Cold Prey 2 – DVD review
Director: Mats Stenberg
Cast: Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Marthe Snorresdotter Rovik, Kim Wifladt
By Brian M. Sammons
Made in 2008, in Norway, and originally titled Fritt vilt II, this sequel to the European horror hit about a very coldblooded (wink) killer finally makes it way to North America. Was it worth the wait? Can you enjoy the movie even if you haven’t seen the original Cold Prey or *gasp* have to read subtitles? Well put on your ski mask, grab your ice axe, and remember to stay frosty (wink), we’ve got a date far up north with a killer.
This sequel does the Halloween 2 in more than just picking up right after the original movie ended. But before we get to the other way, I’ll give you the nickel tour of the first Cold Prey to bring you up to speed just in case you haven’t seen it. A group of young skiers go out to the stunning Norwegian mountains for some winter fun. Someone breaks a leg so the group takes shelter in an abandoned ski…chalet? Is it still a chalet if it is outside Switzerland? Well a big old hotel at any rate, and one that happens to have a ski mask and parka wearing, ice axe wielding psycho stalking the halls. In true slasher flick fashion it comes down to the final girl and the killer and our heroine emerges victorious.
So right after that this movie picks up. The wounded and weary woman is whisked away to the local hospital, a hospital that’s about ready to close and so it’s under staffed and with very few patients. Hey, at least they explain the eerily empty hospital better than Halloween 2 did. Oh, and they also bring the stone cold (wink) dead body of the killer to the morgue in the hospital. And before you know it our ski masked killer gets back up and starts the stalking the halls of the hospital.
The mysterious killer has more of his backstory explained during this outing and some supernatural elements are introduced. I guess that’s to be expected as he did just pull a Jason Voorhees and got off the slab. The final girl from the first movie is (rightfully) scared to death when she finds out the psycho is in the morgue, but the focus of the film goes from her, to a lady doctor, to a police officer investigating the murders. This means that there is some question as to who will be left alive at the end and who will meet the business end of a scalpel.
Perhaps the only thing negative I can say about his movie is there isn’t as much beautiful mountainside scenery in it as the last one. Oh there is some, but most of the action here takes place in the hospital. So if that’s all the bad I can come up with for this review, that should tell you just how good this movie is. This is Grade-A stalk and slash goodness. It has an old school feel to it and is the kind of movie they sadly don’t make anymore. At least, not on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
As for extras on this new DVD from Shout! Factory, there are only a few. There’s a trailer and then about a half dozen deleted scenes. That’s it. I suppose with the language barrier a commentary track would have been hard (although couldn’t they get someone to translate?) but not a single featurette is to be found on this DVD. I guess you should be happy that this cool (wink) slasher from far distant shores is available at last on this side of the Atlantic and that you don’t have to get a wonky burned disc or something sent from Singapore just so you can watch it. But really, the dearth of extras for this release just left me cold (wink).
Cold Prey 2 is a great slasher with memorable killer, a tired and true setting, and some vicious kills for the gorehounds. It is well acted and the language barrier does nothing to take away from that. The direction is very well done and this film succeeds at both shocking the audience with sudden jump scares, and having creepy moments of dread that were really chilling (wink). I can highly recommend this movie to all fans of classic slasher flicks.
