FROZEN Review

Adam Green is perhaps most synonymous with his gleefully retro slasher Hatchet (and its upcoming sequel) but his latest flick supposes a very real (very possible) scenario, the inspiration for which came from his own experience of budget weekend ski resorts back home.

Dan, his girlfriend Parker and his lifelong best mate Joe are skiing for the weekend, having blagged their way to a cut price pass. Joe is pissed off, having spent too much of the day watching Parker "fall on her ass" rather than skiing with his buddy. Aggrieved that the slope is also closing early due to an imminent storm, the trio bargain their way onto the closed slope for one last run. However, a series of organisational blunders leave them stranded on a ski lift part way up the mountain, dangling like human bird food. With night falling and the temperature dropping, they're forced to make some frankly terrifying (and occasionally puzzling) choices about what to do. It's Sunday night and the resort is closed until the following Saturday...

Whilst these guys aren't the most likeable trio to spend 90 minutes with, the banter between them is a cut above and performances are generally solid. It's a classic, pared down "what would you do?" situation which Green exploits to fingernail-bothering effect. Whilst you can't help wanting to scream at the youngsters, you're also unlikely to come up with any better solutions than they do (well, I didn't anyway), no matter how perilous they turn out to be. Despite times of predictability, it's to Green's credit that the tension mounts effectively, and is sustained to the end credits.

The director has suggested this is something of a departure from his more gore-filled, crowd-pleasers, but it's also demonstrably an Adam Green film complete with cheeky cameo, and a mischievous sense of black humour. The first major casualty is an audacious and near parodic scene of operatic injury, where the aforementioned predictability is used to joyously black comic effect. Nervous laughter, yes, but Green's also hugely aware of his audience and their expectations of him, often toying with us in the more gruesome scenes. The snowy mountainscape changes from beautiful vista to a lethal prison, filled with all manner of potential death traps - it's not so much who will die, but how.

If there's a problem it's with the tone. Frozen can't quite decide where the balance between genuine pathos, and that wicked sense of humour lies. It doesn't make the events any less gripping, but I was split between caring for and mocking our hapless friends.

That said I came out with a huge grin on my face but also feeling faintly traumatised by the relentlessly tense nature of it all - a rare and wonderful combination.

 Frozen (Momentum Pictures) will be released in UK cinemas from 24th September 2010