Review: I first ran across the original Cold Prey film back about 2 years or so when I was in a pawn shop and I decided to pick it up. I thought I was in for just another bland horror film with nothing to offer. What I got was quite different than what I expected. I got a slasher film that goes the old school (ie Halloween) route and instead of going for gore and blood it worked on build up and suspsense. Now that film was not anything groundbreaking, but it did take the classic slasher genre formula and mix it with great performances to make a very well made horror film. I now have the sequel to that film up for review, does it hold up well as a sequel and stand strong? Let the autopsy begin!
Cold Prey 2 starts off where the first left off and the lone survivor Jannicke is found and brought to a local hospital. Soon after her four dead friends and the killer mountain man's bodies are found and brought back to the hospital. From there things go out of control and Jannicke is once again in a struggle for her life. Most fans of horror will read that and think "I have heard this same kind of plot before" and they would be right. It sounds similar to the plot of some of the best slasher sequels. Now like the first film this one does take the classic slasher formula and fills it with great suspense to make a great film. I really liked how they kept doing things to mess with the viewer and keep you on your feet. Now when all hell breaks loose I can say it gets crazy.
For those who enjoy a "slow burner" horror film will certainly enjoy this one, because for about the first half it goes by kinda slow and sets up the film. Just over the first half the film goes into full blown edge of your seat mode. The kills are very much like the first film in the way that they are nothing new or mind blowing, but they work just fine for this film. The characters involved are quite likeable and are not comprised of ones that you wish would just get killed. I actually was hoping the best for them but this is a slasher film and someone has to die. The killer still reminds me of Michael Myers due to the fact that he hides behind a mask, creeps in the dark, and is silent. I really like the killer in this film way more than most slasher films I have ever seen.
The lead actress once again does a fantastic job at playing the strong survivor character. Her performance is top notch and she brings an intensity to the role that I very much liked. A great thing that they did with her is they didn't make her this super woman character who is instantly perfect and ready to fight, instead she is still recovering after being nearly killed than nearly frozen to death. It's a stead progression to make her stronger and ready to fight. Another one of the characters that I actually liked was the little boy Daniel who was not annoying like you find in films like this. He actually was quite likable and did not seem like he was just in the way.
Overall this is a damn good slasher film that deserves a watch by horror fans of all kinds. I think if you give this film as well as the first one a chance then I think you will enjoy what the Cold Prey franchise has to offer in a genre filled with nothing but gore films. The presentation on this DVD is excellent from the picture to the audio. This is one of those releases that would of been cool to see on blu-ray, but works just fine on this DVD release. I give this film 5 out of 5 scalpels!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Mats Stenberg
Genre: Horror/Slasher
DVD Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 2008
Time Length: 94 mins.
Rating: Not Rated
Company: Shout! Factory
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
Review: I first ran across the original Cold Prey film back about 2 years or so when I was in a pawn shop and I decided to pick it up. I thought I was in for just another bland horror film with nothing to offer. What I got was quite different than what I expected. I got a slasher film that goes the old school (ie Halloween) route and instead of going for gore and blood it worked on build up and suspsense. Now that film was not anything groundbreaking, but it did take the classic slasher genre formula and mix it with great performances to make a very well made horror film. I now have the sequel to that film up for review, does it hold up well as a sequel and stand strong? Let the autopsy begin!
