Rent The Frozen Ground (2013)

Gripping thriller - The Frozen Ground review by AER

Something of a cinematic 'page-turner', this fact-inspired serial-killer procedural offers up a pulpy mix. However, it's much better than it had any right to be and contains nicely restrained performances from Nicolas Cage (suitably muted), John Cusack (very creepy yet understated and expertly wrought), and Vanessa Hudgens. This is another exhibit proving that Cage can still deliver excellent performances and he's not all-out wacky in very film. I'm not sure how close to the facts this film plays - several plot-turns are sexed up for dramatic effect but most films based on fact are guilty of this. It's a minor film, but still a good thriller and reminder how good Cage and Cusack can be when given decent roles. 

An exceptional Cage leads this brilliant & riveting film, based on the true story of Robert Hansen - The Frozen Ground review by TB

In the mid-2010's, Nicolas Cage was chucking out movies faster than probably half of the actors of Hollywood combined. And he also had developed a reputation for basically saying yes to any piece of rubbish imaginable. So whilst we had some incredible films (Bad Lieutenant being a masterpiece, Joe and Mandy not far behind that,) pretty much everything else was toe curlingly terrible, which also caused Cage as an actor a huge amount of damage. It was so easy to scoff at him, but he is, when working at his peak, one of the finest actors we have. His absolute fearlessness and willingness to take on the strangest of stories & turn in phenomenal performances knows no bounds. And whilst with The Frozen Ground (TFG,) he is starring in a fairly (in some respects,) by the numbers cop/police procedure film, he is absolutely brilliant in it, also being surrounded by many other great actors.

TFG looks at the police operation which eventually led to the capture of Robert Hansen, an absolute monster of a man who was eventually convicted of multiple murders. Cage plays Jack Halcombe (who was inspired by Glenn Flothe, the actual detective,) who is looking into the case of a murdered woman and then links the disappearances of other women to one killer. He quickly suspects Hansen, played by John Cusack, and starts to aggressively investigate him.

As mentioned, Cage is absolutely brilliant. He absolutely commands and anchors the film, at all times coming across as absolutely committed and determined to catch the monster murdering women. But the other performances are also exceptional, chief among them Vanessa Hudgens as one of the only women who manages to escape & go to the police, eventually helping them nail Hansen. The role that Hudgens plays is an extremely sexualised one, but this is no cynical part to get headlines: Hudgens is amazing and totally convincing. You really felt her pain and also the horror of the situation that she finds herself in, having to sell her body in order to survive, whilst still being aggressively chased by Hansen after escaping from him.

The other element where this film soars is how it is shot. It looks stunning: gorgeous colours, incredible locations, phenomenal mise-en-scene. The forests go from a gentle place of nature to an intimidating and oppressive prison. The soundtrack is also brilliant, working hand in glove with the horror unfolding on screen.

As the film picks up speed, enhanced by how the events unfold, the film does really effectively go into thriller mode, with you on the edge of your seat. And whilst everything works brilliantly, there then is a slight issue: for about 10 minutes, the film suddenly shows a series of narrative decisions which jarr things. Now whilst I am perfectly happy to hold my hands up and say I was wrong if what the film depicted actually happened, but some of the choices made by the characters just really didn’t click for me. But this is still absolutely a 4 star film and my only frustration is that up until that point, this film had not put a foot out of place.

The ending, followed by the epilogue, is both horrifying and hopeful, showing that despite the evil committed, good can come of the worst things.

This film is wonderful. I loved it and it is up there with the best of Cage’s work.

Average police procedural film - an improvement over some of Nic Cage's others - The Frozen Ground review by RP

Nic Cage has made some truly awful films in the last few years - for example, 'Season of the Witch' and 'The Wicker Man' remake were nominated for Razzie awards - but this one isn't too bad.

It's a police procedural film, set in Anchorage, Alaska and is based on actual events. Nic Cage and sidekick Dean Norris (who played brother-in-law Hank in 'Breaking Bad') are on the trail of serial killer John Cusack who has been implicated in the rape, torture and killing of a number of prostitutes in the boom years of the Alaskan oil pipeline construction. The town is teeming with oil men and the women who service them and clues and witnesses are hard to track down.

The film centres on the protective relationship that develops between Nic Cage's State Trooper and a teenage prostitute played by Vanessa Hudgens who is an escaped victim. As you might expect, good guy Cage tracks down and entraps bad guy Cusack and (of course) all ends well.

It's OK - but the problem I have with Mr Cage is that the characters he plays always seem 'over the top' with too much shouting and attempts at dramatic moments - and he is guilty of the same here. Having said that, it's a great improvement over some of his other films - and the Alaskan scenery is worth watching.

It's a pretty average sort of film so I'll give it 3/5 stars - watch it if you like Nic Cage and police procedural dramas, but frankly it reminded me of a big budget version of the TV series 'Law & Order - Special Victims Unit'.

[Aside: Look up "Robert Hansen" on Wikipedia if you want to learn about the background to the film]