Rent Frostbite (2006)

...and not an IKEA in sight! - Frostbite review by Kurtz

First, the bad news- though billed as a Swedish horror comedy, "Frostbiten" is neither particularly scary nor laugh-out loud funny. It suffers a bit too from some poorly edited stunt work (although the ceiling creepers are pretty cool)and from some clunkiness from the "Before-I-kill-you-I-will-tell-you-all-our-secrets-oh-damn-she's-got-away" school of exposition.However, it does still have a lot going for it- the story moves along at a cracking pace, the young cast make up for any technical deficiencies (no acting masterclass, this),with some committed performances, and there's a vein of twisted humour running throughout that cannot fail to please. It's never easy to meet your girlfriend's parents for the first time, for example, but when you're going through the early stages of vampirism, the encounter is doubly hazardous, especially when trout in garlic is on the menu. Should have stuck to meatballs.

Frostbiten (2006) - Frostbite review by NP

A Swedish teen vampire comedy horror film isn’t a huge genre, and it is always good to find something that tries something a little out of the ordinary.

Sharing certain similarities with ‘30 Days of Night’, the main thrust of this film reveals what happens when a group of teens mistake pills of what appears to be condensed vampire blood for narcotics. Instead of getting high, the teens develop vampiric tendencies.

A film involving ‘teens’ usually scares me more than any monster, with relentless memories of the catwalking petulant pouters often found being sliced by Freddie Krueger (or similar) over the years. But these Swedish juveniles are an appealing group, with little of the overbearing bravura of their Hollywood counterparts. The character of Sebastian, in particular, creates effective mayhem when visiting his girlfriend’s parents after having taken a tablet, and is trying to make a good impression whilst fighting off the effects of his increasing vampirism (her father is a Priest, which doesn’t help).

In the end, the vampires appear to be running rings around the increasingly outnumbered police force, and remind them that here in Lappland, dawn is a whole month away, a reference to Sweden living in permanent darkness half the year round – perfect conditions for the undead.