Many dream of various trips, and filmmakers use this shamelessly: horror films with the conditional characteristic “tourist trap” have already stood out in a separate category of the genre, the canons of which do not change much over the years. Naive heroes climb into the wilderness and with bloody details die at the hands of local gopniks, maniac, bigfoot or cannibal tribe. Among these projects there are annoying failures and masterpieces riddled with psychology. The formula, despite the hefty stamping, continues to work and does not lose popularity. Among the strongest examples of the category is the 2006 Norwegian horror Cold Production (Fritt Vilt), also the name Lost.
Original European horror
The premiere of the picture in Norway took place in early October 2006. The film "Cold production" received positive reviews from critics, individual filmmakers were inclined to position it as the best modern horror in Norway. According to IMDb, the project rating is 6.3. Filming lasted only three months. The director Roar Uthhaug, whose disaster film “Wave” was exhibited from Norway at the Oscars, and in 2018 created a reboot of the Tomb Raider film franchise, was just beginning to work on the formation of his creative style. Before the "Cold booty" he shot only three short films. However, the visionary approached the creation of a full-length debut with all seriousness and thoroughness. The filming process took place on the top of Mount Yutunheimen at a temperature of minus 25 Celsius. Equipment weighing 20 tons was lifted by helicopters to a decent height.
Plot
The story of the horror "Cold production" (2006) begins with an introduction to the five main characters, young people who decided to snowboard on the slopes of Mount Yutunheimen. Their plans collapse almost immediately, as one of the participants in the attack breaks his leg. Phones, of course, do not catch the signal, help is impossible to call, so the guys decide to go down on their own. During transportation of the injured, they notice an abandoned hotel and head to it to shelter from the weather. Since the building also has no communication or other means of communication, the heroes are forced to spend the night there to restore strength and continue the journey. From this moment their misadventures begin.
Genre slasher formulas
Many domestic critics compare Roar Uthaug’s project with the domestic horror film “The Lineman”, which in all respects refers to the slasher. But, in fact, the films are united only by a “flat” and highly predictable plot. They do not contain any original moves, except for an all-consuming feeling of hopelessness. In "Cold booty" story flaws are more than compensated by amazing landscapes, decent graphics and dramatic reprisals. At the same time, it is worth noting the professionalism of the acting ensemble, you believe and sympathize with their characters. The musical accompaniment of the composer Magnus Beyte pumps the atmosphere even in those rare moments when nothing happens. The identity of the maniac, armed with an ice ax, in "Cold booty" is also very colorful. In the finale, he will die from his own cannon, falling victim to the obsessed insane fury of the surviving heroine Yannicke. And at that moment when he breaks into the abyss, falling on a mountain of corpses of his previous victims, the viewer begins to feel that the story will not end so easily, there will be a continuation.
Sequel
Since the original film was warmly received by critics and interested the audience, the early release of the sequel was a foregone conclusion. Moreover, Ingrid Bolsay Berdal, who cracked down on the maniac in the first film, agreed to participate in the continuation of the story. In 2008, the Horror “Cold production-2” with the subtitle “Resurrection” was released. In the first week of the show, the tape becomes the Norwegian box office record holder.
At the center of the story was the survivor of the Yannick massacre, which was discovered by rescuers and taken to a hospital. The hospital is being prepared for closure, so it has a limited number of personnel and only three patients, including the heroine and a half-dead man found in the gorge. The maniac is in critical condition, but doctors are able to bring him back to life. Soon, a girl who has not recovered from a nightmare has to plunge into a more bloody action. The film was shot in the Norwegian village of Otto, in one of the hospitals of Os. The cash success of the sequel is due to a successful marketing campaign. Both films are very watchable slashers proving that not only Americans can shoot in this genre.
Prequel
In 2010, director Mikkel Brenne Sandemuse removed the project Cold Production-3. The director created a beautiful saying to the original film, with a spectacular prologue and a powerful epilogue. He took the path of prehistory, deciding to talk about the massacre perpetrated by an unkillable maniac with an ice ax at a young age.
According to the plot, a company of six young people goes on a weekend to Jotunheimen National Park, sets up a camp on the coast of a picturesque lake. But soon their peace is disturbed by a real hunt in which they become victims of a crazy killer. He is the son of the owners of the hotel, who in the past disappeared for a while, and when he returned, he killed his parents. He was raised by one of the local poachers who hunted illegally in the park. Naturally, the boy is trained in all the tricks of the hunt, and it makes no difference to whom to kill and flay.
Nightmare Survival
The third film of the series was frankly weaker and cheaper than the previous ones, the film was even immediately released on video. Although in general it is quite effective. The action is developing rapidly, the landscapes are unusually beautiful, but the visualization is made mainly in gray tones, as if the author decided to pay tribute to the "Massacre" of his compatriot Patrick Sieversen. Significant throwing into the narrative of survival horror techniques is good for the picture. There is only one significant drawback - the predictability of the development of history. In general, this is a good “one-time” slasher.