Jack Frost

Dir: Michael Cooney

1997

****

Move over Krampus, Killer Santa and Tim Allen, Christmas has a new baddie: Jack Frost. Now you might think that Michael Cooney's Jack Frost was a cheap and cheeky horror remake of TroyMiller's Micheal Keaton fronted film but you'd be wrong. Miller's abomination of a film was released the year after Cooney's....masterpiece. Okay, masterpiece is an exaggeration but compared to its sentimental family-friendly cousin its Casablanca. It's a nice first though, having a theatrically released big-budget film copy a small budget comedy horror, it's usually the other way round. Criminal possession is a tried and tested formula, how said criminal possesses an object can be easily explained by either science or voodoo and why said possessed object goes on a killing spree is already answered by the fact they are criminals. It worked for Child's Play (Doll), Christine (Car), countless haunted house movies and even a lamp (Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes). That said, I particularly like the explanation that Criminal + 'Genetic material' + Snow = Killer Snowman. It works for me and I challenge anyone to explain to me how this couldn't feasibly happen. There is an element of Terminator 2 about how Jack Frost can go from liquid to solid and back to liquid again at will but other than that this may well be the most original film that has ever been made ever. It's certainly one of the most ridiculous films ever made but when I say ridiculous I mean awesome. So it is a little clunky in places and there are long gaps between good bits but overall it's a b-movie that just keeps on giving. I had assumed the snowman suit would be a bit rubbish and Jack frost would therefore have very little screen-time. I also thought it might be a case of looking cheap and cheerful but it actually looks quite good and it moves quite convincingly. If the aim was for the Snowman to look cartoonish but terrifying at the same time, and I would bet money that it was, then job well done. It's the perfect balance of sci-fi fantasy and comedy horror. People will try and tell you that this is a horrible movie but I'm afraid they've missed the point. Look at 1998's Jack Frost, there is nothing of any quality about it whatsoever. Tell me it wouldn't have been an improved film if Michael Keaton's Snowman had suddenly gone on a killing spree.