Frozen...Fuckin' Brrr!

I've been living in Chicago for 10 years now and I know cold.

I know the feeling of hail pelting you in the face. I've had days where I forgot my gloves and putting your hands in your pockets can only do so much. I stood on platforms waiting for a train and tearing up within minutes just because of the cold. My face has been chapped, my hands cracked and bleeding and I've had numbness that took almost an hour to go away. With all of that experience, I still can't imagine how awful it would be to be stuck in that weather on a chair lift. Frozen made me experience the full force of the bitter weather all while sitting in a movie theater.

College students Dan, Joe and Parker spend their Sunday at a ski resort. Dan and Joe are childhood best friends and Parker, Dan's girlfriend, is making an attempt to bond with the other love of Dan's life, Joe. After conning a lift operator into letting the three ride the chair for a cheaper price, the threesome spend the majority of the day on the bunny hill. Joe's resentment for Parker builds as he tires of the kiddie slopes and wants to kick it up by hitting the challenging stuff before they leave for the night. Parker senses her infringement on the bromance and insist they go on their own. The boys both feel bad and encourage her to join them on their last run. The lift operator is ready to close for the night but the three beg and plead for one last chance. The operator agrees and let's them go. When the operator is told by a co-worker that the vacation time he was taking was going to be cancel he flees the scene to straighten it out but not before telling his colleague three more people were left on the chairs. A short minute later, three random people pass by and the worker assume those were the three left. The lifts are shut down and the resort closes.

Meanwhile Dan, Joe and Parker are suspended 50 feet in the air on the lift on a very cold night. They go through the thought process you and I would go through if we were put in the situation.

1. "Ok maybe this is a joke."

2. "The lift is stuck, let's just wait a few minutes more."

3. "Ok maybe the power's out, they know we are up here, someone will come."

4. "WTF???????"

5 . "Now that we realize no one is coming, how do we get out of here?"

From then on the three work out the scenarios on ways to get to help. When one attempt ends badly (one of many scenes that made my hold my breath and cover my mouth from screaming "Oh my god, oh shit, holy fuck!) the chances of getting off the lift alive seem more unlikely.

The thing that makes this movie scary is that it could happen! I watch movies and regardless if it's a creature feature or even a romantic comedy, my mind always goes to the place of "What would I do if I were put in that situation?"

Writer/Director Adam Green throws the audience in that situation and we all can relate to the characters, feel their intense emotions and get a chill through our entire bodies when we see each character shiver or frostbitten yet we subtly take comfortable in thinking "I'm so glad that's not me up there!"

This movie has been compared to Open Water, and I can't think of a better comparison. Characters are stuck in a deadly situation and struggle to stay strong and figure out how to survive. The only downside to Open Water is, the characters didn't have any chance in hell of living through that. Sharks were hungry, land was far and beyond away, hope was lost. For Frozen, the three had a fighting chance to survive but the consequences of getting hurt or not succeeding was a huge risk.

Frozen was a thrilling display of despair and edgy unease. I left the theater still cringing of the thought and things I've witness and still I walked out of the theater embracing the cold Chicago air only to know, that I was on the ground and on my way home to my warm apartment.