The Chill Factor
Reviews
griggs79
This is, without question, the crown jewel of my Shoctober 2024 viewing—a masterclass in combining the worst writing, acting, and directing possible. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this gem on the BFI website, where it was described as The Exorcist meets the Winter Olympics, promising a thrilling combo of demonic possession and snowbound slashing. Instead, I got a painfully dull, creatively bankrupt mess where the biggest horror was the acting, and the snow somehow managed to feel less cold than the performances. Christopher Webster, who directed this and was producer of Hellraiser, must be so proud!
Wuchak
**_Cabin in the snowy woods of northeast Wisconsin_** Six snowmobilers have no recourse but to find succor at a long defunct summer camp facility. But curiosity killed the cat and they may not make it out alive. “The Chill Factor” was shot in the winter of 1989, but not released to video until 1993. It has also been released as “Demon Possessed” (USA) and “Demon Snow” (Canada). The actors are unsurprisingly no-names, but they do a serviceable job. Meanwhile the (too loud) score is competent, but kind of unfitting, yet it grows on you and becomes part of the movie’s Indie charm. Blonde Dawn Laurrie stands out in the female department as Jeannie while brunette Connie Snyder is worth a mention as Karen, along with Eve Montgomery as Lissa, a black lass. Their beauty is effectively captured on camera in a respectable way. Besides them, the best part of the flick is the remote Great Lakes ambiance in the dead of winter (pun intended). The snowmobiling sequences are reminiscent of the same in “A Simple Plan,” shot eight years later. The bar sequence in the first act is great (disregarding some less-than-stellar acting), involving a drunken jerk who has to be confronted and reprimanded. The second half becomes increasingly spooky. The voiceover narration from the ‘final girl’ effectively ties the story together, obviously influenced by Captain Willard’s narration in “Apocalypse Now” (at least a bit here or there, anyway). If you require a blockbuster budget in your viewing experience then I suggest staying away, but if you appreciate proficiently made Indies with a modest budget, this delivers the goods. It runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot at Eagle River in northeast Wisconsin and nearby Sugar Camp, which is 11 miles southwest of there. The border of Upper Peninsula Michigan is only a half hour away. GRADE: B
Movie Recommendation
Nosferatu the Vampyre1979-01-17A real estate agent leaves behind his beautiful wife to go to Transylvania to visit the mysterious Count Dracula and formalize the purchase of a property in Wismar.More...
Exhuma2024-02-22After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family's ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.More...
The Dentist1996-06-07Dr. Feinstone has everything, a beautiful wife and a successful career in dentistry; but when he discovers his wife's affair, he realizes that behind every clean, white surface lies the stench of decay.More...
Trapped in Space1994-02-01After an accident during a routine trip to Venus, a spaceship has only enough oxygen left for three people... out of five on board.More...
Parasite2019-05-30All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.More...
Marriage Story2019-09-28A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.More...
Lady Bird2017-09-01Lady Bird McPherson, a strong willed, deeply opinionated, artistic 17 year old comes of age in Sacramento. Her relationship with her mother and her upbringing are questioned and tested as she plans to head off to college.More...
No Way Up2024-01-18Characters from different backgrounds are thrown together when the plane they're travelling on crashes into the Pacific Ocean. A nightmare fight for survival ensues with the air supply running out and dangers creeping in from all sides.More...
Rear Window1954-08-01A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.More...
Deadpool & Wolverine2024-07-24A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life with his days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. But when his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctant Wolverine.More...
Werewolves2024-12-04A year after a supermoon’s light activated a dormant gene, transforming humans into bloodthirsty werewolves and causing nearly a billion deaths, the nightmare resurfaces as the supermoon rises again. Two scientists attempt to stop the mutation but fail and must now struggle to reach one of their family homes.More...
A Quiet Place2018-04-03A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.More...
When Fall Is Coming2024-10-02Michelle is enjoying a peaceful retirement in a Burgundy village, close to her longtime friend Marie-Claude. When her Parisian daughter Valérie drops off her son Lucas to spend school vacation with his grandma, Michelle, stressed out by her daughter, serves her toxic mushrooms for lunch. Valérie quickly recovers, but forbids her mother from seeing her grandson anymore. Feeling lonely and guilty, Michelle falls into a depression... until Marie-Claude's son gets out of prison.More...
Get Out2017-02-24Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.More...
First Man2018-10-10A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.More...
Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
The Lighthouse2019-10-18Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.More...
Triangle of Sadness2022-09-18A celebrity model couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, alcoholic captain. What first appears Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island in a struggle of hierarchy.More...
Barbie2023-07-19Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.More...
Anora2024-10-14A young sex worker from Brooklyn gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out to get the marriage annulled.More...