Search - Dead of Winter on DVD

A Haunting, Resonant Movie In A Claustrophobic Atmosphere!!

John Baranyai | 05/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this movie Mary Steenburgen plays an actress named Katie who is offered an audition in a new movie. To audition for this part Katie travels to a lonely mansion accompanied by Roddy McDowell. Things however are not what they seem to be. For you younger people reading this that will be the first thing you learn in Sociology 101 when you get to College. Katie soon finds herself trapped in the role she has to play and the snow is piling up outside which makes escape impossible. This movie is enhanced by the presence of the late Roddy McDowell who I believe never gave a bad performance in his entire acting career. 5 stars for this gem of a Horror movie."

A Mid-Winter's Tale Of Murder, Schemes And Terror

C. O. DeRiemer | San Antonio, Texas, USA | 05/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Katie McGovern (Mary Steenburgen) is about to encounter a lot of problems. She's an aspiring actress who answers an audition call held by Mr. Murray (Roddy McDowell). She passes and agrees to journey to upstate New York where she'll prepare herself for the part and make an audition tape. She and Mr. Murray head north in a bad snow storm. After a long drive, they reach their destination, an old, isolated mansion where their host is an elderly, wheel-chair bound psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Lewis (Jan Rubes). Over the next few days, Katie will master her part for the video recording which will be sent, she's told, to a film director. She learns the speech patterns and vocal mannerisms of a woman who looks like her. She's told this woman was the star of the film but had a break down and will have to be replaced. She makes the tape to the great satisfaction of Dr. Lewis and Mr. Murray. So far, so good. Then Katie discovers some photographs of the actress, very dead. The car, the only way back to civilization, won't start. The phone lines are out. She appears to be drugged part of the time. She tries to escape through the snow but is tracked down and forcibly returned by Mr. Murray, still the soul of politeness as he forces her back. She makes her way to the attic, a gloomy place stuffed with boxes and chests. She nearly steps in a huge bear trap. And in a chest she finds the body of the person she was trained to imitate. One morning she awakens from a drugged sleep and sees fresh blood stains on her pillow and the sheet...and sees a bandage on her hand where one of her fingers has been cut off. Then she learns the dead woman has a wealthy sister who also looks like her...and who is walking into the mansion for a meeting with Dr. Lewis. Katie McGovern is going to have to be ruthless and smart if she's going to survive the day.



The story is a nice, complicated tale of murder, blackmail, and things that go bump in the night, especially in the attic. Steenburgen is an actress who is so open and natural that she has a high likeability factor. Even though you know much of the time what to expect, Steenburgen makes getting there nerve-wracking. Roddy McDowell as the obsequious, excitable and murderous manservant to Jan Rubes does a very nice job. Rubes turns in a solid performance as a ruthless murderer who can lie to your face and make you believe it.



The movie has some holes in the story, but it's such a well-handled genre piece -- the spooky, isolated mansion, the heroine in distress, the things that jump out -- that, in my opinion, it's a lot of fun. Arthur Penn has done some first-rate films (Bonnie and Clyde, Little Big Man). He knows how to keep a story moving and how to build atmosphere. One of his best films, Night Moves, is going to be released on DVD soon. The DVD picture is just fine."