Some movies in the American repetoire of cinema can truly be considered "classics"... movies that set the standards for excellance with their daring and disturbing portrayel of life, of the human psyche. Two movies come to mind that are NOT American classics: Akira Kurasawa's The Seven Samurai and Jack Frost.
Well, we can eliminate Kurasawa's entry not because it is not a "classic" movie per se (because in many ways it is considered the epitome of the epic struggle depicted in film, the very *essence* of war and considered by most Japanese, the experts, as the pinnacle sumarai movie ever made) but because it is not American.
Jack Frost however, meets the OTHER criterion. It is American - but not a classic. Why isn't Jack Frost an American classic? Let's analyze it for a moment.
Does Jack Frost portray small town life, urban life, mid-size-oil-town-in-Texas life in any new and thrilling way? no. Does it reveal anything frightening inside of us like Hitchcock's Psycho does? no. Does it show how a serial killer plus snow and genetic acid makes (surprise of surprises!) a serial-killer-snowman? Yes. But a serial killing snowman does not a classic make.
Perhaps if this movie had Marlon Brando reprising his Godfather role.. or if it had Dustin Hoffman as Willie Loman, struggling against old age, his own incompetance and a serial killing snowman, or if it had Toshiro Mifune as a joking warrior (no wait, that was Seven Samurai... sorry)...
this movie could have been much much better. What prevented it?
Bad casting. An abysmal script. Shoddy directing. No budget. No creativity. No talent. Too much time round the water cooler if you ask me.
"Hey, Troy, how bout we make a movie about a killer snowman?"
"Yes, Richard, and we can have him rape a woman to death with his carrot nose!"
"Just brilliant, Troy, just brilliant. This is truly a movie that *needs* to be made. This will rival Citizen Kane and Schindler's List."
"Don't forget Braveheart, Richard!"
"Oh yes... and Braveheart...???"
A likely scennario. There isn't much wonder as to why the Academy looked this one over. This is not competing on any level with anything made by Kubrick or Scorses...
and yet we watch it.
or do we? ;)
signing off, Will Hackner, NYU Film student supreme. Mail me, folks! I love hearing from all my fans.
A killer snowman...hehehe!
This movie totally demolishes the "feel-good" Jack Frost movie that just came out with Michael Keaton. I love the sassy cop, who has the best lines in the movie. Jack Frost, of course, has some gems of his own, like "I'm one p**sed off snow cone." To anyone who doesn't like this movie, I have three words: What......the.......f***!
That snowman in this movie is one hell of a lot less scary than the one in the Michael Keaton Jack Frost. Now that is a movie monster if I ever saw one. And one other thing: why wasn't the cop concerned that his son was trying to poison him with antifreeze? I mean, it didn't disturb him one bit.
I watched this a while back because of the catch phrase thing :"He chills, he kills" and the hologram thing on the cover. I laughed my ass off. My fave part was when the teenage boy is looking around for what made that weird noise and jack's white oven mitt/hand punches him. The teenager goes "who the hell are you" or something to that effect, and jack goes "wel it aint f-ing frosty" he doesn't actually say "f-ing", but im not gonna do that to the little ones out there.
Possibly the greatest film ever created. I seriously doubt that the intention was to create a classic, nor should I waste my time with analyzing how it could have been better. I think the entire intention was to create a movie that would make the audience laugh. That's why I think analyzing how Marlon Brando and Dustin Hoffman could have made the movie better is a waste of time and effort. You can't beat the intense high quality animation of the acid reacting with him to create the monster that is Jack Frost. And what about when he's in the back of the truck, he couldn't possibly know the truck will crash and allow for his escape, yet he looks directly at the camera and exclaims "Oh ya!". Seriously, I don't think you can look at this movie any other way than by viewing it as a good source of laughter. -Mike, a non-film study major at CU
Ahh, APIX Films strikes again. Still, this was funny enough to enjoy. The scene in the bathtub with the carrot will probably go down in history, but not a whole lot else from this movie makes it stand out. Watch it because you know it's stupid.
