Cold Prey (2006)

"Fritt vilt" is a Norwich movie which has to do with a group of friends who are going on a snowboarding vacation in Jotunheimen. There they are forced to take as shelter an abandoned hotel because on of them broke his leg and he can not move, and they can not go back because their car was too far away. They find out that this hotel was closed for many years due to the disappearance of the managers son who is still missing.I liked this movie very much because of the plot and the story of it and because of the nice images of Jotunheimen. I also liked it because of the interpretations of Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Viktoria Winge and Tomas Alf Larsen.Finally I have to tell you that I strongly recommend it because it's really worth seeing.

As other horror fans have noted, director Roar Uthaugs' "Cold Prey" pretty much reverts to the kind of formula that we see in this kind of thing. Ultimately, it's very routine, but that doesn't mean that it isn't well made, or reasonably entertaining, because it is. Certainly Uthaug and company get a ton of atmosphere out of their main location, and another nice touch is the fact that this is "a black & white film in colour"; in other words, you won't see any truly bright colours. The film is gory, but never as gory as one might think. Its characters are thinly drawn, but appealing enough, and the no-name young cast is all engaging enough to watch.Jannicke (Ingrid Bolso Berdal), Morten Tobias (Rolf Kristian Larsen), Eirik (Tomas Alf Larsen), Mikal (Endre Martin Midtstigen), and Ingunn (Viktoria Winge) are five young adults who head into the Norwegian mountains for some fun on the slopes. Their day of snowboarding is cut short when Morten Tobias is wounded, and they have to do something about it. Fortunately, they spot shelter close by: an abandoned ski lodge. Things seem to be looking up, but soon the period of calm is disrupted by the fact that a hulking killer wielding a nasty pick axe is also on the premises.Appropriately stark cinematography by Daniel Voldheim is a heavy asset here. Less patient viewers may take exception to the pacing here, as it takes about 40 minutes for the true horror to start taking place. Still, up to then the actors are capable of maintaining interest, playing the material with likability and humour. Once the film is well underway, things only get darker and grimmer and Uthaug creates some good suspense. Fortunately, the killer isn't over explained. And the "final girl" in this scenario does do some thinking on her feet (or off her feet, as the case may be).Overall, a respectable effort.Followed by two sequels.Six out of 10.

Now I do like a good horror movie almost as much as the next seventeen year old, although I prefer when they are atmospheric other than in-your-face blood and gore. This movie tries to do both at the same time (but this time making the gore look realistic). It did sort of work but in my personal opinion this could have been better.Now, the plot. Five friends go on a skiing trip. They decide to ski in mountains. Eventually one breaks his leg. They take him to a very eerie looking hotel (of which later they find was closed 30 years ago) and spend the night. Then one by one they get killed by a man armed with a pick axe.I did like this movie. Mainly because I felt that they were trying to make a decent movie instead of just filming something generic to make more money. It was at times very suspenseful, but somehow the blood and gore almost kills it (No PUN intended). As a warning, the end credits song is in bad taste to what we have seen for the past hour and a half.So is this a decent watch? Yes it is. Just don't expect much when comparing it to horror classics. Although, sadly - this is one of the better horror movies of the past 13 years.

In the intro we see some kid being followed in the snow, he falls into a cleft and someone buries him under snow.During the intro credits we learn that plenty of people have been disappearing. Next we meet 5 kids on a trip to the mountains, two couples and a guy. They hike up a mountain so they have a nice long trip down on their snowboards. The single guy hits something or is hit by someone on the way down and breaks his leg in an open fracture no less. No problem, one of the girls know exactly what to do and forces the bones back in place. And fortunately not to far away they spot some buildings. They make it there; it's an abandoned hotel/resort.Our heroine then proceeds to dump booze on the wound and super glue it shut. While there the other couple made up of the obligatory kids who can't keep their hands off each other goes to a room, the girl changes her mind and the guy leaves angry. Suddenly, 40 minutes into the movie finally someone attacks the girl. But no one finds out till the next day.It doesn't take long for our injured guy to feel much better and limp around everywhere. The heroine's boyfriend leaves to get help but has a run in with the violent stranger. Eventually the three survivors realize the girl is missing and that they are not alone. Of course they find the killers shrine where he keeps paper clippings and hundreds of trophies from countless victims. It takes a while but finally they confront the guy, and in the end we do learn something about the stranger.Cold Prey is a boring but well made slasher lacking violence, gore, nudity, interesting characters, and a story. Sure the kids are somewhat likable but we learn nothing about them. At least they don't scream at each other for an hour as Americans would do. We know nothing about the killer, we don't even see him all that much, just shots of an arm or his legs. But the revelation about him and his motives is interesting and well done. Direction is good and the movie is professionally done, but then again they're not doing a whole lot that would require special expertise. If you've never seen a slasher, this would be a good place to start and one can understand that if this is not your genre you could enjoy this, it's a mild enough for a date. But if you expect more from a slasher, this movie doesn't deliver.