#stephenmendel

The 1997 horror-comedy Jack Frost (not to be confused with the 1998 Michael Keaton family film) is aware of how ridiculous its premise is and mines it for comedy effectively. The horrible special effects, idiotic characters, and slapped-together plot make it a bad movie. It's also kind of fun.

On the way to his execution, serial killer Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald) is caught in an accident that fuses his cells with snow on the ground. Returning to Snowmonton, Jack resumes his killing spree, working his way up to the man who sent him to the chair: Sheriff Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport).

The picture’s an excuse to have a killer snowman impaling people with icicles or killing hapless innocents with Christmas decorations. Everything else is an afterthought. The characters are flat and introduced only so they can be killed later, the dialogue is groan-inducing, and the plot unimaginative. Even the special effects are terrible. You don’t have to live up in the frosty wastes of Canada to tell this film was shot in California with phony-looking snow (in some cases it’s just cotton) drizzled over a few branches or bits of sidewalk here and there. Then there’s Jack himself. The monster’s design is no good either. It’s nothing like the cool monster I vividly remember seeing on that lenticular VHS cover when I was a child; it’s the old carrot nose and lumps of coal for eyes. There’s a scene where he has icicle for teeth, but it's brief. You can’t keep a straight face as the incredible fake-looking creature kills one person after another, sometimes in ways that don’t make sense. There’s a poor fella who gets killed by an ax in a way that I’ve never seen before – but that’s because no filmmaker would ever choose to emulate Michael Cooney’s writing and directing choices.

It’s difficult to tell if Jack Frost tries to be good, or knew it was going to be hot steamy garbage from the moment it was conceived. Several comedic scenes are effective. I criticized the special effects, but there’s no way the people working on this film didn’t know they weren't convincing. In a way, it fits the picture’s idiotic premise. I’m not saying you couldn’t make a legitimately good snowman-themed horror film (though considering how well 2017’s The Snowman did, perhaps not), but if you're spoofing supernatural slashers, there's no need to break the bank. I will also give it that there are a few clever moments here and there. Being made of snow, Jack can melt and then re-assemble/refreeze himself at will, making for some cool scenes where he slips under doors or effortlessly moves from one side of a room to another. I don’t know how he manages to transport his carrot nose, coal eyes, and scarf while in liquid form, if he needs those to be complete, how he managed to even get to Snowmonton… but I’ll forgive it.

As a "so bad it's good movie", I can only give “Jack Frost” a mild recommendation. It'll make you laugh, some kills are inventive, and you'll find a couple of memorable moments but compare this to Killer Klowns from Outer Space. It trumps Jack Frost in every department. This just isn't there. The price I paid for the Blu-ray of Jack Frost was way too high, but I’m also kind of glad I finally saw it. (On Blu-ray, November 29, 2017)