The Last Winter (2007)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Cry Ice

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The fascinating character actor and director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo) conjures his latest horror film, but rather than focusing on psychological disorders and beasties, he turns his sinister gaze to global warming. This message hangs over the entire film, and Fessenden even backs it up with news footage of flooding and whatnot, but he still manages to craft an intense and effective thriller. A group of oil company employees, led by the boisterous Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman), camp out in remote Alaska to build solid ice roads upon which to bring in the big equipment. Environmentalists, led by James Hoffman (James LeGros), are also there to study the region and report on the effectiveness of the project. One thing is obvious: the weather isn't cold enough for the ice roads to work. Characters fight, have sex, go crazy and die. Fessenden shows fleeting evidence of some kind of beastie on the loose but -- like a good horror director -- refuses to show too much. The main idea is that the permafrost, frozen for millions of years, is melting and unleashing gasses and other things completely unknown to us. At one point Hoffman admits to having given up reporting the facts because no one wants to listen. The overall effect is gleefully chilling mixed with frankly depressing.