Review of The Frozen Ground (2013) by Mark J — 28 Jul 2013

"I..I didn't kill those girls!".

'Robert Hansen' was one of the worst serial killers to hit the U.S.A and indeed the world. Something I had to read up on before I watched this film, since I wasn't around at the time meant I had zero knowledge of what this guy had done. I asked my parents whether they remember this guy and they didn't maybe it's because I live in the UK but it seemed odd since this is more like a world wide story rather than a contained minor one. So all this got me interested in this film - what he did, the fact he is relatively unknown in the UK and that 'John Cusack' and 'Nicolas Cage' are in it.

The film follows the events of the capture of 'Hansen' ('John Cusack') a man who prayed on young girls, mostly prostitutes by 'Sgt. Jack Halcombe' ('Nicolas Cage') (although the real person responsible for the capture was called 'Glenn Flothe').

Thanks to one of his victims 'Cindy Paulson' ('Vanessa Hudgens') who managed to escape. Over the years there have been many fake killers that were very much based on Hansen's demeanor he was very a well liked quiet man with big thick glasses, one in particular that springs to mind is 'Nate Haskell' from 'CSI'. The film starts off at a blistering pace and at first I found difficult to fully get what it's happening, the start is far far to quickly paced with the focus shifting too much with very little build up if any at all. But after a while it calms down and gets into a nice rhythm with focus shifting from 'Halcombe' to 'Cindy' to 'Hansen' it does a nice job of building the characters intentions and thanks to a excellent performance from 'Cusack' really cements the nature of 'Hansen'. Despite keeping the pace at a nice flow there are some questionable scenes here and there, the police officer at the start seems only use is to make him pop up later in the film and the home life of 'Halcombe' is standard affair that could have been cut down. There's a difficulty to getting a real life story right because you don't want to glamorize the horrors and the same time you don't want it to trivialize what happened. Which is why films like 'Zodiac' are a very rare breed that encapsulate everything about what happened - and while this is good film it is nothing more there's isn't enough tension nor enough about 'Hansen' himself.

The acting is great as to be expected. As I already said 'Cusack' is sensational as 'Hansen' pulling off the quiet unassuming nature of Hansen' off to a T. 'Nicolas Cage' is great as 'Halcombe' and this finally a step in the right direction for the actor that has a thing for picking duds. 'Hudgens' may not be as good but that's to be expected however she proves her credentials as a serious actor and not doesn't want to be solely remember for a cheesy musical film. There not much that needs to be said about the setting it's 'Alaska' where it happened which is what you expect.

'The Frozen Ground' could have been better and while it may presumptuous under serial killer movie veterans 'Fincher' this could have been something truly special. Even so it's still a good, solid film that has some excellent acting from 'Cusack' and 'Cage' and a film that prove 'Cage' still has it. Unfortunately it's hampered by a rushed start and some unnecessary scenes. If anything it tells the story of a vile human being that finally gets caught and it's not trivialized nor is it glamorized and that is probably the best thing.