Dude, you OBVIOUSLY did not give this movie the attention it deserves. There is SO much more to be learned from this film then what you put down.
For starters, backwoods teen couples REGULARLY choose to make out in their locals sheriff's house, even thought they're not related to him or anything.
Big sisters rarely feel any grief when their younger brother is brutally killed, In fact, they'll usually go out on a date and happily make out with their boyfriend the very same night.
You also forgot how easily it is to make several huge snowmen even though there's very little snow on the ground (not to mention how easy it is for roads to be blocked off cause of snow...)
Heck not to mention that anytime you tell an avergae hillbilly to "fill up the back of their truck with anti-freeze" they'll actually think you mean to POUR it into the back, rather than just stock up on a bunch of bottles.
You also should have learned that flying icicles can easily pierce right THROUGH someone's skull, (not to mention a house wall.)
Oh, and, all girls from redneck areas like to take baths in stranger's houses before they screw their boyfriends, you should have learned that as well.
In short, I'd advise you to pay more attention to the films you review, otherwise you'll miss even MORE valuable lessons...
:)
CultofTS
To make viewing more pleasurable, try taking a shot for every snowman you see in the film :)
The most improbable decapitation with a sled,an oven mitt pushing a doll's face into a box of ornaments,why little kids are as dumb as their pets to drink antifreeze,and a girl getting sexually assaulted by a carrot. This is why America leads both the film and nondescript genetic-altering goo industries of today and tomorrow. Hurrah!
This is the biggest pile of sh*t I have ever witnessed with NO redeeming values, not even nudity! Ahh, too bad, did I spoil your fun? I suggest that if you like this movie, you should douse yourself with genetic acid. Can you say, "CRAP"?
What was this movie about? A killer snowman?? *Yawns* I must've fallen asleep..... The only word that I can find to aptly describe this movie is RANCID. Never in my life have I squirmed and shuddered in such agony as I did when I saw Jack Frost. The puns, the bad acting, the bad special effects..... This one should be flushed down the nearest toliet and never be allowed to see the light of day again.
If Silent Night Deadly Night offended the general public, then this movie definately will have that same effect. Of course I love this movie. If there was an academy award for best new original idea for a horror film, then this one would take the honours hands down. I laughed, I cried, I melted.
This has got to be the best movie ever made. (I wrote this drunk....my opinion might change in the morning)
So many different opinions about this movie.
I liked it for many of its subtle qualities.
Not all good bad movies need something going on.
I like the main characters and those just standing around.
Come on kids. I think we're over analyzing this one a bit too much. This movie sucked and that's the magic of it. Bad movies are not meant to be critiqued seriously. These guys knew this movie sucked when they came up with the costume, the decapitation scene, the anti-freeze scene, etc.. The sooner you guys realize that its enjoyable to watch bad movies and laugh at them, the more you'll enjoy them. Because that is what its all about.
Hawkman (I know the difference between snowmen and snowwomen)
Considering all the facts the the other people gave, I would have to say that this movie was the dumbest ever made. In other words it sucked. It made no sense what so ever. Everyone says that it is such a great movie. Screw it and the director as my opinion.
Which was more disturbing ...The Son putting anti-freeze in his dad's oatmeal? or This movie ever being made?
For all the good and bad comments we've seen about this movie--no one can deny that it looks like it was a hell of a
lot of fun to make. The special effects are admittedly awful, the plot is rather weak, but still...dammit, I thought this was gleefully cheesey fun. That's a lot of what bad movies are all about--it's not scary, but that's not the point. The point of bad movies is delighting in the cheesiness of it all.
It's been a year since I last saw this film, and reading your review reminds me how much I laughed my head off when me and my friends rented Jack Frost. We expected a creepy horror movie (remember what Jack looks like on the hologram cover) and got a comedy with crazy death scenes. From the priest moving his hairdyer in a cross motion to Jack's constant puns ("I can see your house from up here" when he's run over by the store owner) it's a definite classic B-movie. I'm still waitng for A Pix to get some more of whatever they smoked so they can make "Jack Antifreeze" Another thing you can learn from this movie: Never let your children cook oatmeal unless killer snowmen are on the loose.
