Below Zero (2011)

i must have seen a different film!!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Jack is an aspiring screenwriter whose goal is to write a movie about a man locked in a freezer. To do this, he needs to be locked in a freezer himself, and he travels to a remote area to do this. It is already cold where Jack goes, but he needs to be even colder. Penny, the quirky woman who picks him up, has an accent straight out of the movie "Fargo", and a son who won't talk; his father took off years ago because he couldn't accept a son who was "different". Whatever Jack needs, she will provide; Jack's agent has provided all the directions. They go to an old slaughterhouse and Jack goes right to work in the freezer, which Penny locks unexpectedly. Jack wants out, but Penny has been told he has to stay there for five days. It isn't cold, though ... yet.As Jack works, we see the movie that he is writing. It's quite dreary; everything looks green, while in the "real world" of the freezer, everything looks blue. Frank (Jack) drives a tow truck and his friend Marty works at the garage. According to the credits, the same actor playing Marty is supposedly Jack's agent, but I don't recall seeing him. Anyway, Frank has an accident inspired by an incident with cows that Jack and Penny had. He has to go in search of a phone, and there isn't much around. He finds an isolated dump of a butcher shop which looks quite familiar, and a demented butcher named Gunnar violently attacking his meat. Gunnar has a creepy son who won't talk. Frank manages to find the phone and call Marty. When Marty calls back, Gunnar angrily says Frank isn't there; he believes this to be true, as Frank is hiding. As Jack makes script changes, we see the film "rewind", and other techniques are used later for rewrites. Occasionally we return to the "real world", where Jack faces one crisis after another. He ends up using a great-looking old typewriter for his writing at one point. Eventually, Jack is under pressure to produce as the thermostat starts getting lowered.Back in the movie within a movie, Frank discovers Paige, who is being held prisoner. And Marty shows up eventually but doesn't exactly have a positive experience with Gunnar.We go through some amazing plot twists in both the "real world" and the movie within a movie. I found it funny when the characters had to figure out what to do next and ended up looking through the pages Jack had typed. And it's not the only time they break the fourth wall.In a flashback we do learn about the other character which the actor playing Gunnar was. He's very different but still scary looking.The ending was quite unexpected (to me, anyway) but very satisfying.The movie within a movie is somewhat effective as a B horror movie. Michael Berryman is a very frightening and intimidating villain, yet loving as a father, in his own way. The young actor quite creepy for a kid. Kristin Booth is very convincing when she is cold, but frightened? Not as talented in that situation. She's better in her "real world" role.I've heard the name Edward Furlong. He's pretty good, I guess. Nothing overly distinctive.I felt comfortable with Michael Eisner. He was sort of the voice of reason when he could be. The "real world" has its own interesting suspense qualities. And there is occasional comedy in both. This most definitely isn't for kids. The sound went out a lot since this was broadcast TV. I know what that means. And that's just the bad language. Maybe when cleaned up for TV, some kids can handle it.Is this any good? Well, it's different.

* SPOILER ALERT! * > This movie had promise for me, after reading reviews and the storyline I thought it would be decent. But after the first ten minutes it went down hill. Because almost from the start you find out that most of the story is not real. It's what the main character Jack (Edward Furlong) see's as he writes his book. So you know that none of what's happening is actually real. Although parts of the film make you think it may be real, at the same time the film shows you it is not. Sure there was some nice blood and gory bits, but it's ruined by the fact that it's only what Jack is writing. The film sets up the ending to be a twist, but you actually see it coming too. It have to admit though, the acting was pretty good, just the script let it down. So I give this movie a 4 out of 10 for the acting, blood and some of the story which could have been better.

Overall good movie. Started out great but the ending sucked. Would advise anyone who wants to watch a good, make you jump thriller not to waste their time watching this. They will be overly disappointed! I liked the fact that it was based on a true event, but its not something I would have expected them to make a movie about. True enough the writer hit a block and decided to be locked up in a freezer to inspire him to make a hit movie, but the fact that didn't succeed makes it boring. Who would have thought through out the whole movie he was just passing the time reading another persons work and decided to steal their idea. The movie scenes where all over and it made it look like a dream. And why have a kid in the movie if he wont do anything or say anything throughout the whole movie? Seems like a waste of an actor. However if you want something to watch on a rainy boring day, this is the movie for you.

A slow burning thriller. When I found out that this film was written by a writer (Signe Olynyk) who suffered from writer's block and locked herself inside a freezer for 5 days I was instantly drawn in by her commitment to break through her dry spell. This film isn't autobiographical but it does hold some elements of truth to it. Namely the writer Jack (Edward Furlong) locks himself inside a freezer to free himself from writer's block while hoping to come up with a screenplay. Once the film kicks into gear as a member of the audience I had to ask myself why a guy would lock himself in a freezer without a proper toilet to crap in? The second thing I wondered is what Jack would do to his agent once he got out of the freezer. Would he sue his agent? The film deals with none of this. Want to learn about 'hacks' see this; What this film does deal with is what a screenwriter must visually see when the plot out a story. This is done by showing characters and events in the writer's life then being twisted and turned in his story and presented to us. The film has a very nice twist ending that will please the audience by taking them for a ride. Below Zero has snappy dialogue and excellent performances by Edward Furlong, Kristen Booth, and Michael Berryman. This is Edward Furlong's best movie in years. The main thrills come from the parts of the film in Jack's mind that give us nail biting suspense and brutality. It's a low budget slow burner for anyone who is more inclined to a well written dramatic piece instead of action packed horror film. Watch out for writer Signe Olynyk, she is a talent for the future.