

Like a car crash...so bad but you keep on looking

Story had potential to be great but poorly executed as many before mehave mentioned. I was hypnotized into wanting to watch more just to seehow awful it could get and to count up all the mistakes! I never feltthe drama or fear in the film, I was too busy being distracted by theall of the nonsense. One snow/ski boarder consultant could haveimproved this film greatly. This was on TV and I'm glad I didn't payfor it. This was the first movie that was so bad that it inspired me tocreate an account just so I could give it a rating. I would have givenanother star if someone actually froze to death or if the female gotran over at the end.

elsparx (2012-05-06 23:29)

Quite possibly the worst film ever

This was a small part of my life that I will never get back. I wish Ihad of done something productive with the time I spent watching thispatronising, over produced, moronic waste of film.The plot is this.3 complete idiots get stuck on a ski lift, after being stuck on thelift for some time the very fabric of the world unravels and thingsstart taking a turn for the stupid.Firstly, Jonny (I don't know his name or care, but he's being calledJonny) jumps off the lift, I know, what could possibly go wrong there?He breaks both his legs, didn't see that coming did you? Well, somewolves come along, and being the hairy badasses they are, eat Jonny andhis stupid face. Christie (token woman, also not her name) cries aboutit and gets frostbite, Frank (brooding token loner, also not his name)gets accused of letting it happen, flips out then forgives her andsleeps.Christie pisses her pants (Yes, they devote a scene to a womanurinating in her ski pants) Some more idiotic stuff happens and shepasses out near a road after seeing Frank eaten by wolves. Did Imention he got off the lift? No? It's because that was one of the worstparts of the film.Avoid this film like the plague, unless you have no soul, mind or anyfeelings towards the art of cinematography.

Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton (2012-05-06 20:23)

[Writer/director Adam] Green has crafted a potent combination of absolute terror and compelling human drama that will stick with you long after you've left the theatre or turned off the DVD.

wilderblue2005 (2012-05-04 01:01)

A simple dark plot

What happens when you barter for a last run down a ski slope at the endof the night on the last day of the season ... getting stranded 30ft upin a blizzard with 2 friends, no way of getting down and wolves lurkingin the mountain forests? Probably not.The idea is simplistic, the acting is good, there will be more than afew occasions you will wince and hide your eyes, but thats good farefor such movies and this was a pleasant surprise at how good it was indelivering.I'd heard of this film only recently and took a nose at it because,like "open water", the premise was simplistic enough and the outcomesin both urge you to root for the people involved and question yourselfabout what you would do in the situation. Enjoy.

Cary Darling (2012-05-03 22:54)

The threesome's constant conversation amid the building unease helps establish them as characters with which the audience can identify.

Malcolm Parker (2012-05-02 08:05)

Left me cold

If you can stay awake through the mind-numbingly dull dialogue at thestart. Swallow the remote likelihood that this trio would ever havecontemplated taking a ski-trip together and accept as plausible thechance-in-a-lifetime scenario that eventually leads them to theirplight, you'll be doing better than me. When you add someone survivinga drop of at least 10 Meters with major compound fractures to bothlegs, unfortunate enough not to lapse into blissful unconsciousness,but actually remaining alert long enough to apply tourniquets to bothlegs and exchange a few pleasantries with his compatriots. I guessyou'll have no problems with the next bit as he screams and shouts hisirritation at being gradually devoured by wolves. I guess the bestthing I can say about this film is it should encourage anyone whothinks they can write a film script to have a go because if the marketwill swallow this, it'll just about swallow anything.

spammeplez (2012-05-01 23:20)

Best worse movie ever !

This is going to be a cult favorite for skiers, boarders and resortworkers.I tricked several of my ski buddies to watch this and they just aboutshot me after it was over. They couldn't stop shaking their heads andchuckling in disbelief at how ridiculous this was.Behind us sat a group of people who kept shhshing us because theyreally got into the movie. I'm pretty sure I heard a couple of themsobbing. They must have been from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and thereforenever been on a ski lift or even seen one. Understandable I guess,since if I tried to make a movie about killer jelly fish invading abeach in Rio it would be probably similar to "Frozen." I would call it"Stung." This falls into the same genre as Vertical Limit, Cliff Hangerand that scene with Tom Cruise free soloing a desert wall. My climbingbuddies have parties just to poke fun at these shows. Who carriesnitroglycerin on a mountaineering expedition anyways? And seriously,Stallone a climber? Now Tom looks like he could be a climber until hedid that jumpy thing and spin move.Anyways, Watch it.. it's really the best worst movie ever.

(2012-05-01 10:19)

Average

Three young skiers (Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore and Emma Bell) are trapped on a chairlift, halfway up the mountain. The ski resort will be closed for the next five days, so chances are they have to remain where they are, out in the cold, until the next weekend, by which time they will have been frozen to death; or they have to do something to avoid the fate.Like "Open Water," a film about two hapless swimmers left alone in the sea, "Frozen" is based on a premise that is not exactly implausible. Writer/director Adam Green attempts to create a character-driven, suspense-filled movie based on the premise that I think is too simple for a feature film. In short the story goes nowhere. For it is obvious that the three stranded skiers have few options to choose, and anyway they take one of them. Occasional gore and grotesque descriptions are not enough to sustain tension for 90 minutes. The three characters' back stories are not very interesting as, after all, we want to know more about what they will do, than what they are.One great thing about "Frozen" is that the filmmakers actually shot the film among the snowy mountains (in Utah). No green screen or soundstage is used, and the on-location shots give the film an authentic look and feel. Otherwise, the film is average with its scenario that heavily depends on coincidences and wrong decision making on the part of the characters.

(2012-05-01 07:32)

Is it over yet?

I can't believe I wanted to see this movie; I am glad I waited for Netflix to stream the movie online before I went and spent money on it. The plot is simple enough 3 college age kids are out at a ski resort. Two guys who are best friends and one of their tag-along girlfriends. They don't seem to bring enough money to pay for the ski-lift so the guys convince the girlfriend to flirt with the chair lift guy to give them a free ride. They take one and then convinced the guy to give them one last ride before he shut down for the night. The guy argues with them about it but they eventually change his mind and get on the lift.My thought on this: you get what you pay for...next time listen to the guy who says they're closing up for the night. He may not appear to be the smartest guy on the block but he knows his job enough to keep it.Eventually things lead to them getting stuck on the lift. After sitting there for hours one decides he's going to jump and it doesn't end well for him...breaks both legs, then the wolves' descend. First one and then they scare him off by throwing a ski board at it. It comes back with the pack and down goes the first victim of the movie. I'm not going to sit and debate the likelihood of this happening, I don't know much about wolves so I can't say if they'd attack a human under any circumstance.After that happened, and the hailstorm, the girl (hunter) wakes up to find her uncovered hand is frozen to the metal chair-lift. Shouldn't this have crossed her mind if she had known their faces were already being covered with frost-bite then to lay her frost-bitten hand over the iced pole that it wasn't a smart idea?After the second male wakes up he climbs his way up to the cables and makes his way down. Fights off the wolves and lives Hunter promising to come back for her. She falls asleep for an un-said amount of time and falls off the lift either on purpose or by accident I haven't exactly figured that out yet. She breaks her fall in half by pulling the chair down, still manages to hurt her leg but crawls and falls down the snow filled mountain.The movie is almost over but I still don't have deep seeded care for the characters even after the death of two of them. I'm not a cruel person but I guess I just didn't bond with the characters all that well. At the end of the movie instead of feeling sympathy I more so felt like, who cares...