Wind Chill (2007)

Let's go ahead and put Wind Chill on the list of reasons why I like George Clooney, who produced this thrilling horror picture directed by Gregory Jacobs. You won't, of course, feel any of Clooney's influence on the work, but I'm glad he was smart enough to bring this movie to life.

I've been a big fan of Emily Blunt since becoming a begrudging fan of The Devil Wears Prada (and, to an extent, Meryl Streep), and so her starring role in a horror film (after my recent encounter with the disappointing Blair Witch Project) was enough of an impetus for me to pick up a movie I'd never even heard of and give it a shot.

I'm glad I did. Blunt plays a college student traveling home to Delaware for Christmas break. Rather than take the bus home, she checks the ride board and finds a car headed to Delaware, though she's initially perturbed by the shy yet subtly unsettling driver, who's concealing a fairly large secret. A detour on Route 606 goes awry, and the two crash into a snowbank. Yet the budding conflict between these two co-eds is the least of their worries; the snowy woods, naturally, appear to be haunted.

First, I must offer the same caveat I gave when reviewing The Descent - perhaps this film only worked because I watched it after midnight with all the lights off. At any rate, that certainly helped make the movie a success. What helps more is the direction Jacobs gives here, building an ominous mood throughout the work, beginning with the mystery surrounding Holmes's character and reaching its discomfiting peak as the never-named protagonists try to wait out the snow storm until dawn. This movie has just the right amount of just the right kind of chills, the kind that made The Strangers a surprise success - those moments where we see an out-of-focus figure lurking just behind our oblivious hero (here, heroine more often than not). The ghosts in these woods are numerous, each more frightening than the last; though it's difficult to top the first ghost Blunt encounters, Martin Donovan's sketchy highway patrolman comes darned close.

There are a few moments in the movie that come close to not working, but they're quick and don't interfere with the thrills and chills the movie offers. The introduction of a philosophical tenet key to the meaning of the film seems a touch hackneyed, though it's quickly (and deftly) forgotten, only to be recalled when it matters. Furthermore, the movie falters a little when the history of Route 606 is revealed; the movie's put virtually on hold for a minute or so while one character narrates a ton of exposition that, honestly, attentive viewers would have been able to piece together.

And the ending. It's a good ending the way screenwriters Joseph Gangemi and Steven Katz crafted it, but it could have been a touch better if the writers had gone for a Twilight Zone-style twist ending rather than the easier and more digestible dénouement. (After the ratings analysis, I'll tell you what my ending would have been, for those interested.)

For those looking for a few good chills and a deep unsettling feeling in the pit of one's stomach, Wind Chill is perfectly serviceable in that regard. When done right, the formula of Pretty Protagonist + Creepy Male + Ghosts + Eerie Surroundings ought to equal success. The formula frequently falters, however, but Wind Chill adds up in all the right places.


The MPAA rated Wind Chill "R for some violence and disturbing images." It'd be brutally painful for me to reveal what these images are, since they're strong elements in the surprisingly dreadful mood Jacobs works so hard to craft. Suffice it to say that the ghosts are very unattractive, in varying stages of decay, and some of the ramifications of the car crash aren't pretty either.

Now for The Cinema King's ending. As it stands, the film ends - SPOILER ALERT - with Guy dying and becoming one of the ghosts, doomed as it were to repeat this life. Guy manages to save Girl from Patrolman and eventually leads her through the snowy woods to safety. What I would have liked to see would have looked very similar to this, only with Girl becoming one of the ghosts, as well. Something like that would have brought the theme of repetition fully to life, would have put that final kick to the audience's gut, and would have made Rod Serling blush with envy. In the words of the great and venerable Dennis Miller, "Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong."