"There's been some pretty bad accidents on this road over the years."I'm a huge fan of Emily Blunt, and I enjoy horror movies to the point that even the mediocre ones are usually worth me checking out. Both of those things are fortunate, because Wind Chill is a mostly average horror movie that really is only worthwhile
for fans of Blunt.Wind Chill is a supernatural horror flick, but you'd be forgiven for not drawing that conclusion from the first 30 or 45 minutes or so of the movie. It initially seems like it could be a thriller, as one stranger gives another one a ride home for college during the Christmas break, and he appears to be lying to her about several things, including his rather unhealthy obsession/infatuation with her. Then they have a car accident on a deserted snowy road, and the movie shifts gears again and seems to be about them trying to survive being stranded alone in the cold and ice. That goes on for a while, and then we finally get to the (somewhat underwhelming) ghost story. If Wind Chill commits one real sin, it's the fact that it's mostly boring. There's nothing scary about it. There is a bit of a mystery behind what happens to our two characters that makes the film a bit more involving as it goes on, but the horror part never "clicks". Anyway, there were some interesting ideas here, and I applaud that Wind Chill didn't just copy and paste the good parts of horror movies that came before, like modern scary movies so often do. And Emily Blunt was definitely gorgeous, and carried her role in the movie quite well. But, I find it hard to give this movie anything more than just a "fair" rating, because it's just not frightening on a psychological, visceral, or any other level.
June 8, 2010
Top Critic
