Sundance 2010: ‘Frozen’ has chilling effect on ski vacations
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Writer-director Adam Green had to apologize to the audience for the midnight premiere of his stuck-on-a-ski-lift thriller, ‘Frozen.’
‘To all of those planning to ski this week: Sorry!’
The film stars Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell and Kevin Zegers as a trio of friends who sneak onto a ski lift right before closing to get one last ride down the mountain, but end up getting trapped on the ski lift, 50 feet in the air, when the lift operator shuts down for the night without realizing they’re still up there. All the usual grisly complications from being exposed to the elements overnight ensue.
The audience seemed to eat up every stomach-wrenching moment as they screamed and groaned and squirmed in all the places they were meant to.
One audience member said the film grew on him over time and confirmed that it was very effective in producing those uncomfortable moments you go to movies like ‘Frozen’ to experience.
In a post-screening Q&A, Green revealed just how arduous the production was -- with the actors actually suspended 50 feet in the air for the shooting days and really experiencing all the foul weather the Utah mountains could throw at them, including blizzards and ice storms. Zegers recounted an encounter with a large black wolf that was a little too close for comfort.
‘I want to thank my masochistic cast,’ Green said. Then, despite everything the audience had just seen, he admitted that, ‘I don’t like torture films. I don’t believe in punishing the audience.’
After the Q&A, we grabbed the stars, Ashmore, Bell and Zegers, to have them recount the scene they had the hardest time watching. Warning: Video contains mild spoilers.
-- Patrick Kevin Day
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Photos: Sundance sightings
