Good old fashioned Ghost Story. (Wind Chill (DVD))

Member Name: LaptopAcidX

Product:	Wind Chill (DVD)
Date:	26/06/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No sex, gore, nudity or bad language. Emily Blunt.

Disadvantages: No sex, gore, nudity or bad language

In Wind Chill a spoilt rich girl has to slum it on a cross country drive home with a geeky philosophy student, unfortunately he decides to take the scenic route and the car crashes on an isolated road. They are trapped in snow drift in sub zero temperatures and things take a turn for the worse when mysterious people begin to wander past the car and don't stop to help. If that wasn't bad enough the only person who does stop is a menacing highway patrol man looking for a bribe.

Moonlighting as director Gregory Jacobs (whose day job is Stephen Soderbergh's Assistant Director most notably on the Oceans films and Che) creates a wonderfully bleak atmosphere and sense of tension from what is a very slight story. Jacobs also elicits excellent performances from the two leads, the gorgeous Emily Blunt (Young Victoria) is a total bitch and Ashton Holmes (A History of Violence) is a nice guy who knows a bit too much about his passenger. The two actors have excellent chemistry and it's this which ultimately holds the film together as the tension and dramatic thrust arises from her distrust and belief he has been stalking her. Also key is their reaction to their situation as it becomes obvious being stuck in a snow drift, at minus thirty, with no heat is the least of their problems.

The film is slightly marred by some poor (and unnecessary) CGI, which ruins the otherwise fairly realistic tone of the film but this is a minor criticism in the face of its overall success. Impressively Wind Chill isn't another remake or Japanese horror rip off and is a very enjoyable minimalist ghost story relying on tension instead of cheap shocks and obvious twists.

Written for www.nefariousfilms.co.uk

Summary: Interesting, with excellent performances.