User Reviews

Minor spoilers below.

I saw 'Mister Frost' for the first time when it came out on video back in 1991, and then several years later. The first time I saw it I was enthralled by Goldblum's performance as The Devil, and I didn't notice the film's weaknesses. Not so with the second viewing, but it still leaves an impression.

First the positives: Goldblum's portrayal of Satan (as well as the script he recites) is as close to my view of the true Devil as I've seen on screen. The Devil would not appear on earth with a tail, horns, and a pitchfork. He would be intelligent, mocking, frustrating, elusive, and malevolent; all the while doing his best to appear human. The story is also well-motivated and developed. The first interview between Dr. Day and Lucifer was the most tense scene in the movie, and one of my all time favorites.

As to the negatives: Others will mention the less than stellar performances of the supporting cast and the generally pitiful score. These are significant flaws, especially Alan Bates as Detective Detweiler, but not crippling. What I didn't care for was that the Devil didn't follow his own rules; he made it impossible for Dr. Day not to believe him. For example, he melts Dr. Day's ring in his hand and heals a spinal chord. These things cannot be done by a typical psycho in a ward, the melting point of gold is a bit higher than the burning temperature of flesh.

A lot of people didn't care for the conclusion. I thought the final fate of Dr. Day was perfect, but the acting and general meandering of the third act was poor and really slowed down the movie until the final five minutes.

I recommend the movie to people who enjoy reasonably intelligent supernatural stories that are not laden with special effects.

Two young criminals break into a rich property, intent on stealing the beautiful car sleeping in the garage. Finding the corpse of a murdered man, they alert the police. An inspector calls at the address in question, only in order to discover a very gracious, relaxed and hospitable host. Indeed, his host is so cooperative that he immediately confesses to having buried the corpse...

The first fifteen minutes or so of the movie are masterful : taut, intriguing, fascinating. If "Mister Frost" had gone on in the same vein this could have become a horror movie, or a horror/thriller movie, for the ages. Sadly the quality slowly descends until the movie becomes watchable, nothing more. This may be linked to the fact that the movie springs from an international co-production (tax breaks or European subsidies, anyone ?) One rather gets the impression that much was lost in translation...

Strangely enough the movie, in spite of all its mass murders and mayhem plus all its talk about mass murders and mayhem, seems to have only a shaky grasp on the real nature of evil.

The movie's most important asset is a riveting, fascinating performance by Jeff Goldblum, who projects a powerful blend of charm, unpleasantness and threat. This is clearly one of Mr. Goldblum's better performances.

Much of the intrigue concerns a female psychiatrist confronted with a male patient who tells her a whoppingly incredible story - in this case, that he is the Devil himself, in all his sable glory. Does the patient suffer from an industrial-strength delusion or could he be telling the truth ? Lovers of the horror and fantasy genre will recognize a thematical ressemblance to "The Medusa Touch", which, in my humble opinion, is a rather better picture.

As you may know, I love lost films or movies that no one pays attention to any longer. Can you believe that I found one from 1990 with Jeff Goldblum in it? How does that happen?

Alan Bates (The Shout, The Wicked Lady) plays Felix Detweiler, a detective that starts the film by arresting the titular Mister Frost (Goldblum), who happily announces that he has all manner of bodies buried on his property.

Frost is arrested and goes to an insane asylum, where he doesn't speak for two years. His identity can't be figured out and Detweiler becomes obsessed by the case and the twenty four bodies they found at Frost's home.

Frost finally speaks when he meets Dr. Sarah Day (Kathy Baker, The Right Stuff), telling her that he refuses to talk to anyone but her. Also, he's Satan. Also also, he plans on getting her to murder him someday.

Detweiler, for one, is convinced that Frost really could be the devil. He might be right - Frost can do crazy things, like heal Day's brother so that he can walk for the first time in years. Also, her patients and fellow doctors are being changed by Frost and not for the better.

To keep anyone else from Frost's powers, Day agrees to kill him. He thanks her for believing in him, telling her that he's now more powerful than anything or anyone in the world. Day shoots him mid-speech, yet finishes his last sentence in Frost's voice. Now, she too refuses to speak.

It's not a great movie, but it's a fun one. And it's not one you're going to find easy - well, YouTube is your friend here - but one that you won't be upset that you sat through. Goldblum as the devil? Yeah, I can see it.

