Despite a low body count and tolerable characters, but no standout characters, Cold Prey works because of its atmospheric setting, and because it is just as much of a survival movie as it is a horror movie. The survival situation, particularly for one character starts before the killing does, and once the killing does it becomes just as much of a battle with the elements as it does the killer. I do like that time is given to the characters early on, I know all of their names and things about them, but none of them are that memorable. While doing everything I normally like about a character driven slasher movie its faults are that it does nothing excellently. I could have used maybe one or two more kills and something that stands out. Without the survival element added in I would not have liked this as much.
I do like that early one where we get to know some of the characters. Couples Jannicke and Eirik, as well as Ingunn and Mikal, and their third wheeling friend, Morten Tobias are snowboarders and skiers going on vacation. They arrive at a mountain. On the car ride they establish that Mikal and Ingunn haven't been together that long, but are very much in love. Jannicke seems to be afraid of making a commitment to Eirik by not wanting to move in with him. Morten gives several looks at Jannicke throughout that show he has a crush on her. After trekking to a remote mountain summit Morten breaks his leg after falling off of his snowboard. The situation becomes one of survival as they cannot get off the mountain for help before dark. They find a supposedly abandoned lodge and take shelter there...
They stabilize Morten's leg before Jannicke takes over and superglues his leg shut. They take refuge there. There are some fun moments like when Morten drinks alcohol and takes painkillers. Eirik, Ingunn and Mikal find a generator somewhere in the basement and turn it on. They have fun with some of the music that plays and Ingunn and Mikal make cocktails for everyone. Mikal goes to have sex with Ingunn but she doesn't want to. Mikal gets mad because he thinks she is leading him on. Back outside, Morten has a fun moment where he is carried on the shoulders of Eirik and Jannicke to go pee. Mikal starts drinking and Jannicke tells him that he needs to be patient with Ingunn and that she is still a virgin.
At one point Ingunn goes to leave her room and is stabbed by a man hiding in the lodge with a pickaxe. A great chase ensues as Ingunn gets to the stairs to the next set of rooms on the floor below. While trying to get back up the stairs she is stabbed again and eventually dragged down before she can get Mikal's attention. The next morning Mikal brings breakfast to Ingunn's room and knocks on the door, but she obviously doesn't answer. This could have been a turning point if he had just opened the door. Meanwhile, Eirik decides to leave to get help and before he can get very far, finds Ingunn's body and is knocked out by the killer. Eventually Mikal and Jannicke go back to the generator room. Morten wakes up at one point and I like that moment because that could have been like something out of Torso where the character wakes up not knowing what would have happened to the people around them. I'm okay with them not going that route but it would have been interesting. It transitions to Jannicke and Mikal in the generator room so I'm ultimately okay with them not going that route.
Morten goes to cry open a can of beets. There is a good fake out where Mikal finds the beets all over the ground and assumes something has happened to Morten but he has just fallen. Jannicke eventually opens Ingunn's room and I love the look on her face when she sees all the blood. This is where the survival situation really amps up. While it was revealed a little bit before that Mikal likes to do things his own way, he eventually proposes that Jannicke and him leave to save themselves. When Mikal does go off on his own he is eventually killed by the mountain man breaking his neck.
A look at the killer in this movie
Spoiler Section
Jannicke does eventually lock Morten inside a food pantry for his protection and goes to a shed and finds a shotgun with one shell. While in the basement she finds Eirik still alive. Eventually the mountain man finds both her and Morten in the generator room and Morten prevents her from shooting as the mountain man was holding Eirik as a shield. He stabs Eirik in front of them. Morten stays behind and is killed while Jannicke escapes. She eventually gets on skis but is knocked out before she can go anywhere. The movie's opening had shown a kid with a birthmark being buried in snow. They had found a picture of him at the lodge from around 30 years ago. When Jannicke fights the mountain man near the ravine, she knocks off his goggles showing he is that boy all grown up. She manages to stab him with the pickaxe and he falls into the ravine. Jannicke collapses into the snow.
I do enjoy how the setting of this movie is infinite. I can never figure out the geography of the building and that puts you in the mind of the characters as they have a hard time navigating the place while the killer knows his way around. While the movie looks quite gray and green I do like how archaic and obsolete the building looks. I love the visual of the bright red blood Ingunn gets all over the floor. That color is welcome compared to the rest of the movie. It feels like a classic slasher in that some slashers will take place in one secluded location where anyone who goes there gets killed. The characters see this later when they find a bunch of wedding rings in one of the rooms where the killer frequents. I just wish there could have been a kill at the opening or maybe another couple that gets killed. The kills themselves aren't really anything special. That tends to happen when only one weapon is used. Sometimes people will say oh the killer uses this really cool instrument in this slasher movie, but I happen to like a variety. One kill is a cutaway, one is a neck break from afar, and the other is just one stab in the chest. I do like the twist that Eirik is still alive..until he isn't. The chase with Ingunn is great. The suspense scene where Morten and Jannicke hide from the killer and their breathing is the loudest thing in the room is great suspense. The moment where Jannicke aims the gun and the killer puts out his flashlight is great. The final fight shows how capable Jannicke is, kicking the killer repeatedly and rolling around to avoid the pickaxe. She kicks ass. I do enjoy watching this movie every winter as the setting and atmosphere really help what could otherwise be an average slasher movie.
SLASHER MOVIE ANATOMY:
- Prior Evil: A boy's parents were killed a ski lodge when he was young and he was buried in the snow and left for dead. Now he kills anyone who comes there and disposes of their bodies in a ravine.
- Body Count: 5
- Whodunit: No, though ultimately more like who cares because you know its the mountain man and you don't care much about who he is or why
- Mask or outfit: Mountain main in winter wear
- Locale or organizer: Ski Lodge
- Best Kill: Pickaxe to the chest
INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH AND SLASH COUNT
Pickaxe: 4
Neck break: 1
SLASHER MOVIE TAXONOMY
- Kingdom: Post-Scream, Norwegian, survival
- Phylum: Serious, not much levity except for the fun moments Morten provides
- Class: Slasher set at a ski lodge in the winter, just as much about survival from the elements
- Order: 2006
- Family: No nudity
- Genus: Great atmospheric setting, I enjoy how the characters going to a remote location automatically gets them away from any other authority that could help them
- Species: Low body count, minimal effects work, some blood but not overly bloody, atmospheric and setting reliant
Rating: 6/10
Trivia: The movie was shot at the peak of Jotunheimen. Helicopters flew 20 tons of equipment to the top of the mountain where the temperature was below -25 degrees Celsius. It took two years to film another nine months for special effects and editing.
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