Jack Frost (2022) by Liana Failla

Director: Liana Failla

Year: 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Alternate Titles: Curse of Jack Frost

Genre: Supernatural Slasher

Plot:

Arriving at her relatives’ house, a woman hoping to spend the holidays with them finds the festivities crashed by the freed spirit of Jack Frost looking for retribution after their family’s way with him centuries earlier and must find a way to stop the diabolical figure from finishing his mission.

Review:

There was more going on with this one than expected. One of the finer features here comes from the solid background lore established here which is all highly enjoyable due to the background established. Taking place after a massive war for power had taken place in a separate kingdom populated by the spirits of the holidays and the outcome takes place at such a point in the rivalry that the particular figure is banished and a strain over the holiday as a result feels earned and realistic. As the family is aware of the implications to themselves due to this and the ways to circumvent the holiday’s seasonal trappings as a result are explored, this comes off rather well.

That gives the film a nice baseline to string some decent action and stalking scenes together. The opening chase through the woods into their home for the confrontation there where he gets banished is an intriguing way to get things going, while his appearances to torment the family are quite fun alternating between shock ambushes or genuine stalking scenes. That is enhanced quite nicely in the latter half where he strikes at the sleepover being held in secret as it begins taking out the rest of the friends to get to the family members it’s hunting, which provides a few fun encounters and some genuinely brutal kills to cap it all off. As a whole, these manage to provide a lot to like.

The film does have some drawbacks to it. This is mostly let down by a rather bland and lethargic pace which makes it feel much longer than it really is as the conversations here depicting the family trying to celebrate the holidays or discussing the impact of the curse on them grinds the film to a halt considerably. The other issue here is the confusing series of rules at play for the killer who seems to be under supernatural guidance, can control dead bodies when it suits him or move through space as if by teleportation yet each of these factors is only employed whenever it’s convenient so it feels quite contradictory to what’s going on. On the whole, these factors are the few drawbacks to this one.

Overview: ***.5/5

Far better than expected even with a few minor detriments, the positives of this one are enough to hold this up overall as the drawbacks at play are somewhat problematic but can be overcome. That makes this one fine for holiday-horror fanatics or fans of the studio’s output while those who are turned off by the style or approach should heed caution.