Der eisige Tod (2007)

Der eisige Tod: Directed by Gregory Jacobs. With Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan, Ned Bellamy. Two college students share a ride home for the holidays, but when they break down on a deserted stretch of road, they are preyed upon by the ghosts of people who have died there.

“A boy and a girl (whose names are never revealed) share a car ride home to Delaware, which is strange once you realize no film in history has ever taken place in Delaware. Luckily, they get stranded on the roadside and donu0026#39;t make it there, saving us the chance of this being the first film to take place there. But the stranding was just the beginning — ghostly figures live in the woods and the girl slowly learns the guy is not who he says he is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have to hand it to the creators of this film. Gregory Jacobs is a relatively new director (though he has helped on many projects) and Joe Gangemi is a new writer. Steven Katz also co-wrote this film, but hasnu0026#39;t written any screenplay since 2000u0026#39;s u0026quot;Shadow of the Vampireu0026quot; (which was quite good, for the record). Being new doesnu0026#39;t hamper these guys — they put together a tight picture.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe writing is much stronger than the plot or directing, I have to say. I enjoyed the plot of the boyu0026#39;s mysterious background (this alone could have carried the film), but the ghosts and the violent cop just werenu0026#39;t all that interesting to me. I enjoyed the isolated car story much better in u0026quot;Penny Dreadfulu0026quot;. The dialog was astoundingly incredible. I could have listened to these two talk about pointless things for hours. The inclusion of Nietzscheu0026#39;s eternal recurrence was a nice touch, and actually ties in to the plot. As a philosophy major, that tugged at my heartstrings.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe guy was a decent actor, but the real star here is Emily Blunt. You might know her name, and youu0026#39;re familiar with her if youu0026#39;ve seen u0026quot;The Devil Wears Pradau0026quot; (I havenu0026#39;t). Miss Blunt has several projects in 2007 and 2008, and Iu0026#39;m not surprised — she is a dynamic actress that is both talented and beautiful. And not the dainty type of beauty Hollywood likes, but a more powerful brand.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is a bit tedious and drags in the second half. Things get repetitive (hence the eternal recurrence) and the ghosts arenu0026#39;t really all that interesting. The cop is bland, the priest is just mildly intimidating and the black man who coughs up an eel is not nearly as creepy as it could have been. I mean, heu0026#39;s coughing up an eel — that should have been the highlight of the film, but it was just a quick scene.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;m glad I saw this one. It had solid writing and a nice dynamic between the two leads. I was expecting the music to be better, with the score being done by the same man who composed the score for u0026quot;The Fountainu0026quot; but I was instead treated to bad Christmas songs. Iu0026#39;ve had enough of Christmas movies and music. But, I suppose itu0026#39;s better than Creed or Rush. If youu0026#39;re curious, pick this one up. Itu0026#39;s not a bad beer and pizza movie, though you could probably do better.”