"Mr. Frost" isn't that bad, but really could've used a few problems fixed with it.

**SPOILERS**

Trying to solve a crime, Inspector Felix Detweiler, (Alan Bates) stops by the home of funeral caretaker Mr. Frost, (Jeff Goldblum) and manages to stumble onto the fact that he's one of the most notorious mass-murderers of the day. Arrested and taken into custody, he is soon transferred to the St. Claire Mental Hospital where he is put into the care of Dr. Sarah Day, (Kathy Baker) owner Raymond Reynhardt, (Roland Giraud) and her staff. Attempting to get through to get through to him, she is constantly told that he is Satan and his great evil puts her in danger. The more time spent in his graces, the more he makes her believe that his story is true and that he may in fact be the Antichrist. Trying to decide how to deal with his threats, they try a few radical ideas and finally discover his real motive.

The Good News: This wasn't all that bad. The fact that this takes a really unconventional approach to the fact of the protagonists identity. There's a really new angle here, as it's not entirely clear if it's just playing into the suggestion or if it's actually true. There's enough given for both angles quite efficiently, and they can't be spoiled but they do manage to make it seem like it could go either way. That is a wonderful skill for the film to have as it really manages to build up some suspense during the middle section of the film. When all the events start to unravel, there's plenty of reasons to believe either version, and that is what holds the film over. It's quite new to have a film use this approach, as they'll usually give one subtle reason and just make it all the creative. This even has a few really chilling moments to go along with it, including the root-top jumping encounter and the showdowns with the influenced patient with potential victims that are pretty chilling. There's only one other positive aspect, which is the rather quickly-paced last half of the film. The attempts to diagnose and find the problem are really toned down when compared to the beginning half, the displays of power start to sweep into the frame and it becomes a little more frantic in it's quest to get it through. This finally gets the film into the watchable realm and is it's best feature. These here are what work for the film.

The Bad News: This here does have some problems with it. One of the main flaws is it's slow, down-tuned way of going about things. It's not really an easy film to get into if a requirement is a lot of excitement to get into it. The film's approach is so low-key and unaffecting that it's possible to forget the film's events shortly afterward, especially when nothing really leaps out with it's effects. The majority of everything in the film is done through dialog and explanations for what has happened before the previous scene. There's a really large amount of analysis going on in here that it can just take a lot out since the action is simply non-existent for most of the running time, and when it actually decides to spring it out, there's nothing that really sticks out. The other really big flaw is it's ending is simply confusing. There's nothing that happens here which makes any sense at all, as it just simply happens to contain so much nonsensical ideas and actions that it's a real blow to the film. This is the biggest flaw, aside from the lifeless narrative, and will be responsible for most of the negative feelings toward the film.

The Final Verdict: With only a few problems keeping this one down, this one's kind of in the middle of the road. It does have enough good points to be watchable, leaving this one only for the curious or completists of the style or genre.

Rated R: Language and Violence

I caught this during its very brief theatrical run in Nov 1990 and thought that--after a decade of slasher flicks and dumb, dead teenager movies--it was an odd throwback to a kinder, more stylish kind of thriller.The international flavor of the cast and the strange omni-Euro locations didn't bother me at all-- I thought those touches only added to the whole atmosphere of displacement and doom. Jeff Goldblum is a very unique Satan;his peculiar acting and vocal mannerisms make a perfect fit for the role. The philosophical parlor games he engages in with Kathy Baker are both amusing and somehow creepy. This film almost epitomizes the sort of plot lines that would later be featured in The X Files: an enigmatic serial killer who may or may not be imbued with supernatural powers. While not without its faults, Mr Frost is worth a look if for no other reason than to watch Jeff Goldblum's performance.

This is a movie with a good concept until you get into the particulars. The devil has decided to convince the most hardened skeptic that he exists. So he picks, as the most hardened skeptic... Wait for it... an unbalanced, emotionally fragile, mentally disturbed shrink. I want to see this devil convince a mentally balanced, stable, confident physicist. She was already prepared to see and believe anything, she was so messed up. That was no challenge. Had this movie presented the devil with an actual challenge, it would have been good. Jeff Goldblum is always great to watch. It's a shame this movie wasted him.