FROST BITE: 13 GREAT HORROR FILMS SET IN THE SNOW!
FROST BITE : 13 BEST HORROR FILMS SET IN SNOW
I hate being cold. The only thing worse than being out in the snow would be like vampires or zombies or Jack Nickolson with an Ax. Guest writer my good friend Robert Banks Jr must feel the same way as he offers 13 great cold infused horror flicks. Brrrr!
3. Phantoms (1998)
– Dead bodies within the first 10 minutes, it starts with a nice sizzle as two sisters arrive in the small town of Snowden, CO to discover most of the citizens missing, and most of the rest of them gruesomely murdered. It’s another one with themes you can trace back to historical events, and even folds in a nice measure of religious subtext to reinforce the spook factor.
Say it with me: I LOVE ROSE MCGOWAN! This movie underscores that sentiment. Peter O’Toole is genius, Ben Affleck is complete unpretentious, and who doesn’t appreciate a Clifton Powell cameo every now and then? Does my soul good.
12. The Thaw (2009)
The climax of this movie brings together my disdain for Val Kilmer and my penchant for conspiracy theories in wicked harmony. It also quells any curiosity I had about exploring the North Pole, and casts a mean side eye to snuffleupagus.
(I'm ready to open up for the first day of my new Kissing Booth!)
11. Dream Catcher (2013)
Perhaps the movie that set the precedent for Number 10., this movie also brings us a group of old friends reuniting at a snowy cabin retreat go pay homage to their childhood fiend “Duddits”.
Throw in a bit of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and cram in an awkward scene from Outbreak (1992) (even featuring Morgan Freeman) and pass me some warm Bailey’s because I’m watching this one twice.
10. Corridor
Sci-fi / Horror sleeper where you never quite figure out exactly what’s going on or why, but can very easily watch it more than once.
A reunion of four friends peppered with vague references to some traumatic past event gives a new take on cabin fever when one discovers what appears to be an inter-dimensional portal on a snowy hillside.
9. Misery
To date, I still regard this as one of Kathy Bates’ finest moments. Equal parts drama, horror and suspense, this is another situation that’s so scary because it’s so practical.
Everything in this brilliantly executed movie could actually happen. Who knew being snowed in could be so terrifying?
(It's gettin cold out. Need to find me a big girl to snuggle up to keep warm)
.8 Devil’s Pass (2013)
The Dyatlov Pass Incident serves as the back story for this movie, the plot of which converges on a little bit of The Hills Have Eyes, a little bit of Stargate, and a smooth layer of The Blair Witch Project.
It’s set in the Ural Mountains in Russia (the scariest, snowiest place on earth), and based on a real event (one you can find in encyclopedias!) which adds a nice stream of tension to the plot.
.7 The Thing (2011)
Many people thought this one was a remake, but it’s actually a prequel to the original. Very well written, directed and acted, it has all the same elements as the 1982 installment, and stands as testament to its genius.
It also makes me regret that I never had cavities and needed fillings.
6. The Thing (1982)
This monster-movie-alien-sci-fi mashup gets everything right. Superb character development, compelling story line, the plot escalated at just the right angle to keep the viewer engaged, and even the cheesy special effects fit well in the context of the story. You almost forget that this film is 32 years old and when watching it on an HD screen, it’s nearly indistinguishable from…
5. Frankenstein Theory (2013)
The found footage element and the documentary theme give the plot some weight, and the snowy backdrop definitely add a new dimension to the Frankenstein story, but the last 20 minutes of this movie are the best justification for watching it.
4. The Shining (1980)
As if Jack Nicholson wasn’t creepy enough, throw in some snow and a haunted hotel and you’ve got less Winter Wonderland and more Icy Netherworld.
Equal parts supernatural horror and psychological thriller, there are several points where this movie leaves you unsure about why you should be afraid, but very sure that you actually are.
3. Storm of the Century (1999)
This is one of, maybe, 8 movies I could watch on repeat. Testament to the genius of Stephen King, this movie manages to be wickedly engaging without a single profane utterance (much as I love cursin’).
The snowed in residents of Little Tall Island face quite more than inconvenience when a blizzard, a murder, and a dark stranger converge to kick off a series of fearsome events climaxing in surreal horror (even throwing in a reference to the lost colony of Roanoke for good measure). What it lacks in special effects (it was originally aired as a TV miniseries), it makes up for in plot and pace. And that ending…
. 2 Frozen (2010)
[Not to be confused with the Disney hack-job (loosely) based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the Snow Queen] There aren’t any monsters, semi immortal maniacs, or any degree of supernatural/science fiction elements in this one. It’s scary as sht because everything in it can actually happen.
3 snowboarders become stranded on a ski lift at the end of the last day of the skiing season. Threatened by exposure, hunger, the sheer height of the ski lift, and a pack of hungry wolves (why are wolves ALWAYS hungry? For humans?), these characters remind us how inherently horrifying the real world can be when the right (or wrong) elements line up.
.1 30 Days of Night (2007)
This is my absolute favorite vampire movie of all time, and it was a bonus learning that it was based on a comic book series of the same name. The darkness, the indiscriminate slaughter of grandmothers and small children, and the juxtaposition of vampire lore with the very real naturally occurring phenomenon of a month-long night create a cluster fuck of tension. And just imagine the strokes of genius it took to make snow seem passively menacing…
