A while ago, a friend of mine purchased a dazzlingly magnificent Blu-Ray DVD pack called the ultimate 80s Slasher collection. It sure is, since it contains bad but legendary slasher movies like "The Mutilator" and "The Nail Gun Massacre". One movie included in the collection, however, totally doesn't belong, and that is "Dead of Winter". It's not a slasher, and even if it would feature a few minor slasher trademarks, it still wouldn't be at home in a collection with the aforementioned titles and others of that type. Don't get me wrong, though, because I hugely prefer unhinged, filthy and sleazy 80s teen-slashers over pretentious, dull and unbelievable thrillers like "Dead of Winter".
That's right, "Dead of Winter" is a tremendous disappointment! I don't understand how gifted people like Mary Steenburgen ("Time After Time"), Roddy McDowell ("The Legend of Hell House") and director Artur Penn ("Bonnie & Clyde") got involved in this. The plot is weak and implausible, but particularly the character drawings and casting choices irritated me immensely. Okay, I'm probably biased, because Mary Steenburgen is a favorite actress of mine and I always considered her as a very intelligent and sophisticated woman. Because of that perception, I really don't see her in the role of an aspiring actress, naïve and desperate enough to accept a job that requires to live in a mansion with an old cripple and change her looks. Of course, there isn't a film production, and her kidnappers only "cast" Katie because she's the doppelganger of a dead woman they absolutely need to be alive. Steenburgen even appears in a third role, as the twin-sister of the dead one, but I completely lost interest at this point already. The "villains" are preposterous and laughable. Are we supposed to be scared of an old man in a wheelchair and his ageing and homosexual man-servant?!? In his idle attempts to generate suspense, Arthur Penn revers to dire cliches like self-playing pianos and secret doors behind mirrors. Admittedly there are a few good moments, like when Katie wakes up with a finger missing, but not nearly enough for a film of this caliber.
That's right, "Dead of Winter" is a tremendous disappointment! I don't understand how gifted people like Mary Steenburgen ("Time After Time"), Roddy McDowell ("The Legend of Hell House") and director Artur Penn ("Bonnie & Clyde") got involved in this. The plot is weak and implausible, but particularly the character drawings and casting choices irritated me immensely. Okay, I'm probably biased, because Mary Steenburgen is a favorite actress of mine and I always considered her as a very intelligent and sophisticated woman. Because of that perception, I really don't see her in the role of an aspiring actress, naïve and desperate enough to accept a job that requires to live in a mansion with an old cripple and change her looks. Of course, there isn't a film production, and her kidnappers only "cast" Katie because she's the doppelganger of a dead woman they absolutely need to be alive. Steenburgen even appears in a third role, as the twin-sister of the dead one, but I completely lost interest at this point already. The "villains" are preposterous and laughable. Are we supposed to be scared of an old man in a wheelchair and his ageing and homosexual man-servant?!? In his idle attempts to generate suspense, Arthur Penn revers to dire cliches like self-playing pianos and secret doors behind mirrors. Admittedly there are a few good moments, like when Katie wakes up with a finger missing, but not nearly enough for a film of this caliber.