Wind Chill

"Chill Factor," "Every Breath You Take"/ Or Another 'Nightmare Before Christmas'
(3 1/2 *'s) George Clooney and Stephen Soderbergh have teamed up once again to produce `Wind Chill,' a horror movie that's more and less than one expects from a horror film. First of all, it's equally a survivor story and a stalker/romance as well as ghost story with a colorful history. Don't get me wrong, there are some scary moments in the movie, but the film admirably relies more on suspense and ambiguity in its presentation. All of it comes together in a way that's as invigorating as a cold, arctic blast from Canada.

The movie starts with some familiar on-the-road setup, complete with the car that breaks down and everything goes wrong. From there the developments are often different, however. Mysterious without names, the "Gal" (Emily Blunt) foregoes the plane ride from college exams before holiday break and decides to take the Greyhound bus. That is until she gets a text message during an exam inviting her to hook up with a ride from the posted message board...

"Wind Chill" is bone-chilling!!!
My spotlight reviewer buddy, JP, got me interested in this film and all I can say is thanks for the night of no sleep, JP! :>)

I'm going to keep this review short as JP's Picks, a current Spotlight Review, really got all the details dead on (I couldn't resist the pun), and today I am enjoying my 22nd anniversary with my wife; however, I have a little time here to write this review about this wickedly intense little chiller that is low on gore, sex and violence and high on chills, storyline, and character development. Of course, this may explain the love it or hate reviews you see posted. I'm okay with that as this kind of chiller really isn't for everyone tastes and many small films are like that as they are targeted at a specific audience.

I found the performances by the two leads to be exceptionally believable and layered. Emily Blount is a real standout in her role as "the girl" simply trying to get home from college by bumming a ride off a "guy" (no names...

Don't let the cheesy cover fool you, give it a chance
To be honest, the cover of the movie alone would cause me not to see it. I even avoid the genre of low budget 'horror' b-movies altogether. So why did I see it? Emily Blunt. And I couldn't be happier about givng this movie a chance.

The movie does lack on the horror side of the story, with not much originality. And the movie isn't really all that scary, but it's not trying to be, and I think them not trying so hard is why this move is so good. They rely on acting and character development, with a good romance development, and anything scary that happens is only a means to develope the relationship between these characters.

Expertly acted and directed, it would be a shame if you passed this small gem up for the reasons I almost did. And I can assure you that you would enjoy it even if you don't know, or care, who Emily Blunt is.

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