The Thaw (2009)

Directed by: Mark A. Lewis | 90 minutes | horror, thriller, science fiction | Actors: Val Kilmer, Alexandra Staseson, Brad Dryborough, Greg Rogers, William B. Davis, Gary Chalk, Peter Kelamis, Brenda Crichlow, Anne Marie DeLuise, John Callander, Lamech Kadloo, Kyle Schmid, Steph Song, Aaron Ashmore, Evan Adams

Global warming and its effects are a very popular film theme in the first decade of the 21st century. Also for ‘The Thaw’ they opted for a story with an ecological touch. dr. Crawling (Val Kilmer) is working in the Arctic region of Canada to conduct research into global warming and its impact on polar bears. A team of students, as well as his daughter, will come to help him with this. Once arrived in the Arctic, Dr. Creep and his own team to be absent. Finding a slowly thawing mammoth should explain a lot. Because of global warming, not only is the mammoth thawing, but also a prehistoric parasite. These parasites, which are not very human friendly, cause all hell to break loose.

Remote and inhospitable places are always good in horror, an adventure at a base camp in the Arctic (although that is Antarctica) is of course immediately reminiscent of John Carpenter’s masterful horror: ‘The Thing’. Despite the fact that the horror element is in it, ‘The Thaw’ is mainly an ecological mystery thriller.

The acting performances are not very special, also the small role of Val Kilmer (‘Heat’) cannot really convince. The characters are all so cliché that you know exactly how the characters will develop and who will or will not survive the mysterious drama. Of course there is some tension between the different people, a little bit of romance and a slightly surprising plot twist complete the story. A few beautiful landscape images and some impressive horror scenes, especially the one in which a parasite emerges from the forehead is nice and gruesome, ensure that the film stands out just above the average.

Global warming, eco-terrorism, awareness and sacrifice: the themes are very thick in this film and then they do not add anything new to the genre. Although the story is an accumulation of clichés, the execution by director Mark A. Lewis is still quite okay. ‘The Thaw’ is excellent twilight viewing on a normal weekday.