Deep Freeze (film)
Encyclopedia
Deep Freeze is a 2003 horror film directed by John Carl Buechler. Written by Robert Boris
, Dennis A. Pratt, and Matthew Jason Walsh, the film was shot in Germany
in 2001. The film was retitled Ice Crawlers for USA release.
base to drill for oil. The facility is staffed by Dr. Monica Kelsey (Alexandra Kamp-Goreneveld), Nelson Schneider (Goetz Otto) and six workers. During a raging storm, a research team arrives by helicopter, forced to land due to an even worse storm approaching, sent by Geotech to investigate the death of a worker named Lenny (Robert Axelrod), the disappearance of workers Carl and Lippski, and mysterious tremors hitting the area, hoping to learn the cause of these events before the arrival of a United Nations
investigation team who might shut down the base. The team's leader, Professor Ted Jacobson (David Millbern) has romantic ties to Dr. Kelsey. The rest of his team are four post grad students: Arianna (Karen Nieci), Tom (Howard Halcomb), Update (David Lenneman), and Curtis (Allen Lee Haff). A giant black trilobite
makes its appearance and attacks Dr. Kelsey. One by one, the rest get picked off by the monster.
of the film, he writes "it wouldn’t be a John Carl Buechler movie without a deadly rubber monster puppet", clarifying "Of course, it has to be considerably more deadly and carnivorous than trilobites are believed to have been". He also noted that although the writing team had otherwise decent work to their credit, "three credited writers doesn’t necessarily make for a good script and this one’s a clunker." Toward the makeup and creature effects, he granted that "to be fair, the trilobite is a well-done effect, especially when seen scuttling across the floor," but that as an antgonist is "just such a dopy concept for a monster." He also found flaw with production design and "sloppiness" of the screen credits. He concluded "It’s got a few thrills, a few unintentional laughs and a bunch of exterior stock footage from The Thing, but there’s a certain amount of depth to the characters and there are no wannabe scream queens in the cast, which is a blessing."
Dread Central lists the criteria that viewers should look for to pre-determine that this film is a bad one: the premise of the film being derivative of Alien, the plot line of the film "blatantly copies that of more than one famous genre film", that a man whose specialty lies in the F/X department "rarely ever succeed when taking the director’s chair", the special effects are unremarkable, the director is already known for Ghoulies 3, and the lead writer is the man responsible for Backyard Dogs
. The reviewer then lambasts the monster, a trilobite with the seeming and inexplicable power of teleportation and mind reading. Dubbing the creature "Trilly", the reviewer writes "Trilly, you see, is no ordinary man-eating, prehistoric insect awoken from an icy slumber. No, Trilly has magical powers that your typical man-eating, prehistoric insect didn’t have. Trilly seems to be psychic. Much like Santa, Trilly knows when you are sleeping and knows when you’re awake and really knows when you’re taking a bath or shower. Most importantly, Trilly knows when you’re alone. It becomes numbing the sheer number of times there are several people in a room discussing whatever but the moment one of them is alone in that room, Trilly suddenly strikes, having apparently hid somewhere in the room waiting patiently for the very moment when someone would be left alone. It’s ridiculous how often this happens." He notes that the plot makes no attempt to explain how the creature is able to roam so freely and so quickly for a large and slow beast. He concludes that the film "takes itself way too seriously given the silly concept of a killer prehistoric roach", writing that it appeared that "Buechler was trying to make a 1950’s style creature feature but mistakenly chose to go about things with the mentality of a modern slasher flick". "There is no suspense here and most shocking, given the director’s pedigree, we don’t even get any good kills. Despite being directed by a guy that has created more than his fair share of gory effects for the movies, Ice Crawlers is surprisingly anemic."
Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic Reviews began his review by noting "Roger Corman is still churning out the schlock," writing that "Ice Crawlers (a.k.a. Deep Freeze) is a whole lot like John Carpenter
's The Thing - minus the craftsmanship, the artistry and the talent." His conclusion was that the film was "one of director J.C. Beuchler's least professional efforts".
Robert Boris
Robert Boris is an award-winning American screenwriter, film producer and film director.Boris was nicknamed Double B by film producer Elliott Kastner.-Awards:...
, Dennis A. Pratt, and Matthew Jason Walsh, the film was shot in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2001. The film was retitled Ice Crawlers for USA release.
Plot
The Geotech Company has set up a large AntarcticAntarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
base to drill for oil. The facility is staffed by Dr. Monica Kelsey (Alexandra Kamp-Goreneveld), Nelson Schneider (Goetz Otto) and six workers. During a raging storm, a research team arrives by helicopter, forced to land due to an even worse storm approaching, sent by Geotech to investigate the death of a worker named Lenny (Robert Axelrod), the disappearance of workers Carl and Lippski, and mysterious tremors hitting the area, hoping to learn the cause of these events before the arrival of a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
investigation team who might shut down the base. The team's leader, Professor Ted Jacobson (David Millbern) has romantic ties to Dr. Kelsey. The rest of his team are four post grad students: Arianna (Karen Nieci), Tom (Howard Halcomb), Update (David Lenneman), and Curtis (Allen Lee Haff). A giant black trilobite
Trilobite
Trilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before...
makes its appearance and attacks Dr. Kelsey. One by one, the rest get picked off by the monster.
