Cold Prey Box Set

This contains reviews of both Cold Prey films, the second of which is a direct sequel so the review will contain spoilers for the first film.

Introduction

A group of five friends head into the Norwegian mountains for some off piste snowboarding and, once they get there and finish the arduous climb to see mother nature has in store, they are amazed and can't wait to get going. The fun comes to an abrupt halt when one of them, Morten Tobias, lands awkwardly and suffers a compound fracture of his fibula. Strapping him to a makeshift sled, the others drag him to the only building in sight.

The building turns out to be an abandoned hotel so the group, especially Morten Tobias, take advantage of the free booze and leave their injured friend to go about exploring and get the electricity turned on. Although the others separate into two couples, there are tensions which are exacerbated when they discover a room that suggests that someone has been living there.

As the hours wear on, something from the hotel's past begins to stalk the group, reducing their numbers silently and viciously using brute force and an ice axe. Once they figure out what is going on, it's a fight for survival that they know not all will live through.

Video

Shot on location, this looks incredible with amazing exterior shots - the actors braving the elements for some scenes - and the scenes inside the lodge are clear even in the more dimly lit parts. The special effects makeup and prosthetics are superb and do a great job with the gore and violence.

Audio

An extremely effective surround track with all the speakers used well - subtle noises from the rears and front surrounds keep you off balance and unnerved and the jumps, when they come, are delivered to great effect.

The forced English subtitles - the dialogue is Norwegian with no dub option - are very good with only two errors: Morten Tobias says he feels "super" but the subtitles say "great" and, when a door slams shut, the subtitles say it was due to a "draught".

Extra Features

A fairly lengthy and interesting making of, again in Norwegian with English subs, is the sole supplementary material and is a decent look behind the scenes at how the stunts were done, the perils and benefits of shooting on location and digging a four meter crevasse for the ending.

Conclusion

Cold Prey (Fritt vilt) is a refreshing entry into the slightly stale slasher film subgenre with well developed characters, solid acting, a realistic bad guy and superb violence and gore. It does follow the conventions to a point, with the almost compulsory 'final girl' and the killer who seems to possess near superhuman strength and powers of recovery.

I really enjoyed the film, the second Scandinavian horror I'd seen in a week (after Dark Floors) and the comparisons that are made with Friday the 13th and The Burning are justified and I'd even go so far as to say that this was better made and more satisfactory than Sean Cunningham's genre classic.

Roar Uthrug (great name for a horror film director!) has a keen visual style and is someone to look out for as he really has a future if he continues with work like this. If you like horror films this is one to watch, whether on its own or as part of the Cold Prey Box Set which contains the sequel.

Introduction

Picking up almost straight after Cold Prey, this begins in a remote hospital where one of the mountain rescue guys is out on patrol where he comes across Jannicke in the middle of the road carrying an ice axe. Taking her back to the hospital where his girlfriend Ingunn works as a doctor, they ask her why she is covered in blood and wandering around in the middle of nowhere with an offensive weapon.

When her temperature gradually rises, she tells them how she and her four friends came across the abandoned ski lodge and were stalked by a psychopathic killer. Informing the authorities that she killed him and shoved him into the crevasse where he'd despatched her friend's bodies, the police go out to check her story, find the five corpses and bring them back.

Jannicke goes to the morgue to see the bodies as Ingunn thinks it might help with her recovery but Jannicke attacks the killer's corpse and has to be restrained. The doctor inexplicably finds that the frozen body has a pulse and they begin CPR. Bad mistake!

Video

Whereas the first Cold Prey combined external and interior shots, this takes place almost exclusively inside the hospital with occasional cuts to the crevasse and the Police Station where the Chief of Police is investigating the hotel and possible identification and motive of the killer. The film is very well shot, nicely claustrophobic and the picture is clear.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is crisp and effective with decent jumps, atmosphere and tension. The subtitles are, as far as I could tell, error free but not ideally positioned so the odd word is a little difficult to make out. The subs are also burnt in so there's no way that a Norwegian speaker could watch the film without them.

Extra Features

Sadly, just a trailer.

Conclusion

It's refreshing for a horror sequel to live up to the promise of the first, with the two acting as separate instalments of the same film. Cold Prey didn't necessarily need a follow-up but, as it was done, I am glad it was this good. Mats Stenberg directs with a similar style to Roar Uthaug, keeping things tense with the occasional explosion of violence.

As she proved in the first film, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal puts in a terrific performance and is believable, sympathetic and determined - everything you want from a heroine in a slasher film. The rest of the cast are also very good and the movie works better than I ever thought it would and does justice to the first film, which is all you can ask from a horror sequel.

These two films are released together and with Cold Prey 2 individually but, with the RRP of the film and box set only £2 different, it makes sense to buy the set.