The Best movie of all time. Seriously folks there is no movie better than this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jesus God, they made a SEQUEL to this?! Even my husband couldn't finish watching it, and he sits through crap that would send anyone else out of the room screaming.
Although admittedly the line, "It ain't f---ing Frosty" was pretty funny.
This is the best movie ever made. It has sex, suspense, and great acting. It deserves awards in all aspects. Jack Frost is made of genetically altered snow molecules! He is a meanyhead, but you can kill him with anti-freeze!! This is a true story, I am told. It happened about three years ago in the Mighty Empire of Zimbabwe; Mr. Frost was infecting the remaining 30% of Africa's population that didn't have AIDs with Ebola!
Now, I love trash. I love terribly bad horror films. But this film has on e HUGE, HUGE error. It is the only thing keeping it from becoming a cheese classic- the people behind it took themselves seriously. They tried to make a genuine horror flick. That was the same problem with LEPRECHAUN- great (awful, in normal filmgoer terms) storyline, but the crew wanted to make a quote-unquote, "good scare film". Jack frost is absoulutely terrible.
I saw this movie back in '99. I didn't like it. I feel just like the commenter who said they felt the film violated them and screwed with their head.
The humor was too crude for my taste, the death scenes were far too cheesy, and I too found myself repositioning often because I was so uncomfortable watching this. This movie is genuinely disturbing, sick, sadistic, and nauseating to the core. Don't even reconsider watching this, it's just plain trash.
Me and my mates hired this out coz of the hologram on the front and we thought it was a blast!!! Probably the funniest movie I've ever seen, especially the shower seen (a rival to Psycho surely!) and the classic zoom by the xmas tree. If you want to find the king of tacky horror movies, Jack Frost is your Mekkah. Watch it now!!!
A movie based on a typical B-Movie theme...stupidity stupidity and more stupidity! Bad acting is the key though along with the cheezball lines from the killer snowman. The shower scene is hilarious none the less. One problem, how the hell does that guy live after he gets an icicle through the heart??? I often wonder who would win in battle...Jack Frost from this movie or Jack Frost from that lame Michael Keaton flick. My money is 100 to 1 on that bad mother f**king snow cone...
What a fantastic film! The sequel is even cheesier if that is actually possible. Killer snowman travels to Carribean island for revenge...what is up with the bathtub scene? The whole premise s just brilliant, how do you come up with something as out there as this? Th man who direceted this was nothing short of agenius. Well among the cheesiest fils I have ever seen, barring JF2.
Without a doubt the most stupid film ever made. Ed Wood's films are genius compared to this crap.
This was just plain awful. I stopped watching it as the police station was blown up and jack reformed. There was just no comedic value to the film at all...instead, I got THE stupidest death scenes known to man...THE lousiest one-liners a writer could write...and THE dumbest plot I've ever seen, barring none! I REALLY wanted to find this movie funny. Maybe if I was twelve again...
As you can probably tell from my username, I love this movie. Not because it's good, but because of how bad it is. I can say that it is better than "Uncle Sam," which was produced by the same people. But the movie is so incredibly not scary it's wonderful. It's also good to see where Shannon Elizabeth got her roots. It's a great movie, in the same way that "Cannibal the Musical" and "Silent Night Deadly Night" are good. If you love dumb horror movies, it's a must see.
I caught this movie some time ago (on HBO or the like) and though it was great fun... Humorous like "Nightmare on Elm Street" albeit a bit sillier. The next winter I saw "Jack Frost" in the listings again and the anticipation swelled inside me. I actually scheduled my time to watch it (which I rarely do) and had the popcorn and the coffee ready when it came on. Imagine my HORROR when that mushy-ass, warm and fuzzy rip-off movie featuring Michael Keaton started rolling!!! Talk about AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH !!!!!!
