Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Oh, the weather outside is frightful indeed!
One of the best aspects of horror movies can be the setting, taking beautiful landscapes or areas and turning them into your worst nightmare come to life. While Christmas movies use snow to create magical winter wonderlands horror movies tend to twist their snowy backdrops into outdoor prisons and the memorable ones are so good you can actually feel the cold. So, bundle up as we take a look at Five Winter Themed Movies to Chill your Bones.
#5 Devil’s Pass
This found footage horror movie tells the story of five students who venture to the middle of nowhere otherwise known as the Dyatlov Pass to investigate the mystery behind the death of nine skiers.
It’s one thing to play detective in some abandoned sanitarium or haunted house, it’s a whole other beast when you are miles away from civilization AND you have to contend with minus degree temperatures and snow as far as the eyes can see.
Director Renny Harlin is no stranger to making the outdoors as violent as any monster you could face having also directed Cliffhanger, he does a great job of encapsulating the wintery Russian landscape here and a sense of dreaded isolation.
The pacing isn’t bad, and the found footage elements work well (and that’s coming from someone who’s not a big fan of the style) but the story loses some tension once they make it into the bunker and the CGI monsters start attacking. That said, the avalanche looked pretty good and triggered not just my claustrophobia but my fear of the freezing cold as well.
#4 Wind River
Before you say anything yes, I agree, Wind River is not a horror movie. This mystery thriller may not be horrific in a visceral way but set against the snowy backdrop of Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation its story leaves you feeling chilled in more ways than one. After the body of an Indigenous teenage girl is found frozen in the middle of the wilderness, FBI Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) is sent to investigate. Having no knowledge of the area and no real support from local law enforcement, she teams up with Fish and Wildlife Agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) who not only has lived on the reservation his whole life but also has a personal connection with the victim’s father Martin (Gil Birmingham).
I may be biased as I’ve been a fan of Taylor Sheridan’s work since I saw Hell or High Water, but I think anyone who has seen Wind River can attest to how effective it is as a thriller. And while I enjoyed the entire movie it’s the scene that shows what poor Natalie went through before her death in the frozen wilds that makes this so horrific for me. I’ve never had frostbite; hell, I’ve never even seen snow in real life, but as someone who finds their teeth chattering at any temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius the idea of having to run barefoot through the snow is terrifying.
If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend this and for Marvel fans it’s fun to see The Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and The Punisher (Jon Bernthal is also in this movie) all together.
#3 Let the Right One In (2008 original)
A vampire who has their sights set on you is scary enough, but I would argue the snowy suburban setting works just as well in making the atmosphere claustrophobic and threatening.
Every time I saw a scene set outdoors; I couldn’t help but think how isolating it must be to live in a place like that. Add to that young Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) being constantly bullied, his grossly absentee mother and the presence of the strange little “girl” Eli who walks outdoors in the snow with no jacket. I was genuinely worried for the actress and equally in awe of her ability to not react to the biting cold.
I don’t know about you but besides that really messed up scene at the pool, it’s the moments between Oskar and Eli in the frozen playground that always set my teeth on edge.
#2 Frozen (2010)
There’s more than one movie that I’ve watched once and then never again. Usually, it’s due to the film being emotionally draining or too disturbing or sometimes it’s just because it’s too damn long. With Frozen (no, not the Disney one) it’s the conclusion that cuts so deep I found myself somewhat traumatised by it and having no desire to see it again.
This movie takes its time getting there, but it’s that slow pace coupled with solid performances by all three actors and a nightmarish premise of being stuck thousands of feet above the ground on a chairlift…at night…at a resort that’s closed for a week that really gets under your skin.
Besides watching these poor kids slowly freeze to death as they try desperately to survive, what makes this extra chilling is the fact that it seems like something that could happen in the real world. Hell, two people were accidentally left in the middle of the ocean during a boat tour because someone forgot to do a headcount (they made a movie about the events called Open Water).
Sometimes reality is way more horrifying than fiction and this underrated flick deserves a hand for doing just that.
Honourable Mentions
You may have noticed I left the granddaddy of frozen terror off this list and that’s because The Thing is SO good it would easily take the number one spot on almost any horror list I create. That said there’s a ton of great winter-based horror out there. I recently rewatched the television miniseries Storm of the Century and damn I forgot how good that was! Seriously, one of the most underrated of Stephen King’s adaptations. See it for yourself.
#1 30 Days of Night
Say what you will about Let the Right One In, at least Eli cared about Oskar. The vampires in 30 Days of Night, on the other hand, have nothing but brutally bloody intentions.
Most everyone knows that in Alaska there’s a period of time where the sun can’t be seen. It’s an annual time of winter with a polar night that lasts 30 days. This in and of itself sounds like it might be pleasant for exactly one week before you start to go stir crazy, but you throw in a pack of vampires who have zero interest in wooing you to the dark side and every intent on treating your town like an all-you-can-eat buffet and what you’re left with is a tale that makes The Walking Dead look like a walk in the park. Not only do these poor people have to stay hidden in the dark and cold for thirty days, but they have to stay wherever they happened to be when the attack started. This meant there were people whose only choice was to crawl under their houses in the heavy snow and choose between frostbite and a whole other kind of bite if they want to make it out alive.
A fantastic setting for a movie such as this, 30 Days of Night made the cold outdoors as much of an obstacle as the monsters roaming about in it. I would go as far as to say not since The Thing have I seen a snowy setting used to such effect. At least in The Shining they had a giant freezer full of food. Barring some annoying ghosts and a crazy Jack Nicholson I know which I would choose in a heartbeat!
So that’s my list. Which of these sent cold shivers down your spine? And you can check out more horror/thriller lists below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More