"Cold Prey" Review - Written by Anthony Thurber

Cold Prey
Aka: Fritt Vilt
Year: 2009
Director: Roar Uthaug
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Stars: Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Tomas Alf Larsen
MPAA Rating: R
Language: Norwegian with English Subtitles
Running Time: 97 Mins


There are some horror films that really deserve to be shown in a theater, not getting dumped to DVD, like ninety-five percent of the good horror films today, regardless of origin of country. “Cold Prey” at least should have been given a limited theatrical release, like the one that “Let the Right One In” received, because this film is very scary and sets the bar pretty high for all of this year’s slasher films. The film was released back in it’s home country of Norway in 2006, as it took over two years for the film, to make it way here to America.

The film is about five snowboarders who out into the cold mountains for some fun. It was supposed to be a fun day snowboards. The fun ends, when one of them accidentally breaks his leg. Soon the group is forced to take shelter and spend the night, at an abandoned lodge, in the middle of nowhere. That’s when their fun trip starts going down hill, as the group soon discovers that they are not alone, as there is a killer that is hell-bent on making sure that these kids don’t survive the night. Now, the snowboarders must find a way stop this psychopath, before they all ended up, as his latest victims.

“Cold Prey” is truly a brutal and scary slasher film that brings you back to the late seventies and early eighties, where the slasher film was frightening to watch. This is what the horror genre should be and it’s a shame the major studios still don’t get it, as the best horror films are coming from England, which is sad to see, as horror fans today, who has grew up on such slasher classics, as “Halloween”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Scream” not getting a better product from the American studios.

Director Roar Uthaug, is name you should be on the lookout for, as his direction was very tense and frightening. One of the reasons, for that is that his direction sets the tone, very early. I knew that this film was going to be one of those films that I could talk about, from the opening minutes of the film. Uthaug sets a dark and brutal tone that’s present throughout the film, by using fake news footage and clipping of people disappearing in the those mountain, which the teenagers are snowboarding. It gives you depth to what the film’s main villain is capable of. Another thing that was great about this direction was the fact the film was very dark and tense. This is what makes slasher films, very frightening to watch. The acting here was also very good. Uthaug does a great job making each of the characters performances, very likeable. He does that, by letting his actors bring personalities to their roles, as the characters were acted very well. Uthaug also make them scared, especially in the second half of the film. It made the film more suspenseful and frightening.

The screenplay written by Thomas Moldstad is equally intense, as the direction was. The screenplay does a great job building the suspense, as this is not one of those hack and slash films. One of the reasons why it didn’t feel that way, Moldstad holds the action back, until the second half. By doing that, it allows for character development and some false scare to get you, into the flow of the film. I like how, it makes you become interested in the characters, while it builds up tension to some of the kills. It does two things. It makes the kills more effective and gives you plenty of frightening moments. The film also has a nice interesting twist at the end, which makes the film more effective.

This was truly a scary slasher film. I can’t wait to see, what they have planned, for the film’s sequel, which recently came out in Norway, just this past October. Please I urge you to support films like these, as they truly represent what the horror genre is supposed to be.

Review Rating: Five Stars