After one of them had a terrible accident, five young snowboarders seek shelter in an abandoned hotel. Obviously they’re not alone … someone is sneaking in and around the hotel … and then one of them is attacked …
The deliberate pace of this Norwegian slasher may irritate viewers who expect blood and gore from the start, but the film is well-acted and well-directed, with the emphasis on menace rather than blood and gore. The film is book-ended by two brief (but intriguing) sequences in which it is explained how a small boy could become a killer who attacks all those who come near.
The film’s success (both at home and abroad) led to two sequels and some think the First sequel even tops the original. We’ll see.
½
Fritt Vilt II (Cold Prey 2 – 2008)
Did it really top the original? Well, it’s not bad, especially for a sequel, but like most sequels of successful horror movies it tries to stupefy audiences by offering more of the same in a more crude and blatant way. So no, it didn’t.
Jannicka (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), the only survivor of the First movie is taken to a hospital while the bodies of the victims and the killer are brought to the morgue, but of course the killer has somehow survived his own death. You can guess what happens next.
In the first movie the killer had been abandoned as a kid by his parents, who had left him for dead in the middle of nowhere in the snowy Norwegian wilderness: it was easy to understand how he had become the monster he was and in fact we felt a bit sorry for him. In this sequel he seems no longer human, but is instead turned into one of those murderous creatures that keep coming back.
Bolsø Berdal has the film’s best line near the end, when asked why she is pointing a riot gun at the killer, who is already dead:
I’ve watched only the first one. Here’s what I’ve written about it in my watching diary: Solid slasher with characters who for a change make believable decision (by “solid” I mean “better than most”).
I agree with this statement, of course. I read somewhere that somebody thought they could have run away, but I don’t think it was that easy: they had started the day with five, one of them had broken his leg and int hat case it’s not that easy to run away. Furthermore it was late at night and they were in the middle of nowhere. Norway is not a country where would like to get lost late at night. So yes, I thought their decisions were believable
As an elder brother to 1974’s ‘The Towering Inferno’, this is Hollywood mayhem at its best; and, with a cast headed by the magnificent Gene Hackman, and Ernest Borgnine, this beauty has stood the test of time. No cgi, simply practical effects, which left the cast wondering why they had swapped their warm, cosy, dressing rooms, for water, water, everywhere…
Last 10 outside the spaghetti westerns of the last month:
#251. Fisher: Horror of Dracula 8/10 #252. Fisher: Curse of Frankenstein 8/10 #253. Romero: Night of the Living Dead 8/10 #254. Ray: Johnny Guitar 8/10 #255. Tavernier : Coup de torchon 8/10 #275. Wood: Plan 9 From Outerspace (cinema) eh… no rating #276. Kümel: Daughters of Darkness (cinema) 7/10 #279. Yeaworth : The Blob (cinema) 7/10 #285. Chytilová : Daisies 10/10 #290. Shindo: Onibaba 9/10
Another great example of a master filmmaker working with knowing exactly what he wanted in his mind: Police Procedural Crime Drama in the main course with social commentary on side dish. And it is a pretty tasty treat too. Visually beautiful movie that is full of artfully composed scenes and an intriguing mystery that comes alongside high level of excitements and genuine thrills.
Watched “The Holiday” with the wife.
Christmas movie that will be soon forgotten.
One positive note was to see Eli Wallach and another the usage of Morricone music.
Ray Harryhausen, the undisputed ‘father’, and master of stop-motion animation, magically produced this final gem in his crown, and introduced us all to some of his finest, and most intricate creations.
With a God-like stellar cast including Sir Laurence Olivier, Burgess Meredith, Dame Maggie Smith, and the divine Ursula Andress, the remaining members of legendary folklore consisted of Perseus (Harry Hamlin); and Andromeda (the gorgeous Judi Bowker).
A beautiful score by Laurence Rosenthal, complimented, perfectly, the fantasy on screen.
Ray’s creations were numerous, and amazing to behold…quite an achievement, considering that Sci-Fi films were beginning to reign supreme at the box-office. A trend which began with ‘Star Wars’ (1977).
In ‘Clash’, we were introduced to ‘Pegasus’, the flying horse; ‘Dioskilios’, the two-headed dog; a giant vulture; giant scorpions; the dreaded ‘Kraken’; and his piece de resistance, the ‘Medusa’, which was a master-piece of lighting, menace, and unsurpassed artistry. Magic, indeed.
Il Bidone (Fellini, 1955) - 4.5/5 La Strada (Fellini, 1954) - 4.5/5 Amarcord (Fellini, 1974 - 5/5 The House with Laughing Windows (Avati, 1976) - 4.5/5 Bullfighter and the Lady (Boetticher, 1951) - 4.5/5 Dawn of the Dead (Romero, 1978) - 5/5 Dawn of the Dead (Snyder, 2004) - 3/5 Dumb and Dumber To (Farrelly, 2014) - 3/5 Wings of Desire (Wenders, 1987) - 4.5/5
I have a great admiration for Steve McQueen…the ‘King of Cool’
This is the ‘King’, at his best…not saying anything…but expressing everything…
With this role, McQueen wasn’t being the ‘Cooler King’, ‘The Cincinnatti Kid’; ‘Papillon’ or anyone…
He was the best.
Whether in ‘Le Mans’, or other miss-guided efforts, he was king…