Partial cast
- Götz OttoGötz OttoGötz Otto is a German actor known for his very tall stature. He is 198 cm tall and is often characterised by bleached blonde hair in his films....
as Nelson - Robert AxelrodRobert AxelrodRobert M. Axelrod is an American political scientist. He is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan where he has been since 1974. He is best known for his interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, which has been cited in numerous articles...
as Lenny - Norman Cole as Munson
- Rebekah RyanRebekah RyanRebekah Sherrill Chance , also known as Rebekah Ryan, is an American female pop singer, songwriter and actress from Kansas City, Missouri.-Career:...
as Kate - Allen Lee Haff as Curtis
- Alexandra Kamp-GroeneveldAlexandra KampAlexandra Kamp-Groeneveld is a German model and actress.She was born in Baden-Baden to Peter Kamp and his wife. She visited drama schools in New York, Los Angeles and Paris before she started her career as an actress in 1994. She has had many star and supporting roles in German movies and TV...
as Dr. Monica Kelsey - Karen Nieci as Arianna
- Howard Holcomb as Tom
- David Millbern as Ted Jacobson
- David Lenneman as Update
- Billy Maddox as Clyde
- Tunde Babalola as Shockley
Reception
MJ Simpson notes that the film was directed and produced "by effects legend John Carl Buechler". Speaking toward the giant monster trilobiteTrilobite
Trilobites are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period , and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before...
of the film, he writes "it wouldn’t be a John Carl Buechler movie without a deadly rubber monster puppet", clarifying "Of course, it has to be considerably more deadly and carnivorous than trilobites are believed to have been". He also noted that although the writing team had otherwise decent work to their credit, "three credited writers doesn’t necessarily make for a good script and this one’s a clunker." Toward the makeup and creature effects, he granted that "to be fair, the trilobite is a well-done effect, especially when seen scuttling across the floor," but that as an antgonist is "just such a dopy concept for a monster." He also found flaw with production design and "sloppiness" of the screen credits. He concluded "It’s got a few thrills, a few unintentional laughs and a bunch of exterior stock footage from The Thing, but there’s a certain amount of depth to the characters and there are no wannabe scream queens in the cast, which is a blessing."
Dread Central lists the criteria that viewers should look for to pre-determine that this film is a bad one: the premise of the film being derivative of Alien, the plot line of the film "blatantly copies that of more than one famous genre film", that a man whose specialty lies in the F/X department "rarely ever succeed when taking the director’s chair", the special effects are unremarkable, the director is already known for Ghoulies 3, and the lead writer is the man responsible for Backyard Dogs
Backyard Dogs
-Plot:Two best friends with dreams of becoming professional wrestlers start wrestling in underground backyard events.-Principal cast:...
. The reviewer then lambasts the monster, a trilobite with the seeming and inexplicable power of teleportation and mind reading. Dubbing the creature "Trilly", the reviewer writes "Trilly, you see, is no ordinary man-eating, prehistoric insect awoken from an icy slumber. No, Trilly has magical powers that your typical man-eating, prehistoric insect didn’t have. Trilly seems to be psychic. Much like Santa, Trilly knows when you are sleeping and knows when you’re awake and really knows when you’re taking a bath or shower. Most importantly, Trilly knows when you’re alone. It becomes numbing the sheer number of times there are several people in a room discussing whatever but the moment one of them is alone in that room, Trilly suddenly strikes, having apparently hid somewhere in the room waiting patiently for the very moment when someone would be left alone. It’s ridiculous how often this happens." He notes that the plot makes no attempt to explain how the creature is able to roam so freely and so quickly for a large and slow beast. He concludes that the film "takes itself way too seriously given the silly concept of a killer prehistoric roach", writing that it appeared that "Buechler was trying to make a 1950’s style creature feature but mistakenly chose to go about things with the mentality of a modern slasher flick". "There is no suspense here and most shocking, given the director’s pedigree, we don’t even get any good kills. Despite being directed by a guy that has created more than his fair share of gory effects for the movies, Ice Crawlers is surprisingly anemic."
Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic Reviews began his review by noting "Roger Corman is still churning out the schlock," writing that "Ice Crawlers (a.k.a. Deep Freeze) is a whole lot like John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's The Thing - minus the craftsmanship, the artistry and the talent." His conclusion was that the film was "one of director J.C. Beuchler's least professional efforts".