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Frostbiten |
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A woman
and her teen daughter move to a small town
where strange things are going on, people are killed
during mysterious circumstances. The woman starts
working at the local hospital where a doctor is
treating a patient with weird, red pills while the
daughter is invited to a party. When an intern
steals the red pills, mistaking them for drugs, all
hell is about to break loose...
Yes, it's Sweden's first vampire movie. And needless
to say, it's not a masterpiece. But still, I had a
hard time disliking this movie cause you can really
tell the filmmakers enjoyed making it. And it's not
completely worthless, much better than other Swedish
attempts in the horror genre (like "The Drowning
Ghost" or "Evil Ed") mostly because it has a
wonderful sense of humour without ruining the film
by being a spoof.
It's all very uneven. Half of the movie seems to be
serious, with the usual plot about maniacal vampire
plotting to take over the world, and suffers from
what feels like pre-release cutting. The acting
ranges from quirky to soap opera-awful. Bland acting
and lack of character development makes it hard to
root for any of the characters. The woman and her
daughter are supposed to be the heroic leads but
they don't get enough screen time and when they do
they're kind of stuff and not very sympathetic.
Both direction and script feels occasionally awkward
and amateurish. Sometimes it feels like it's just
a bunch of special effects and ideas put together,
with the vampire plot wrapping it up. It works
pretty okay, but it often feels like some
entertaining show-off rather than an actual film.
The ending seems like a desperate way to finish,
lacking a real climax and leaving several characters’
fates up in the air.
What it really got going for it, is its witty humour.
It serves some really imaginative and inventive
ideas and jokes, like a teen party emerging into a
gory vampire orgy or a dull family dinner interrupted
by the daughter's boyfriend's newly discovered
taste for blood. The dorky-ness of the Swedish
language is also used to its strength, with some
fine one-liners.
When it comes to special effects they're surprisingly
well-made. I'm mostly allergic to CGI but in this
one I had no problem with it. I guess it's because
(compared to tired American big-budget vampire flicks
like "Blade", "Underworld", etc.) it's done with
feeling and love, and despite its obvious low budget
you accept that some parts and effects of the movie
doesn't hold up to the professional
level we are used to.
Some vampire-biting and pole-impaling naturally.
Also a slit throat, some severed body parts, a
missing eye and in an original moment impalement by
a garden gnome.
Above average suspense score.
Sweden's first vampire movie is hard to dislike
mostly because a wonderful sense of humour,
imaginative ideas and well-made special effects.
Uneven much due to occasionally bland acting, lack
of character development, pre-release cutting and
sometimes amateurish direction. Still, much more fun
than the American bug-budget vampire flicks we're
used to see.
Review By: Slicer-Dicer
