While the siege movie had existed for years in westerns, it was 1968's Night of the Living Dead which brought the siege film into the modern era, as a group of people huddled in a farmhouse as a group of zombies attempted to get inside. Since that time, we have seen many people trapped in many places, trying in survive. In 1988, Die Hard changed the face of the action film, and suddenly we were inundated with copycats which featured a group of hostages being held against their will in a specific location. This trend got so out of control that someone once joked that we should expect to see "Die Hard in a hot-air balloon". These two world collide in Frozen, a film where a group of people meet peril in a unique location.

In Frozen, Dan Walker (Kevin Zegers) is spending a leisurely Sunday afternoon skiing with his girlfriend, Parker (Emma Bell), and his best friend, Joe Lynch (Shawn Ashmore). Low on funds, they have Parker flirt with the ski-lift operator (Ed Ackerman) who cuts them a deal on lift tickets. Thus, they spend the day skiing. After dinner, they decide to go on one last run on the big hill, despite the fact that the resort is about to close down for the day. They convince that same operator to let them go up. However, he gets distracted and a co-worker, assuming that everyone is done for the day, shuts down the lift. Dan, Parker, and Lynch find themselves trapped on the ski-lift, very high off of the ground. As night settles in, and the temperature begins to drop even further, the trio must come to grips with the fact that the resort has closed for the week and they are going to have to fend for themselves.

First of all, let's look at the story. As noted in the introduction, Frozen feels like the natural progression of decades of films where people are trapped in a specific location. It's clear that Green (and most likely those working with him) made a list of the sort of things which could happen to someone who was trapped on a ski-lift. While I won't give away what happens (the trailer does enough of that), the movie throws a nice mixture of nature, the elements, fatigue, in-fighting, and the construction of the ski-lift itself at the trio. Some of the things are surprising, some aren't, but all make logical sense. If you can buy the main premise (more on that in a moment), then you'll buy the rest of the film. Green has also clearly put thought in explaining why the group can't/won't be rescued immediately.

Secondly, for a low-budget film, this is a nicely shot movie. I don't remember Hatchet or Spiral being particularly bad looking, but there are some nice shots in Frozen, specifically the one in which we see the resort shutting down -- this shot is both creative and chilling. When 80% of the film involves a people sitting in a big swing, one must get creative in the shots, and Frozen constantly changes the angle so that the frame is never static. Green also gets good performances out of his three main actors, who clearly had to endure some real elements.

There's no doubt that Frozen is a step in the right direction for Green, but the film isn't perfect. I have trouble with stories where the characters place themselves in precarious situations and this is no exception. They conned their way onto the lift, and this was a sticking point for me. Also, while the movie has many different things happen, there is a limit to what could happen here, and the viewer's patience may wear thin. Having said that, Frozen is the kind of film which is perfect to watch with a group, as everyone will have their own theory on what they would do in this situation. For me, I couldn't help but wonder why more geometry and physics weren't taken into consideration for some of the decisions made. When viewed in this sense, Frozen certainly offers a measure of suspense and thrills. The pacing is rarely too slack and the movie delivers some good shocks. Frozen preys on a unique fear and succeeds to some extent, which is good for Green. His next film will be Hatchet II, which I must say I'm not excited about, but maybe we'll see some good things beyond that.

Frozen didn't contain as much mucus as I'd expected on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains a 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 28 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no defects from the source material. However, the opening scenes, which take place during the day, are notably grainy. When a movie takes place in a snowy backdrop, it can be difficult to avoid grain, and this transfer isn't able to do that. However, most of the movie takes place at night, so it doesn't last long. The nighttime scenes are never too dark and the action is always visible. The colors look good as well. The image is nicely detailed and the depth is notably good. The Disc carries a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track which runs at 48 kHz and runs at an average of 4.3 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are good, as they show good separation and illustrate things happening off-screen. The howling wind fills the surround sound speakers, making us feel as if we're suspended in mid-air. In-film music sounds good and the subwoofer effects are fine.

The Frozen Blu-ray Disc contains an assortment of extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Adam Green and actors Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers & Emma Bell. This is followed by a second COMMENTARY with Green, Cinematographer Will Barratt, and Editor Ed Marx. "Catching Frostbite: The Origins of Frozen" (11 minutes) offers that item from a DVD/Blu-ray extra -- the writer is allowed to disclose from where the initial idea came. Green and other members of the filmmaking team talk about how that first idea grew into the movie, from thinking the story through to figuring out how it could be shot. "Three Below Zero" (11 minutes) examines the main cast of the film. "Shooting Through It" (11 minutes) shows how the film was shot, and how Green and Barratt work together. "Beating the Mountain: Surviving Frozen" (53 minutes) is an extensive documentary which explores nearly every facet of the making of Frozen. The piece contains a wealth of on-set footage and comments from the cast and filmmakers. The Disc contains 3 DELETED SCENES which run about 6 minutes and which can be viewed with commentary by Green. All three are simply scenes from the film with some additional moments added back in. The final extra is the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.