Psycho gave us fear of showers; Jaws gave us fear of water; and now Frozen gives us fear of ski-lifts. Mind you, one can only be afraid if a ski resort doesn't open for another five days, you're the last skier for the day, and the operator shuts the lift down because he confuses you with someone else who's come down the mountain, while you're still on the lift. That's where the suspension of disbelief comes in. If you can manage, though, you should find this film rewarding.

In the beginning, we meet three twenty-something characters: Parker, Joe, and Dan. (Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, and Kevin Zegers, respectively.) They've come to a ski resort for some escapism, except there's one key thing: No one knows they're there. On their first run, the lift shuts down, which feels like obvious foreshadowing for their eventual situation. I was OK with it. However, I was not OK with what causes said situation. As the resort is about to close, the three persuade the lift operator for one last run. He gives in and they go up. Then, another operator tells the current one he's wanted in the boss' office. He leaves, says there's still three people left, but there's actually another three people who come down the mountain. So, the lift shuts down and our three main characters are stuck. I wish I could know the odds of that happening, but if it didn't happen, there wouldn't be a movie. I still think it should've happened differently.

Anyway, this is where the terror begins. The characters think this is another technical delay, but when the lights shut off, they soon come up with other possible explanations. There's one other suspension of disbelief moment that bugged me. A snow-withstanding vehicle pulls up to the trapped characters, who naturally try to get the driver's attention. The driver then receives a call on the walkie-talkie to go elsewhere, so he leaves. The characters try throwing their equipment for him to see, but it doesn't quite work. Yup, they're stuck.

Adam Green knows how to develop his characters. When they're not trying to escape, they talk about whatever comes to mind, like fear, in this case. These characters feel kind of stereotypical, earlier on, but as the movie makes progress, they become likable and realistic enough to have sympathy for. Certain viewers may dislike the dialogue driven approach, but I appreciated it. I also appreciated the multiple camera shots of "nothing": the mountain, sky, trees, and empty chair lifts. These shots give a good sense of isolation the characters are feeling.

I haven't forgotten that Frozen is a thriller. It's a nail-biting one, too. Dan makes the daring choice of jumping down, although he breaks his legs when he lands and there are wolves around the area. While his fate is kind of known at that point, it's intense. Just him making the decision to jump had me gazing at the screen. Joe later tries climbing the wire to get to a nearby ladder, which had me further in awe, although I won't reveal what happens.

Frozen is straightforward, but definitely not run-of-the-mill. It's unpredictable and chilling. Reminds me of other well-made survival against nature films, like The Descent. If Frozen just had less suspension of disbelief scenes, it could've even been masterful.

8/10

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