Frost (2012): Released on DVD February 10th

Frost (2012)
Directed by: Reynir Lyngdal
Written by: Jon Atli Johasson
Starring: Anna Gunndis Guonmundsdottir, Bjorn Thors

Frost (2012)

(15) Running time: 79 minutes

Director: Reynir Lyngdal

Writer: Jon Atli Johasson

Cast: Anna Gunndis Guomundsdottir, Bjorn Thors)

Reviewed by: Matt Wavish

The found footage genre of horror continues to churn them out in the numbers, and Frost is the third found footage horror I have reviewed this month! Billed as “The Thing meets Blair Witch Project”, Frost had plenty of potential. However, there is none of the masterful brilliance of The Blair Witch Project on show here, and when do we finally stop liking EVERY horror set in the Arctic with the promise of monsters to The Thing? If you watch this with the hope of having any sort of fun like you had with The Blair Witch Project or The Thing, then think again.

Frost begins well: a group of researchers are working on the outskirts of the Arctic Circle, the setting is impressive, and we meet Gunnar (Thors) who has arrived to shoot a documentary on the research being conducted. Part of the research team is Agla (Guomundsdottir), Gunnar’s girlfriend and the pair have not seen each other for some time. Let’s just say the relationship is a little (ahem) frosty to begin with. They soon fall back in love, and we spend some time with them catching up, laughing, joking and excitedly talking about the research. The next morning the whole team have disappeared, and Gunnar and Agla are left on their own. No bother, while they are a little shocked, they believe the team have all headed off to do their work, and the lovers cook, dance and get passionate (another sign of the dwindling power of found footage is the fact they actually film themselves doing all these things, but sadly the camera stops as Agla is about to get her kit off!).

The pair don’t seem at all bothered about their missing friends until they hear strange noises at night, and eventually follow a trail of blood. They are lead to some spooky goings on as researchers begin turning up dead in the snow, and the lovers attempt to figure out what is happening. They do their best to look scared, intrigued and desperate for answers, but we don’t care and the reason for that is the lovers do not convince at all. The two actors do their best, but their performances are flat, and unfortunately the film is directed with zero tension, terrible timing, no menace, no mystery that warrants an answer, and pacing that simply does not exist.

I wanted to like Frost, I really did, but an hour in I realised that absolutely NOTHING I had just seen had actually registered in my brain. When the film eventually finished, I felt cheated out of my own time and effort because I could not recall barely anything of significance that happened. It is a collection of scenes put together badly, with poor acting, some silly plot twists and no scares at all. The film does peak during a claustrophobic moment in some snow tunnels, but even that tension disappeared all too quickly. Frost, sadly, was a major major let down for me, and I really hoped for so much more from this.

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