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Frostbitten AKA Frostbite
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Stevie McCleary (23rd October 2007). |
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The Film
 "Frostbitten" (or, to use its native language, "Frostbiten"...different, yes?) is a tale of vampires stalking an Alaskan town which only sees dawn once every month, leaving the town blanketed in darkness the rest of the time. It is a wholly original piece that brings new life to the vampire genre...Oh wait. No, it's not. And no, it doesn't. Back in 2002 a popular graphic novel called "30 Days of Night" was released. Pretty much directly after it came out the rights to a film version were bought by Sam Raimi's production company Ghost House Pictures. Recently they finished making the film and it is due out now. But somewhere along the way, apparently in Sweden, some other people in 2004 appear to have read the novel and thought "that seems like a good idea. Let's use that for our film." And history, in the sense that something happened and people saw it and agreed that it had happened, was made. Note: I should mention that, according to IMDB, the first draft of this script was apparently completed in 1999. That would place it before "30 Days of Night", if true. Annika and her daughter Saga have moved to a small town because Annika wants to work under her hero, geneticist Gerhard Beckert, and rapidly upon arriving things seem to not be on the level. Beckert has a mysterious coma patient that he feeds mysterious red capsules. It's all very mysterious. Meanwhile Saga meets Vega at school, who invites her to a party. Vega is very interested in getting some drugs for the party so she asks her friend who works at the hospital to hook her up. Through a comedy of errors (funny-groan, not funny-haha) the party ends up being dosed by those mysterious red capsules. You'd almost be worried, considering that this is a vampire movie, that the red capsules would somehow turn people into insane vampires. Which they do, and they are. There are then lots of vampires. While they are eating people, Annika deals with Beckert and his wacky schemes. It all eventually comes together...sort of. This is a peculiar film, inasmuch as it does several things rather well, and then leaves you wanting. When all is said and done you would be pressed to not find yourself completely unsatisfied. This is shame, because the film feels so promising throughout, hitting a unique blend of horror and comedy. The direction is smart enough and the script is entertaining. But it seems to shoot itself in the foot by pulling back right when you think you're about to see what it's all been leading up to. The cast are more than adequate. The actress' portraying Vega and Saga have good chemistry and possess that quality which makes them interesting to watch. It's just a shame that, at times, the directorial choices suddenly verge on the bizarre. Characters sometimes fear becoming a vampire, some don't know what is going on, and others act like they've been vampires the whole time. It's this kind of off-kilter feeling that gives the movie some of its charm but also handicaps it a tad. Adding to the off-kilter feeling is the fact that, apparently, when you become a vampire you can hear what dogs are thinking. It's kind of un-nerving and funny at the same time. It is these interesting choices which help raise "Frostbitten" over most standard horror fare. But as stated, it is a shame that the general structure of the film ends up letting it down in the end. The effects are mostly well done. They refrain from overdoing the effects early on, which leads to a much better experience, making the vampires actually creepy at times. The GCI is still easy to pick from the real effects but it's not the worst you'll see. And the director is smart enough to try and hide the transitions in darkness. It's not the greatest film, but it was only a few steps away from being 'pretty good', which is a shame when so many sections of a film are working and a few let it down. Additionally, the film is subtitled so if that affects your viewing experience then that could be a negative as well. I didn't find it too hard to follow but it would have been more entertaining if I knew Swedish. But that goes without saying. Also, Swedish is highly entertaining to listen to. It's a pity the film as a whole couldn't break out, but that's often the way. I recommend it, due to it being quirky enough to almost work and it is better than many others in the vampire genre. It's just a shame that it smacks of 'almost' and 'if only' so often.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer could have been much better, overall the image is quite good presented without any dirt and sharpness is maintain throughout the majority of the print. I did find that the image was a bit on the dark side at times, some night time exteriors were a little hard to make out at times and some detail is lost in those scenes, some grain is also evident but is never a distraction
Audio
A single Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1 track is included, as far as 5.1 tracks go this was rather good. I wasn't expecting any great as you're often let down by the soundtracks of low budget films but the aggressive nature of this track took me by surprise. The dialogue is clear and distortion free but the depth and range of the track during the vampire attacks are a good example of the impressiveness of the mix which the film's score also adds to. Optional subtitles are included in English only.
Extras
First up is "Frostbitten: Behind the Scenes" featurette that runs for 25 minutes 59 seconds and is a look at the film's production covering most aspects including the script and developing the story to the Swedish approach to making this film and what the filmmakers hoped to achieve. And specifically looks at the humor elements, the challenge of shooting at night and during winter, make-up, production design, stunts, editing sound and music. Next up are 2 deleted scenes that include: - "Car Scene" runs for 1 minute 34 seconds, a short scene where a conversation takes place about the cops able to shoot a dog if it gets in the way of their duty. - "Cornella's Flight" runs for 1 minute 2 seconds, Cornella escapes by throwing herself out a window. 3 bloopers are also included, these aren't exactly bloopers but feel like outtakes as they include multiple takes of lines and action and include: - "Sebastian Stomped" which runs for 1 minute 44 seconds. - "Oh Vega" which runs for 27 seconds. - "Vega on Wires" which runs for 1 minute 2 seconds. Next up is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 1 minute 23 seconds. Rounding out the extras are a series of start-up bonus trailers for: - "Habit" which runs for 2 minutes 10 seconds. - "In Search of Dracula" which runs for 2 minutes 34 seconds. - "Victor Frankenstein" which runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds.
Overall
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