Jack Frost (1997 film)
Jack Frost is a 1997 American direct-to-video[1] slasher film written and directed by Michael Cooney. The movie takes place in the fictional town of Snowmonton, where (on the week before Christmas) a truck carrying serial killer Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald) to his execution crashes into a genetics truck. The genetic material causes Jack's body to mutate and fuse together with the snow on the ground. Jack is presumed dead and his body melts away. However, he comes back as a killer snowman and takes revenge on the man who finally caught him, Sheriff Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport).
| Jack Frost | |
|---|---|
 North American DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Michael Cooney |
| Produced by | Jeremy Paige Vicki Slotnick |
| Written by | Michael Cooney Jeremy Paige |
| Starring | Christopher Allport Stephen Mendel F. William Parker Rob LaBelle Shannon Elizabeth Jack Lindine Zack Egniton Brian Leckner Marsha Clark Eileen Seeley Kelly Jean Peters Scott MacDonald |
| Music by | Chris Anderson Carl Schurtz |
| Cinematography | Dean Lent |
| Edited by | Terry Kelley |
| Distributed by | A-Pix Entertainment, Inc. |
Release date | November 18, 1997 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Despite being critically panned, the film has developed a cult following for its comical death scenes and cheesy special effects, and was followed by a sequel in 2000, Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman. Jack Frost is notable for being the film debut of Shannon Elizabeth.[2]
Plot
On a snowy December night, a state execution transfer vehicle crosses into the quiet backwater town of Snowmonton. Inside is serial killer Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald), who eluded police for years and left a trail of thirty-eight bodies across eleven states before finally being arrested by Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport), the sheriff of Snowmonton. Jack is scheduled to be executed at midnight, but Jack kills the guard and the vehicle crashes into a genetic research truck. Jack is exposed to chemicals from inside the truck, causing him to dissolve and fuse with the snow.
Despite news reports of Jack's demise, Sam cannot forget Jack's threats of vengeance. Old Man Harper is found murdered, and soon afterwards a local bully named Billy (Nathan Hague) is killed when he is pushed into the way of an oncoming sled, getting decapitated. According to Tiler’s son, Ryan (Zack Eginton) a snowman caused Billy's death. Billy's parents Jake (Jack Lindine) and Sally (Kelly Jean Peters) are then later murdered by the same snowman.
FBI Agents Manners (Stephen Mendel) and Stone arrive in Snowmonton and convince the Sheriff to put the town on 24-hour curfew, sending his officers out to gather all the townspeople. Deputy Chris Pullman (Brian Leckner) is killed when the snowman runs the officer over with a police cruiser. Billy's older sister Jill (Shannon Elizabeth) and her boyfriend sneak into the sheriff's home to steal his wine and have sex, as revenge for her family’s death. The snowman kills Jill's boyfriend and pretends to be bath water to lure in Jill, solidifying around her and proceeding to rape and physically assault her, resulting in her death.
The snowman returns with the police cruiser to the station, finally confronting Sam. Agent Stone reveals himself to be a representative of the genetic research company that created the chemicals and reveals that the snowman is a mutated Jack Frost. He also reveals that the human soul exists as a chemical and that the acid was going to be used to contain DNA in case of a nuclear holocaust. They attempt to destroy Jack by blowing him up by releasing aerosol cans in the police station and firing a bullet at him, but to no avail. They then use blowdryers to drive Jack into a furnace, which evaporates the snowman. Jack condenses, killing Stone and wounding Manners. Jack traps Tiler and Ryan within his car, but Tiler escapes by inadvertently throwing the oatmeal Ryan made him at Jack, burning the snowman's head. Ryan put antifreeze in the oatmeal, believing it could help keep his father from getting cold.
Sheriff Tiler tells his friend, Paul Davrow (F. William Parker) to fill the bed of his truck with antifreeze. Jack chases Sam through the halls of a church and finally catches him, driving an icicle into his chest and almost killing him. The truck full of antifreeze arrives just in time, however, and Jack and Sam crash through a window and into the truck's bed. Jack Frost melts in the antifreeze, and the antifreeze is poured back into the containers, and buried deep under the ground of Snowmonton. Tiler's wife Anne (Eileen Seeley), realizes that the state police are on their way. When Paul asks Tiler what they are going to tell them, Tiler says, "we'll tell them that it's too late". However, one of the containers is shown to be bubbling, revealing Jack is still alive.
Cast
- Scott MacDonald as Jack Frost
- Christopher Allport as Sam Tiler
- Stephen Mendel as Agent Manners
- F. William Parker as Paul Davrow
- Eileen Seeley as Anne Tiler
- Rob LaBelle as Agent Stone
- Zack Eginton as Ryan Tiler
- Jack Lindine as Jake Metzner
- Kelly Jean Peters as Sally Metzner
- Marsha Clark as Marla
- Shannon Elizabeth as Jill Metzner
- Chip Heller as Deputy Joe Foster
- Brian Leckner as Deputy Chris Pullman
- Darren O. Campbell as Tommy Davrow
- Paul Keith as Doc Peters
- Charles C. Stevenson Jr as Father Branagh
- Nathan Hague as Billy Metzner
Production
In an interview with Fangoria, writer Michael Cooney revealed that he also served as director for the film because "(we) couldn't afford a director".[3] Further addressing the low budget of the film, Cooney references Campbell Soup's "Let it Snow" advertisement and notes that that commercial (which similarly features a living snowman character) had a budget "three times" that of the film. Furthermore, he stated that Identity, another film he wrote, had a budget of $30 million, while Jack Frost was made for "the cost of its catering budget".[4]
Portions of the film were filmed at the Fawn Lodge in Fawnskin, California, on the north west shore of Big Bear Lake.[5]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 7% based on 14 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 3/10.[6]
Grave Reviews gave the film 2.5 Graves. [7]
Sequel
A sequel, Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman, was released in 2000. A third installment was planned with the tentative title of "Jack Frost 3: The Last Coming", but hopes of the sequel being made are unlikely because of the death of Christopher Allport in 2008.[8]
Home media
It was released on VHS by A-Pix Entertainment and DVD by Simitar Entertainment in 1997. Both releases have been long out of print.
On December 13, 2016, Vinegar Syndrome released the film for the first time on Blu-ray. It includes the film digitally remastered in a 2K presentation. Special features included an audio commentary, a video introduction by director Michael Cooney, and a video interview with actor Scott MacDonald and director of photography Dean Lent.[1][9]
References
- Foywonder (October 19, 2016). "Jack Frost Nipping at Your Blu-Ray Players this Holiday Season". Dread Central. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- Armitage, Hugh (December 15, 2018). "Whatever happened to Shannon Elizabeth?". Digital Spy. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- Ferrante, Anthony C. (April 2003). "Deadly Identity Crisis". Fangoria (221): 34–37.
- Ferrante, Anthony C. (January 1998). ""Jack Frost" Horror's new snow job". Fangoria (169): 9.
- "Jack Frost (Video 1997)". IMDb. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
- "Jack Frost (1996) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixer. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- "Jack Frost (1997)". Grave Reviews. December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- Parade (January 8, 2008). "'Mad Men' Mourns One of Its Own". Parade. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- Squires, John (November 11, 2016). "Art and Special Features Revealed for 'Jack Frost' Blu-ray Release". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
External links
- Jack Frost on IMDb
- Jack Frost at AllMovie