This thing is bad and I do mean really bad.When I saw it I expected it to be so bad its good type fair.You know clever jokes and quips and such atleast.Well it is just plain bad nothing good about it.Who the f**k made this movie?
I have a few more points i forgot about. Sam was about to die then he miracoulsly has the energy to push the killer snowman into the car full of anti-freeze. Not that ive tried it i think anti-freeze and stab wounds dont mix well, though sam seems to forget about this. One again this film is s**t. It should win an oscar for being the crapiest film ever. I was in pain laffing at how crap it was
This movie is fabulous! Come on, its a killer snowman!!! How demented can you get?
I must say, I saw the film today and LOVED it!! Jack Frost is now a classic for me, not because it's a 'quality movie', but because it's such a hilarious piece. My hat goes off to everyone involved in making the movie, and my fellow Frost-lovers! :) ...and why is it that no one here has mentioned the random Idiot (wearing a neon orange hat and a target on his back) that walks throughout the film?! He's hilarious! Notice him in the sheriff's office after the old-man is murdered, walking past the sheriff's house while Jill is being carroted to death, stepping out of the town hall with marshmallows before Frost is blow dried to death, and at the very end of the film putting ANTI-FREEZE in his truck while the other bottles of Jack poisoned anti-freeze are being buried... Remember, one man's trash is another treasure!
*kiss kiss bang bang* - Dominique
Actually, Agent Manners didn't die in this flick. There is a sequel called Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman, and in this sequel Agent Manners is brought back but is played by a different guy.
Maybe just a little TOO corny. They're trying a bit too hard. I think this movie would have been much funnier had they put on the appearance of being a little more serious. They just try so hard to be funny & it just doesn't work half the time. Reminiscent of the type of humor you'll find in such hits as Redneck Zombies and Gore Whore. Worth renting I guess, but I can't really say anything very good about it. I give it 1.5 goo-drips.
This is most definitely one of the best "B" movies I have ever seen. This movie ranks with the likes of Death Race 2000 and Slumber Party Massacre 2. In my opinion, this has to be the most inventive, laugh til your pants split movie with a budget under $500 ever made. After seeing this little treasure in a mound of crap, I fully hoped the sequel, (set in a summer resort no less), would be at least half as good. Wrong O. For a good time you can't beat a movie where hair dryers on extensions cords are used as weapons to kill a serial killer. Ha.. makes me feel warm all over again just thinking anout it.
I accidentally turned the channel to this movie several years ago. It was the worst movie I had seen but I couldn't stop watching. I still can't think of a worse movie (and I can find things to like about Manos.)
Definitely falls into the subgenre of horror-comedy. If anything, its problem is not that it takes itself too seriously--it's that it tries to be funny. It is, ironically, less funny when a bad movie *tries* to be so bad that it's funny.
In spite of that, it was fun. Of course, it fell into the same trap as practically every movie ever made--being set in a small town--but as with Abraxas, the town wasn't so small that we didn't get to see *any* civilization whatsoever.
I'd give it two stars--a comfortable movie to watch if you're going in with low expectations.
I can't remember the last time I saw a monster movie that involved a killer snowman but still, great movie. My favorite line in this movie was "Well it aint f**king Frosty".
Whats not to like about a pychotic snowman. I thought the story in the begining set the mood for a horror/comedy. Over all a good movie.
Never said I didn't like pychotic snowman, it's just rare you see a happy snowman suddenly go nuts and shoots icicles through your head. I had this movie but suddenly it disappeared and I can't find it anywhere.
I have yet to see this gem of cinema, I did however see the sequel at 2 am on Starz, I bet this ones better than the sequel in its fun, the sequel lacked the original absurdity and stupidity that I look for in crap horror films. I think they need a box set with this and its sequel, as well as uncle sam, silent night deadly night, and the maniac series. It wuld be a good buy instead of geting them all individually, oh yes and we need more shannon elizabeth shower hump scenes, "Looks like christmas came early this year, hope it was good for you too." LMAO
It would have been stupid had it not been so funny.
How does death feel?
It feels cold.
...it feels cold.
