Ever since slasher flicks became popular with the release of films like John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), many films have been produced that have been influenced from ones of the past. But then there came another wave of slasher films that occurred during the holiday season. The one's that viewers thought that no one would ever desecrate. This movie is apart of that family and it was released at a peculiar time as well. The title is the exact same as the Michael Keaton family holiday film a year later. However, this is the exact opposite of a family film.
This horror slasher film is about a serial killer named Jack Frost who is caught by a town sheriff and sent off to death row where his transport crashes into a chemical truck. The chemicals are then absorbed by Frost and his surroundings (the snow) and become a mutant killer snowman, ergo his moniker. Is this the least bit scary? If you don't like evil looking snowmen I guess. Its genre is in horror but there truly isn't anything to be terrified of. Unfortunately, the film suffers from an over the top villain and too much campiness. I feel like director/writer Michael Cooney had intended this but think about it, who could take a killer snowman seriously? And Cooney has made better works, Identity (2003) is his best.
However, this isn't to say that the villain isn't good. The actor who is originally on screen and then voices his evil counterpart, Scott MacDonald, is enjoyable as the antagonist. MacDonald's voice is dark, gruff and can sound very sinister and it makes that much more enjoyable when it comes out of an evil snowman. Sad to say, this is the only redeeming character of the cast. Christopher Allport as the troubled sheriff takes second place, but after him is hard to tell. The rest of the characters are so flat in dimension that it will be difficult for the viewers to feel anything for them.
The violence and gore would also be more appreciated if it wasn't so quickly edited. That's not to say it was bad, and I understand the budget was low, but some of the kills were off screen and only the aftermath was shown which will disappoint the gore hounds. Also, the continuity isn't great - sometimes even the sounds are not properly aligned with the movements of the characters. For shame. The music on the other hand was good. Chris Anderson and Carl Schurtz produced a well-rounded creepy Christmas score that at least helped make this horror slasher film feel a bit better than its other average production elements. It's an OK film, just don't expect any bit of brilliance.
The slasher version of Michael Keaton's family friendly film is fun trash thanks to the actor playing the villain, some good violence and appropriate music. Everything else however could have been improved upon greatly.
