Chicagoland gets its share of wintery weather, and then some. The icy winds, the lake effect snow, the inevitable Hoth jokes. The cold doesn't get to me, but I despise ice and snow unless I'm housebound. This year we've had an extremely mild winter so far which I am delighted about. But what I do love is the effect all that cold, wet, frozen stuff has in a horror movie. As part of my December vacation I decided to have a marathon of snowy terror in lieu of the real thing.
SNOW BEAST (1954)This 1950's creature feature would have made for a perfect MST3K episode. A botanist, his alcoholic photographer friend and a hired crew of sherpas hike into the Himalayas in search of... plant life? Instead they end up on the hunt for the legendary Yeti, who apparently steals the one woman in the picture for no apparent reason.
SHREDDER (2003)You'll have to keep reminding yourself during this film that it was made in 2003, since it feels more like 1993 or maybe even 1983. It's a traditional slasher formula set on a condemned ski slope starring Scott Weingar, who you may remember better as DJ's boyfriend Steve from "Full House."
If you're not already familiar, this one is based on the graphic novel of the same name, in which a band of vampires descends upon an Alaskan town that experiences no daylight for an entire month during the winter. Some don't consider it a successful adaptation, and I would agree the graphic novel is better, but I still think the movie is decent enough.
DEAD SNOW (2009)
Secluded cabin, snowy mountain, Nazi zombies. Enough said.
John Carpenter's remake of the 1950's original about a group of scientists that discover a shape-shifting, alien organism at an Antarctic post who can take on the form of anyone it chooses.
Utter ridiculousness. A serial killer on his was to be executed is doused with genetic material that binds him with the surrounding snow. Which means an hour of watching a wisecracking, punning, murderous snowman run around killing anything with a pair of legs. One of those movies you have to watch just for how stupid it is.
Honorable Mentions that I didn't have time for:
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2008)
FROZEN (2010)
RAVENOUS (1999)
DEAD OF NIGHT (1987)
THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (1957)
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