Cold Meat

This lean 90min two person trapped in a car set up is well acted by the two leads, has an unexpected twist at the end of the first act and is well designed, despite its low budget,in the unforgiving, harsh snowstorm outside the car.

Some will find it needlessly talky throughtout it's, short, run time about the psychology of what drives 'David' to do what he does ,I however, found this interesting and added adds character and depth to this troubled mind.

Only the last five minutes let the film down with the appearance of a possible spirit in the forest/Wending that haunts the nightmares of David suddenly becoming'real' , this isn't a monster movie made real but more the'monsters' within us that drive us.

It felt cheap and tacked on!

This is a real thriller, but few people will be interested in just listening to the usual dialogues during the main action. The film was shot and directed well, but no more (in my opinion, of course) I liked the acting, but I wasn't interested... The main twist of the story, which will present a really unexpected surprise, is already read at the end of the first scene, while it is not obvious and well disguised. The monster itself is presented in the film only in order to diversify the narrative and enliven a slightly boring chronicle of events. The parallel between the villain and the monster seems invisible, but I was hoping to see the majestic philosophy of the struggle between good and evil. In this context, plot twists are necessary that would reveal unexpected motives, however, unfortunately, their absence makes everything too straightforward - the hunter and the victim become prey for an even more cruel beast under the influence of unforeseen circumstances.

This is a movie that I got the chance to see thanks to Kim from Dominion3. This was a movie that I saw did festivals rounds in 2023 but getting its wide release in 2024. It's not listed on the Internet Movie Database as horror but was on Letterboxd. I agreed to check it out as it looked like a good winter movie, which I'm a fan of.

Synopsis: David Petersen (Allen Leech) is passing through the Colorado Rockies. After saving a young diner server from her violent ex-husband during a break from driving, he hits the road again in a dangerous blizzard. One false move leaves his car stuck. But the cold is the least of his worries.

We start this by getting a good lay of the land. It is cold. The trees are covered in snow and ice. There is voice-over narration about how everyone has the capabilities of good and bad. There are certain people though that are only evil. The narration then says that in this part of an evil cannibal spirit that preys on these people. It also corrupts them. This piqued my interest more as I know this is wendigo.

It then shifts to David as he drives alone. The weather is getting worse and it is getting to be nighttime. We hear over the radio about how low the temperatures are and that it is only going to get colder. He stops off at a local diner. The server working is Ana (Nina Bergman). There is a father and son, who the former drives a snowplow. They stopped in for food and to get warm. They're wrapping up as it is going to be a long night ahead of them. Ana tells the cook that once he's finished wrapping up the son's meal to go, he can leave.

David takes a seat and asks for coffee as well as a steak. He's informed that the cook left and all they have available is pie. That works for him. Things get tense when Vincent (Yan Tual) shows up. He is the ex-husband to Ana. We saw before his arrival that she had almost 20 missed calls from him and text messages demanding her answer. He comes inside and yells at Ana. She has custody of their daughter and the judge wants him to stay away. He has a drinking and clearly, an anger problem. David makes a comment, which draws Vincent over. The former is calm in how he manages this brute and gets him to leave with logic. Not before he kicks David's side mirror off. In appreciation, Ana makes David a steak.

He then hits the road again. He's getting low on gas, so he stops off. We see an odd scene where he goes in to pay and grab snacks. He is short on cash and seems leery about using a credit card. While he's at the gas station, Vincent is prowling for him. He wants to enter the lot, but a police SUV comes in. Vincent waits until he hits the road and then tailgates him. David gets away by going down a side road.

This is where he makes a mistake. It is icy and hard to see. He loses control and gets stuck in a snow embankment. He tries to get free, but it is too cold. With the weather and temperatures as they are, he can't stay here for long. He sets off trying to find help. This doesn't go well as he injures himself. He must pull himself back to the safety of his car before it is too late. There is also a secret in his trunk that will complicate this even more. David also has nightmares about an entity that was referenced earlier.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that we aren't working with the deepest story here. It is a simple set up with complications to it that get revealed as we go. The major one is the weather. This is set up from the beginning and David going along these mountain roads is dumb. Even more so is that he has a car that isn't equipped. I do like having him get stranded like he does. That raises tension due to how long humans can survive in weather like this. It also contains the story.

Now there is a major reveal that I've not given. I don't think that I am as that would be a spoiler. It didn't necessarily shock me as I started to guess before we saw the truth. What made me pause was that I didn't expect it necessarily but it works better with what we got to that point. Now what I will say is that it allows for a variation on a cat and mouse. It is a contained story being in this car. That feels believable with the make-up being done as frost bite settles in. Going along with this, David hurts his leg badly so that makes it more stressful as well. The last thing here, this isn't a new idea or concept. What they do with it is interesting, especially the power dynamic.

