UHM - Review - Fritt Vilt (Cold Prey)

This is a Norwegian slasher film that did some serious damage at the box office in its home country and proves that even with the standard predictable plot a decent film can arise. The story follows a group of friends on a trip to some deadly Norwegian alps for some freestyle snowboarding, where one of them takes a tumble and breaks his leg. With no proper way to receive aid, the friends bunk up at an old abandoned ski-resort nearby in hopes of waiting out the storm and trek to the car the next morning. Naturally they pass the time by sexin' things up and drinking aged alcohol. Their music blasting eventually stirs up the resort's previous tenant (a thought-dead boy, whom is now a man with an urge to kill).

The movie doesn't kick into gear until around the 40-minute mark, when the killer decides to off one of the members of the group. This is understandable considering they'd have little to work with if he murdered them too early in the film. Once the killing starts the surviving members try to barricade themselves into one of the rooms, but of course they'll have to come out sometime. With one of them unable to walk on his own, the try their best to survive through the day, not just from the killer, but the deadly weather as well. Though, the plot is cliché, the movie works due to its interesting new setting. Rarely do we see a slasher set during a winter storm on a secluded mountain top.

The killer also works since he's just a regular guy geared up to handle the cold weather, so his face is naturally covered by material to keep himself warm. Though, his size is what makes him intimidating, towering over his victims by a foot or two. Since he uses a standard pick as his weapon of choice, we don't get a lot of gore, but there's a decent amount of blood. However, the movie's aim clearly wasn't to please us with gore, but to chill us with tension and it actually works in a couple scenes. My favorite part of the film involved a sequence in which one of the survivors runs outside in the pitch black of night with only a flashlight -- short, but awesome scene. The movie just shows that even if you have a predictable and clichéd story you can deliver a decent watch.

OVERALL

A decent slasher from Norway that uses the standard premise, but throws a little realism and an interesting new backdrop. Worth a check if you can get your hands on it.

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Ash :

Posted 17 days ago

Looks creepy! On my must see list, at least for now anyways!

GoreHound :

Posted 31 days ago

Is this film ever going to be released on DVD in the US??

Casey :

Posted 34 days ago

dang...that sounds creepy...somebody else is there??? I will prolly not watch this movie tho...

Piker :

Posted 77 days ago

Spoiler Warning! Went to You Tube to check out any other trailers for Cold Prey, there's one made to some song (?), it showed how everybody died and how it ends. Ruined the movie for me in about 5 minutes. Don't watch it if you plan on seeing this movie.

frightie :

Posted 111 days ago

It means that the film will get a limited theatrical release, so only select cities will receive it. Everyone else will have to wait for a DVD release.

joel :

Posted 111 days ago

what does it mean by limited are they stopping selling it or summat?

jules :

Posted 224 days ago

This was by far the best film at frightfest and has beaten any other film hands down . Very creepy. I'm not gonna give anything away just WATCH IT.

frightie :

Posted 352 days ago

6/10 rating is still pretty decent, and the review is mostly positive.

HorrorseXual :

Posted 352 days ago

I can't believe you gave this a 6/10...it deserves a higher rating. Horror fans need to check this out. This is one of the best slashers in recent years. I highly recommend it.

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