Watch out for yellow snow!!!!!! It may have genetic acid in it! This movie made me switch from Otter Pops to SnoCones....
You know, I don't know if anyone will believe me, but way back when I was like 12 years old, I was working on a series of horror stories, and one of them features, I kid you not, killer snow. You see, there's a freak, unexplained snowfall in the middle of summer in some town or another and the snow and ice start offing people. First they do it subtlily (icy road causes a car to crash, a "snow hand" pushes a kid down a hill causing him to fall over a cliff or something..)
Then a young kid goes outside and starts buidling a snowman, and, instead of killing him, the snow lets him finish, and they start using the snowman's form to go around killing people (snowman gets an ax, although I don't know from where.)
So, I don't know.. just found it really weird when I discovered the Jack Frost film to think, "Whoa... what a weird coincidence..."
But, yeah, keep in mind I was just 12.. and it's probably not nearly as silly as the story I was working on about an evil pumpkin... (well, technically it's evil field of vines that eventually sprout an evil pumpkin...)
I like the end where he yells "get some antifreeze" and somehow the guy knew that he meant line the bed of the truck and completely fill it with a couple hundred gallons of antifreeze.
This whole thing seemed like a Child's Play rip off with a snowman instead of a doll. Still worth a look, good for a few laughs.
I loved the label on the side of the trcuk that was driving the HUMAN Jack to his date with the electric chair before it ran into the truck with the genetic chemicals. It said (I kid you not) -
"STATE EXECUTIONAL VEHICLE"
Is that a hoot or what?
The sequel is one weird film.
Watching JF II I notice that if you're holidaying in the caribbean and a freak snowstorm occurs, people don't panic, they just have snowball fights.
oddly, I watched a forensic programme the other day in the UK, which proved that a waepon made from Ice can puncture upto 6 inches into flesh and also break bones, all by hand power.
:thumbup: :bouncegiggle: :smile: :cheers: :twirl:
Jack Frost is my Favorite Horror Movie.
It's Funny It's Fun to watch I've seen it about a thousand times
I own a snowman collection I watch sometimes when I come home from school.
I never get tired of watching Jack Frost.
The thing I really love about this flick?
The fact that you KNOW some poor little kid who asked for the Michael Keaton family movie of the same name was freakin' traumatized when his parents bought him this instead! Perhaps even funnier is the horror/b-movie fan who ended up getting the family movie by accident.
This movie is amazingly funny for a random horror flick....an insane murderer inhabiting an inanimate object (hmm, somehow this sounds familiar).
This is the perfect xmas movie, in my opinion! I like to use a photo from this movie as an xmas card sometimes actually, if I'm feeling saucy. I will never forget the killer snowman sex!
I watched this flick for the first time since the VHS era when it unexpectedly popped up on Netflix last night.
I probably would've ignored it but I recently picked up a cheap horror 12-pack DVD which has "Jack Frost 2" on it, so I sarcastically sez to myself "Y'know, I really should revisit the original first before I watch the sequel, just to make sure I'm all caught up on the back story."
Anyway, it was an even bigger hoot than I remembered. (I'm sure that the combination of far too much Thanksgiving food topped off by numerous beers helped a lot.) What made it extra hilarious was how all the actors played it completely straight, as if they were in a "real" horror movie, despite the ridiculous concept.
I didn't even know that Shannon "American Pie" Elizabeth was in this flick, but then again, the last time I saw this she was still a nobody. When you think about it, she probably should've retired from acting right after this flick. I mean, when your first major movie role involves being raped to death in a bathtub by a killer snowman... where do you go from there? No other part in your career will ever top that! :teddyr:
I have positive memories of this movie. I rented it when it came out on video, and at the time, I missed the eighties so much that I wasn't really enjoying new things—yet this movie was enjoyable. That was a big deal for me.
I notice that Rob la Belle plays one of the FBI agents. I like him. He's local, too! (Vancouver.) He was in Watchmen. He is not to be confused with similar-looking Canadian actor Don McKellar (eXistenZ). And Christopher Allport is the sheriff!