Monday, 22 July 2013

The Frozen Ground (2013, Dir. Scott Walker, USA) (Cert: 15/R) ***

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Vanessa Hudgens, John Cusack

Police are called to free a prostitute (Hudgens) who has been handcuffed and claims to have been assaulted and raped. Although some officers dispute her claim, officer Jack Halcombe (Cage) investigates and comes to believe that the perpetrator is Robert Hansen (Cusack) a supposedly respectable suburban husband and father, suspected of several cases of abduction, rape and later, murder.

Based on the real life case of serial killer Robert Hansen, The Frozen Ground is a competent effort but given its rather nasty subject matter, fails to really deliver the dread or terror that such a film as this would have you expecting. Leading the film are Nicolas Cage and John Cusack and whilst Cage may be known for his rather manic and wild performing style, Cage is relatively down-playing the role. Somewhat necessary given the sensitive subject but wiser casting was probably needed given that Cage is pretty much always at his best when completely out of control. Cusack meanwhile has shown an interesting capability to play deranged killers as of late, such as with his turn in The Paperboy (2011). Given that the film is virtually all exposition with little time for establishing or developing character beyond a means to propel the story, the film loses on atmosphere that could've been easily achieved and extremely affective, but the story is at least engaging and with interesting characters. Fairly satisfying, but by no means memorable.

No comments:

Post a Comment