Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo

Maybe I am biased, since I live near the Manitou islands (although the film was really shot in Tecumseh, Michigan), but this was one fun horror romp. The story tied together well enough, and the producers of the film did an admirable job of special effects (watch the battle with the Windigo at the end in super slow-mo, it is a hoot). This is in the Troma library, so if you come across it, pick it up, and support independent cinema!

If this movie was a food, it would be pizza. My reasons are that everyone likes pizza, and everyone would love this movie if they just gave it a chance. It has a very developed story line with many plot twists. When two hunters accidently kill the guardian of a feared creature, The Wendigo, The Wendigo goes on a murderous rampage on an island. A different group of hunters is stranded on the island due to a rather large snowstorm, left to fight for their lives against the Wendigo and the infamous chili monsters. Ahhhhh, the chili monsters. The chili monsters are one of the most brilliant creatures ever developed on the silver screen and their scene includes a brilliant piece of music to go along with it. After seeing this scene and hearing the music you will never want to see another movie. This movie has the best score ever. See this movie if you want to have a good time. Trust me.

9976 out of 9976 stars.

I've been a Troma fan ever since I was a small child, and I can say with confidence that the majority of the company's non-Lloyd Kaufman films tend to be…well, junk. I've wasted many, many hours of my life wading through some of Troma's most despicable pictures, but every once in a while I have the luck to stumble upon a true hidden gem, and "Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo" is one of them.

Despite the "terror" that the DVD box promises us, "Frostbiter" is most definitely a comedy. More so, it's a straight-up parody of the "Evil Dead" movies: after a decades-long curse is disrupted, an army of ghouls and demonic forces see fit to attack the residents of a remote cabin in the woods, and before you know it, one of our shotgun-toting heroes has lost his right hand and a giant stop-motion tree-like monster is attacking the cabin. Just about every major plot point from "Evil Dead" 1 and 2 is spoofed, but it's all done with a knowing wink n' smile, and all approached in the same Raimi-esquire Three Stoogian fashion.

Yes, it's stupid, and no, it doesn't adhere to anything remotely resembling logic, but it's consistently entertaining, and that's mostly because it's considerably well-made for its minuscule budget. The jokes, although mostly low-brow, are funny, the editing keeps the manic comic pace constant throughout the film, and the cinematography is rather good, especially during the action scenes: whenever one of those puppets comes to assault the protagonists, the camera goes into "Coen Brothers mode", whipping around frenetically, exaggerating close-ups, skewing perspectives…although said rubber puppets are insanely silly-looking and hardly plausible, one can't help but get involved in the scene.

As with any low-budget picture, though, "Frostbiter" suffers from uneven acting: some of the actors were decent enough, but a few were distractingly terrible. At the center of the cast is Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, who goofily hams up each of his scenes, coming off as a mix somewhere between a hyper Bill Murray and a subdued Chris Farley. Asheton isn't the best actor, no, but his sheer over-the-top presence seems to fit the zany tone of the movie quite well, and works excellently in comparison to the rest of the cast, who play their roles straight.

'Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo' isn't the best Troma film, nor might it appeal to everyone within the Troma fan base, but it's certainly one of their better horror-comedies, and definitely worth a look for fans of offbeat horror or the "Evil Dead" series.

Call me crazy, but I actually loved this film. It was clearly a rip-off of Evil Dead 2 and other such horror films, but it didn't take itself seriously, and it followed the general Troma Films basic movie formula by trying to be a little bit scary while funny. The film has bad acting, but it acknowledges that it will be bad, and takes advantage of it. It also has purposefully bad special effects. Personal favorite scenes of mine are the witch attack in the cabin, the Wendigo itself, and the fact that one of the main stars looks just like my best friend's dad. This film's music soundtrack is crazy, featuring songs that sometimes have nothing to do with what is shown on screen. Overall, I think that for fans of bad horror movies, this one not only is bad, but it also sends up bad horror films, so it is worth a look and kind of an unknown gem.

I came across Frostbiter by renting a DVD called Nightmare Never Ends: Troma Triple B-Header, Vol. 4 (2004). It features "The Nightmare Never Ends", "Igor and the Lunatics", and "Frostbiter". I wasn't expecting too much but thought I would get some entertainment value out of the three movies. Forget about the other two movies. Frostbiter would be worth the rental or maybe even a purchase if it stood alone. This is a blood and guts, horror/comedy, B movie. The Wendigo is a shape shifting monster in this movie and it takes on many interesting forms, some humorous but all deadly. Lots of violence, some nudity, and quite a few laughs. It's low budget movie and it certainly has some problems, but it's not bad. I thought the music was great but had a problem with it being too loud, especially when there was dialogue going on. I recommend this movie but you really have to be a B horror movie fan to enjoy it.