FILM OF THE WEEK
INTERVIEW | review: Frostbiten (Frostbite) |
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| Written by Boyd van Hoeij | |
| Monday, 30 October 2006 | |
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Vampires are bent on world domination and making audiences howl with laughter in the Swedish horror comedy Frostbiten (Frostbite). Undoubtedly attracted by the benefits to be had from the Lapland polar night, the creatures have moved to a sleepy town in Northern Sweden, incidentally the same town of the newly arrived doctor Annika (Petra Nielsen) and her teenage daughter Saga (Grete Havnesköld), who dread that the place might be a little – for lack of a better word – dead. The debut of director Anders Banke and screenwriters Daniel Ojanlatva and Pidde Andersson is a rollicking ride that is funnier than it is scary, though the tone of Frostbiten remains admirably on the spooky side of Scream and Scary Movie, never stopping to knowingly wink at the audience. The film deserves to become a DVD and TV Hallloween favourite across the continent. After a shockingly realistic prologue set in 1944 Ukraine (reminiscent of the recent Russian dramatic comedy Prolumgla), the film switches to the present and the arrival of Annika and Saga, which eerily recalls the early scenes of Norwegian drama Vinterkyss (Kissed by Winter), in which a female doctor arrives in Norwegian Lapland and is also confronted with mysterious deaths. The deaths in Frostbiten do not come easy, but this is with good reason: Banke and his screenwriters prefer to set up their story properly before delving into the pure vampire pleasures of stalking creatures and plenty of gore. Two youngsters of Saga’s age, Sebastian (Jonas Karlström) and Vega (Emma Åberg), are the catalysts of the disaster that will follow. Vega befriends Saga at the local school and she counts on Sebastian’s connections for a couple of pills that will enhance an upcoming party. Sebastian is an apprentice at the local hospital, where Saga’s mother was transferred in the hope she might get to work with the famously reclusive doctor Beckert (Carl-Åke Eriksson). Of course, for Sebastian as a hospital aid, pills are easy enough to come by, though perhaps it was not a good idea to take the mysterious red pills from Dr. Beckert’s laboratory, which seem to produce some strange side-effects, including enhanced hearing and viewing, an appetite for fresh blood and aversions to things ranging from crosses and garlic to wooden stakes driven through one’s heart (not that normal people would support the latter terribly well). Banke’s careful set-up of his elements pays off wonderfully and allows him to accelerate through the latter reels with neck-breaking speed. When the pills end up at the party Vega attends, all hell breaks loosely quite literally. At the same time, Sebastian is forced to sit through his first-ever dinner with the parents of his girlfriend, which in itself would be a nerve-wrecking experience, let alone if you’ve got the feeling you’re slowly transforming into something else. The result is both scary and hilarious, and Karlström’s finely calibrated performance makes his Sebastian a priceless addition to the gallery of people unwillingly transformed into fanged half-beasts. Åberg matches him every step of the way, and her struggle with a garden gnome is among the funniest scenes in the film. More fun and gore involving unexpected props and old situations revamped for new uses in snowy Lapland reveal that a lot of thinking went into the construction of Frostbiten, which assures it will stand up to multiple viewings with a lot more ease than most scary comedies. Though the ending is perhaps too open-ended to offer any real sense of closure (and a clearer idea of the fate of several of the characters would have been nice), Frostbiten will certainly delight those looking for a Halloween night of fun and scares. When it comes to trick or treat, this film definitely belongs in the latter category. Frostbiten was screened as part of the 2006 Cinenygma Luxembourg International Film Festival and won a special mention in the Méliès d'argent Competition for Best European Film. |
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