Norways answer to the slasher movies of the 1980s, Cold Prey follows five snowboarders who take refuge in an abandoned hotel when one of them (Rolf Kristian Larsen a dead ringer for Shaggy from Scooby Doo) breaks his ankle on the slopes. What they dont know (but quickly realise) is that the place closed in 1975 when the owners son disappeared, and faster than you can say Mrs Voorhees boy, theyre being chased through the snow by a pickaxe-wielding psycho. So far so traditional, but what separates the movie from the pack is. okay, it doesnt offer anything new but director Roar Uthaug strings the hes-right-behind-you suspense scenes together better than his 80s counterparts, its slickly shot and theres an in-joke for fans of The Shining. Audiences responded favourably, so two years later, Final Girl Jannicke (Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Chernobyl Diaries) returned in Cold Prey: Resurrection, which in the tradition of Halloween II (1981) offers more of the same, only set in a hospital.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
