A woman, travelling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl’s only hope. (IMDB)
From reading prophecies in Harry Potter to rescuing a kidnapped young girl in a frozen wasteland, Emma Thompson can play very convincingly any role that is thrown at her. The rest of the casting is also solid, Marc Menchaca and Judy Greer both deliver a great performance.
In a thriller, an element is always kept secret, to keep the suspense going… Here, we know the identity of the kidnappers, we’ve seen the victim, we just don’t know what’s going to happen to her or why, until the last scene. That felt refreshing and different. Barb’s backstory was also a nice addition and gave depth to her character, even if it was a bit too sad for us.
Dead of Winter is a solid thriller with a great cinematography. Also, it happens in snowy landscapes, what more to ask for a December TV evening?
I had quite a good time watching this movie last night. Not only because it was cold and rainy, and I was comfortably installed in the couch with my fluffy white blanket, but because the Neighbor is a cool movie that’s perfect for a Saturday horror night.
Without spoiling too much about the actual storyline, I will just briefly summarize the movie. John and Rosie are planning to leave town in order to start a new and better life. When Rosie goes missing, John suspects his weird neighbor of having something to do with her disappearance. While investigating and sneaking around in his neighbors’ house, he discovers the disturbing secrets he’s been hiding in his cellar.
The story is great with several unexpected plottwists. What seemed to be the subject of the movie at the beginning, took a huge u-turn in the middle and ended up in a completely different direction. It was quite a nice surprise which I loved. There is a good flow to the storyline, once the action starts rolling, and the sense of dread builds up quite nicely as well.
Even though there isn’t much time for real character developement, I thought that the casting was great. Josh Stewart, the actor that plays John, carried the movie quite well. The characters were credible which, in my opinion, was more than enough for this kind of movie. After all, all that matters is surviving.
If you like Marcus Dunstans’ “The Collector”, I’m sure you’ll like this one. Like I’ve said before, it’s perfect for a Saturday horror night.
