This Norwegian slasher movie has been causing a stir amongst genre fans this past year after a successful theatrical run in its homeland and now a wide DVD release in the UK courtesy of Metrodome Distribution.
The film focuses on five friends who go skiing at a remote mountain resort. When one of them becomes injured, the group is forced to seek shelter in the abandoned lodge buildings. It soon transpires that they are not alone.
This opens with a montage of TV footage and newspaper reports detailing searches for literally hundreds of missing skiers. We then meet our core group of characters before we are treated to some truly breathtaking scenery.
Atmospheric with some gorgeous overhead helicopter shots throughout, the locations are amazing, as is production design and the photography is similarly beautiful throughout. This film manages to be gritty without looking any less aesthetically pleasing.
There is quite a bit of blood and many wince inducing moments but these are achieved without ever having to be excessively gratuitous or gory. The cast are likeable and do good jobs and there is even some characterization going on here which is scarce in much of the genre’s similar efforts.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Cold Prey is not as terrifying or as gory as the critics would have you believe, but it is an extremely well made foreign slasher and one which I would highly recommend to genre fans.