The Frozen Ground was artful, uncomfortable and absolutely spectacular. The film, based on a true story, is the perfect example of how truth is stranger than fiction.
The Frozen Ground follows the story of Alaskan State Trooper Sgt. Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage) as he tries to catch a serial killer that has not been caught in 13 years. With prostitutes’ bodies being found in Anchorage, the public begins to panic and Halcombe knows that he needs to catch the killer soon.
Robert Hansen (John Cusack) is the serial killer and a well-known man in the town. The citizens would hardly believe that he would hurt the women. One prostitute, Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens), escapes from Hansen and helps Halcombe by giving him new information for catching the killer. After giving up the information, Paulson fears for her life and wants the killer caught before she is captured again.
This film is a suspenseful thriller rather than an action film. The story gets down the dirty details and makes sure that the viewer leaves knowing everything that happened. It doesn’t glorify the characters or anything that happened to them. It simply tells this horrifying tale.
For a suspenseful film, The Frozen Ground was absolutely terrifying. It wasn’t Saw or The Conjuring, but it was a quiet horror of a menacing man. While it was a classic catch a killer before the evidence disappears story, the actors brought their characters to such a real light.
The movie was predictable because it was the same movie that is repeated every once in a while. Good guy works really hard to catch bad guy with the help of someone whose life has been affected by the case. However, the acting in the film is what brought it to life. Everyone in the film really fell into their characters and, as far as I could tell, really took on the life of whom they were playing.
Cusack made a lasting impression in his role as a serial killer. He is disturbing while convincing everyone around him that he could never be a serial killer that literally hunts women. Every word dripped off of Cusack in such a creepy yet normal way that it brought Hansen to life.
Cage hasn’t been in any good movies recently but The Frozen Ground reminded me of when he was really at his prime. He was incredibly intense in every scene and every time that Cage was playing a frustrated Halcombe, his face seemed to feel the frustrated words.
Surprisingly, Hudgens had an amazing performance. In some parts of the film, she outshined Cage. The 24-year-old played a 17-year-old prostitute flawlessly. This film is much, much better than Spring Breakers and Sucker Punch. She actually acted in the movie, rather than running around in her underwear. When Paulson was scared for her life, Hudgens could understand and translate that well.
The best part of the film, however, was the end when the filmmakers made the creative decision to show the stories and pictures of the actual victims that Hansen killed. It is what actually brought the story back to the real world. These weren’t just fictional characters we were watching, they were living girls who were hunted by a psycho killer.
The Frozen Ground is currently available on demand and in limited theaters. It is rated R and runs at 106 minutes.