Excellent horror film
J from NY | New York | 06/02/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Clooney/Soderbergh's "Wind Chill" has been misjudged very harshly by most viewers--perhaps the problem lies with that first 15 minutes (character development, plot building) and the noticeable absence of people being set on fire, stabbed, led into porn/grindhouse brothels, etc. These are the kinds of old tricks most "horror fans" expect these days.
What we have instead, fortunately, is a genuinely frightening exercise in a re-emerging horror technique that rarely fails to deliver: two young people (Emily Blunt as a very unappealing, rude, cold girl who undergoes a transformation a la Nietzsche through extreme physical duress) and Ashton Holmes (a bookish guy who, at the beginning, we imagine may be a little like Ted Bundy--the film plays with our perceptions very aptly) find themselves accidentally stuck on an obscure stretch of road near the college they attend. The director suggests that the babyfaced but extremely creepy Holmes may have done this on purpose, but it seems that it really was an accident, or a disturbing hand of occult fate which shoved them into a confrontation with a power too tortured to be alone for very long.
The wintry, cold feel and the imaginative detours which turn out not to be imagination at all but the supernatural answer to "deja vu" make the whole sequence of events deeply disturbing. The ghost of a murderous sherrif from the past continues his quest via the psyche of these two young people who are freezing to death. The scenes in the car with the two are really show how two people can connect, even under real suspicious circumstances, when the comforts of civilization are stripped away. Emily Blunt makes it all totally believable. Rather like an enhanced episode of "Night Gallery", this may represent a turning point in horror, and I hope it does."
Don't let the cheesy cover fool you, give it a chance
Michael Gilbert | 07/28/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To be honest, the cover of the movie alone would cause me not to see it. I even avoid the genre of low budget 'horror' b-movies altogether. So why did I see it? Emily Blunt. And I couldn't be happier about givng this movie a chance.
The movie does lack on the horror side of the story, with not much originality. And the movie isn't really all that scary, but it's not trying to be, and I think them not trying so hard is why this move is so good. They rely on acting and character development, with a good romance development, and anything scary that happens is only a means to develope the relationship between these characters.
Expertly acted and directed, it would be a shame if you passed this small gem up for the reasons I almost did. And I can assure you that you would enjoy it even if you don't know, or care, who Emily Blunt is."