What I mean by my title is this: I have seen this movie labeled "horror" (though IMDb does not label it this way). If you are expecting your typical horror film, forget it - there are no ghosts, no monsters (unless you count the wolves, who were simply trying to survive), no maniacs. If you are expected this to be dull due to the simple premise of three people trapped on a ski lift, you'll be wrong. There is plenty of terror and suspense, more than enough to satisfy any horror movie buff.
I'll start with what I mentioned before as the simple premise: Three friends, Dan (Kevin Zegers), his girlfriend Parker, (Emma Bell), and Dan's best friend Joe (Shawn Ashmore), are enjoying a skiing trip together, before circumstances (a bad choice, as well as an accident), cause them to be trapped on a ski lift, high off the ground, in increasing treacherous cold weather. Might not sound scary on paper, but think about it ... just being stranded in cold weather is enough for me, but not being able to do anything about it because you're so high off the ground that that you are completely helpless (at this point, some of you might be saying, "Why don't they jump?" Someone tries - with disastrous results) ... there is little that could be more terrifying.
The cast more than sold their predicament (no doubt helped out by the fact that this film was shot on location). Emma Bell, for her first big film, is, in my opinion, brilliant. Kevin Zegers is more than adequate in his role, and Shawn Ashmore is great as the laid-back (albeit slightly jealous) best friend. The three leads have great chemistry, and have no problem pushing this very dialogue-driven film forward.
Speaking of the dialogue, writer and director Adam Green does a great job. All of the lines seem very real and natural - the beginning of the film in particular does a good job in introducing you to a trio of friends just looking to add some fun. When things begin to go bad, it is very easy to imagine the lines spoken on the movie as what would be said in real life.
The tension is built very nicely throughout, and the scare scenes do exactly what they are supposed to do. There are only two notable instances of gore in this film, but both are quite graphic. The ending could be seen by some as anticlimactic, and by others as good, even heartwarming.
There has been so much written about parts of this movie being "unrealistic," as well as the "stupid" decisions made by the characters. Let me give my take for a bit - first of all, no wolves in New England? I live in New England, and though you don't hear of it often, I have heard of wolves being spotted on more than one occasion. Where you find one wolf, you will undoubtedly find more. By the way - clothes rope? Seriously? For one moment, let's ignore the high probability that the rope wouldn't have supported them (or the fact that, since their hands were probably numb by that point, that they never would have been able to tie them together tightly enough). I have (thankfully) never been stuck on a mountain freezing to death, but if I was, I very highly doubt that removing my clothing would be my idea of attempting to survive. Those are the only two I will mention, since this review is beginning to stretch a bit long, but bottom line, we can talk all we want to about what we would do in that situation, but until we feel that level of desperation, there's no way to know for sure.
All in all, I think this movie is great. Fans of the horror movie genre might not find what they're looking for here, but if you're willing to take a chance, I believe you'll find plenty to terrify you here.
I'll start with what I mentioned before as the simple premise: Three friends, Dan (Kevin Zegers), his girlfriend Parker, (Emma Bell), and Dan's best friend Joe (Shawn Ashmore), are enjoying a skiing trip together, before circumstances (a bad choice, as well as an accident), cause them to be trapped on a ski lift, high off the ground, in increasing treacherous cold weather. Might not sound scary on paper, but think about it ... just being stranded in cold weather is enough for me, but not being able to do anything about it because you're so high off the ground that that you are completely helpless (at this point, some of you might be saying, "Why don't they jump?" Someone tries - with disastrous results) ... there is little that could be more terrifying.
The cast more than sold their predicament (no doubt helped out by the fact that this film was shot on location). Emma Bell, for her first big film, is, in my opinion, brilliant. Kevin Zegers is more than adequate in his role, and Shawn Ashmore is great as the laid-back (albeit slightly jealous) best friend. The three leads have great chemistry, and have no problem pushing this very dialogue-driven film forward.
Speaking of the dialogue, writer and director Adam Green does a great job. All of the lines seem very real and natural - the beginning of the film in particular does a good job in introducing you to a trio of friends just looking to add some fun. When things begin to go bad, it is very easy to imagine the lines spoken on the movie as what would be said in real life.
The tension is built very nicely throughout, and the scare scenes do exactly what they are supposed to do. There are only two notable instances of gore in this film, but both are quite graphic. The ending could be seen by some as anticlimactic, and by others as good, even heartwarming.
There has been so much written about parts of this movie being "unrealistic," as well as the "stupid" decisions made by the characters. Let me give my take for a bit - first of all, no wolves in New England? I live in New England, and though you don't hear of it often, I have heard of wolves being spotted on more than one occasion. Where you find one wolf, you will undoubtedly find more. By the way - clothes rope? Seriously? For one moment, let's ignore the high probability that the rope wouldn't have supported them (or the fact that, since their hands were probably numb by that point, that they never would have been able to tie them together tightly enough). I have (thankfully) never been stuck on a mountain freezing to death, but if I was, I very highly doubt that removing my clothing would be my idea of attempting to survive. Those are the only two I will mention, since this review is beginning to stretch a bit long, but bottom line, we can talk all we want to about what we would do in that situation, but until we feel that level of desperation, there's no way to know for sure.
All in all, I think this movie is great. Fans of the horror movie genre might not find what they're looking for here, but if you're willing to take a chance, I believe you'll find plenty to terrify you here.
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