Winter Sucks: Frostbitten

Welcome to Sweden- zone of evil!  Today's film is Frostbitten, a Horror Movie from Sweden.  I came across this film in kind of a weird, roundabout way.  Basically, I read about it on the IMDB Page for Lost Boys: The Thirst, since a major plot point from this film is pretty much stolen by that film.  To be fair, it's not exactly a mind-blowing revision of the concept, so it could just be a coincidence.  It is pretty much the exact same thing, only this film was made about four Years earlier.  So what's the story?  Well, there are Vampires in Sweden.  As it turns out, it relates to a mysterious Doctor, his experiments and some pills he has in his lab.  Let's just say that those pills end up in the wrong hand and shit goes down.  I won't SPOIL the whole thing, but I will give you a taste at least.  To see whether or not to defrost this film, read on...

The film begins some time ago (around WWII) with some German Soldiers going into a Cabin.  Unfortunately, they find unpleasant company there and...the movie stops telling you what happened there.

Yeah, they do get back to it earlier.

In the Present, a mysterious 'color-visioned' creature is on the loose.  What could it be?

We get to see a pair of Slacker Medical Aids, as well as a new Lady Doctor.  She starts to investigate all of the weird stuff, including the Specialist who only has one Patient- a woman who has been in a coma for over a year.

Well, at least he's not suspicious.

In Plot B, a group of (I Guess) College Students are planning to have a party.  Two of them are working at said Hospital, so it is kind of tied together.

They are going to need some drugs for the party, so what can they use?

Well, one of them comes across the pills and takes one.  He brings the rest to the party.

Unfortunately, the Lady Doctor takes the fall for this with the mysterious Doctor.

The guy starts to slowly turn into a Vampire.  It sure makes the dinner party with the girlfriend's parents- one of which is a Pastor- awkward.

Should I mention that he sees animals talking to him now?  He does.

The Doctor reveals everything.  Essentially, it relates to a mysterious girl and that bit from the beginning.  I won't SPOIL it all here though.

 Meanwhile, the Vampire Guy is on the loose.  He's not going to be the only Vampire for long, as the pills turns out to be vampire blood and there are going to be quite a few shortly!

The best visual part of the film is when you finally see the Doctor in his true form.  I won't SPOIL that either.

I also won't SPOIL who lives and dies at the Party.  You'll just have to watch the movie if you're so damn curious!  The End.

Honestly, it's worth going through the trouble to see.  Frostbitten is a bit uneven at points, I will admit, but the overall experience is really good.  The biggest problem is the pacing.  They do have to set a lot of stuff up- like the Party, the Doctor and the Characters- but they feel a bit flat at times.  If you make it through the early, slow points, you could get some good humor, gore and a generally-entertaining experience.  The spread-out plot could be a bit more cohesive- granted.  The whole thing, as I said, comes together pretty well in time and I won't fault it too much.  I like the Vampire make-up work alot here.  It's mostly done in pretty subtle ways, which is nice to see post-Buffy.  One concern with watching Foreign Horror Films is a disconnect in the humor.  There's not too much of that for me, but your experiences may differ.  I'd love to see how those horrible Madea films are seen over the World and if they have the same problem.  In summary, this is a nice hidden gem for you fans of Vampire Films.  Is it as iconic as stuff like Let The Right One In?  Not exactly, but it is a well put-together film that should satisfy something for those looking for something a bit different, while not straying TOO far from their comfort zone.  Take us away, sarcastic talking dog...

Next up, another Winter-themed movie that's older and more obscure.  Before he was Iron Man, he was...a bit player in lots of films.  Stay tuned...