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Frozen
Location shooting in Utah’s Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest made this indie chiller about three friends stranded on a ski lift a natural for Sundance, where it appeared in the festival’s cheap thrills Midnight sidebar. Ashmore (X-Men’s Iceman) stars as a skier who’s pissed that snowboarding best pal Zegers (Dawn of the Dead) has marred their bromantic weekend by bringing along newish girlfriend Bell (Gracie). When there’s a sudden shift in resort personnel at day’s end and all equipment shuts down, the trio is accidentally marooned in midair, out of sight and mind as workers and guests head home for the week.
Frozen is essentially a disaster movie limited by a small budget and even smaller cast. As storms threaten above and wild animals circle below, the bickering threesome’s survival options dwindle, although Green and Will Barratt (his cinematographer on Hatchet and other films) add movement and tension with low-angle and overhead shots in an effort to overcome the characters’ inherently static situation. But some plot points (like leaving cell phones behind, and Bell not covering her hand after losing a glove) strain credibility; the listless dialogue bores; plus, the gimmick of vacationers left behind worked better in Open Water because, on screen at least, sharks trump wolves any day.
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