Frozen Death (Cold Prey 1 - 2 ) - Mikedrew87
Norwegian slasher thrillers, joined together nicely. The first installment boasts the original concept but is marred by too many lulls. The sequel suffers a sense of repetition, yet the pace drove quicker. Even better, higher body count, and not just civilians, but cops. Professionals. MikeDrew chops 70 minutes in his edit, with little sense of loss.
Video - Great look throughout. Both films were always of halves - the blinding outdoor world, and dark, claustrophobic interiors. Edits are smooth and the transition between Part 01 and Part 02 graceful.
Audio - Solid 2 channel stereo. No difficulty hearing anything. Excellent subtitles. For those who don’t like to read movie subs, there was no dub track here. Get over it.
Narrative - The edit was heavy on Part 01. Establishing and getting to know characters. Part 02 was the last third of the edit, and the pace was hammer down. Scant character development, however. The cops’ scenes inside the hospital were heavily truncated. An error perhaps. As with most slasher fests, the more raw meat, the better. The narrative as a whole holds together, though gears seem to downshift a little between films. One logical issue never addressed (certainly not in either original) was how Jannicke manages to endure outdoor conditions without thermal gear.
Enjoyment - Difficult to say. More gratifying than the first film, and I truly appreciate the fact that MikeDrew rendered his edit to under two hours. Police sequences at the hospital would have enhanced the gore … yet … and this is a concession … I understand how that reinforces a major criticism of the sequel, the seeming invincibility of Mr Snowman. After considering, yes, MikeDrew made the correct editing decision.
Very satisfying slasher film. Especially welcome during cold months. Or summer, when your AC cannot keep up.