I do have a negative here though. I love that this is using the wendigo spirit. David sees it in his nightmares when he drifts off. There could be an actual creature here attacking the car. What is confusing is that it seems like this entity would use David, but it seems to want to feed on him. I don't mind this movie using it as an avenging entity. My problem is that it gets referenced in the beginning, then it doesn't come back up until the last like 25 minutes. By then, it is underutilized and rushed. I'd almost say if that was the intended plan, it needed to be used more throughout or scrapped. The story works without it. As a caveat, we do get glimpses through the dreams, but I needed more.

Next then will be the acting. This is really a two-person show. Both command the screen and I love how things get revealed, we see the dynamic not only change, but the character's position does as well. Not necessarily physically. In the scheme of the story. Leech as David is good, because at first, he thinks he's a nice guy. He's harboring a dark secret though. The more that we learn about him, the worse he becomes. I also like that Bergman reveals aspects to her character. She made a bad decision with marrying Vincent and having a child. He fell apart and is angry. Ana has a lot of obstacles she's overcome so we know by then that she's strong. Tual is fine in his minor role. This character is needed to strand David. The rest of the cast was fine in rounding this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. The best part of this movie is the setting and how cold it feels. I had to put a blanket on while watching this. Stranding our characters like they do is good. I'll credit the cinematography to capture that. The effects are good, especially the makeup. The longer this goes we can see the frost biting setting in which is a good touch. There isn't much more that I noticed. I'm guessing there is CGI, but no issues with that. I'd also say that the soundtrack fit what was needed.

In conclusion, this is a solid film. We have a great setting. It is unforgiving and has built in tension. It is freezing and it feels like it. I thought that the acting from Leech and Bergman were good. The different things that get introduced are good. This is well made. I'd say that the cinematography and makeup effects lead the way there. If I do have an issue, the wendigo story element feels underutilized. It needs more of it throughout to fully work as they try to. This does feel like Monster, just in the winter. It would make an interesting double feature. I'd recommend giving this a viewing if you like contained horror films or ones set in the middle of winter.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

I'm a sucker for low budget, few characters, isolation films. They can be hit or miss but I appreciated this one. I suggest going in blind and roll with it. It has its faults, a few minor things I would have changed/added but the acting was good, dialog was well written, and had some good use of timeline creativity. I don't want to say anymore more because not really knowing was a key pro for me. It's more of an watch alone for horror fans. I wouldn't play it for a friend movie night. It's no blockbuster but overall I was kept interested.

Also, props to the Downton Abbey actor, he has more range than I would have given him credit for.

The extreme cold is a very important element in the construction of some Suspense and Horror narratives. It contributes to increasing the tension that usually surrounds the characters. The feeling of weakness in the face of nature, the risk of hypothermia, the need for a shelter or source of heat to keep us warm and the hunger that increases.

With what was mentioned above, it is easy to remember some classic productions. In The Enigma of Another World (1982), scientists face the cold of Antarctica and have to deal with an unknown creature that takes the form of their victims. In The Shining (1980), Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) needs to stay with his family in a hotel full of secrets during a harsh winter.

David (Allen Leech) ends up crashing his car into a ravine and, surrounded by snow, is unable to get out of there. As the snowfall increases, the situation worsens and the man is forced to wait for the weather to improve. However, he is not alone. You will have to face this situation with another person. At this point, we get to know the personalities and characteristics of the characters better.

Another feature of the film is creating a plot that can be sustained in a confined space. The interior of the vehicle will be the stage for two people in a gradual state of fear, distress and search for survival. Whether through dialogue waging psychological warfare, or through desperate measures to find an escape, time is running out and solutions are difficult to come by. And in this environment, everything fits together as a resource to survive. Knife, car heater, numbing liquid, duct tape.

As time progresses and the chances of survival decrease, the two characters fight a battle that reveals more details about each person's personality. Scenes alternating between reality or even representing an illusory/dreamlike moment make us more aware of the true motives and nature of the characters.

As if all the dangers of the extreme cold and the struggle between both characters were not enough, a strange creature starts to haunt the car. If the viewer paid attention to the narration at the beginning of the film, they will better understand the meaning of such a creature.

Of course, certain moments in the film receive a metaphorical meaning, but it is up to the viewer to better understand where the metaphors fit. As one of the characters in the film said: 'the blizzard is still one of the things you should least worry about if you manage to get out of here'.

Watch it on a very cold day, preferably.