Writer: Low Yuen Yim

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Watch this if you liked: “Hatchet”, “Alive”

Best friends Joe Lynch (Shawn Ashmore) and Dan Walker (Kevin Zegers) went skiing one weekend while Dan's girlfriend, Parker (Emma Bell) tagged along. Being regulars at the ski mountain, they decided it was not worth paying the full admission fees and asked Parker to flirt with the chairlift operator so that they would have a discount. Joe was not satisfied with the amount of time spent on the bunny hills (slopes for beginners) as Parker was still learning how to ski. He wanted some real skiing before the slopes close for the weekend. The chairlift operator relented and let them board the chairlift for the last time before closing. Due to a mishap, the chairlift was shut down before it reaches the top, leaving the trio stranded 50 feet above the ground.

Director Adam Green found inspiration for "Frozen" based on his own experience of skiing at smaller mountains that only opens on weekends. The chairlift's design is pretty similar to cable cars that most of us have board before. When machines like this stops for no reason, one question wonders on our minds, "How are we going to get down from here?" Playing on the irrational fear of humans especially those suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights), "Frozen" will leave the viewers wriggling in their seats uncomfortably, unable to take their eyes of the actors.

Most of the film takes place on the deserted row chairlift and the stranded skiers who thought that the operator was playing a joke on them. The situation turns tense when they realised that there was no one on the slopes. Like any normal person, panic starts to kick in and prevents them from thinking logically about escaping from the chairlift. When three people are stuck in the middle of nowhere, the wilderness seems to be a rather frightening place to be. The viewers will be right there with the three individuals as they try to escape.

"Frozen" is a film that does not hold back the gore but inflicts terror with realism, stirring up the viewers' own fears instead of projecting new ones. It presents a scenario of what will happen when a person is stuck and the viewers can't help but feel they are right there on the chairlift facing the fears as well. Unlike most thrillers, "Frozen" stays in your mind long after the credits and haunts you the next time a chairlift or cable car stops for no reason. When you are dangling in the air, whatever you do, do not panic.

Cinema Online, 15 June 2010