Rent The Snowman (2017)

Could have and should have been a lot better! - The Snowman review by CS

I was expecting this to have depth and a slightly supernatural edge to it. Whereas films like the Hannibal Lecter series were quite deep and created strong character development, allowing the actors to really get their teeth into their characters, this film never really goes deep at all and a lot of what should be character development is missing. There's never really any strong explanation as to why the killer is doing what they do, how they are choosing their victims and there are very odd and disjointed flashbacks to another detective in the past. This could have been such a good film if only the script had bothered to delve a bit deeper. Fassbender's talent is wholly wasted on this film it's very slow, disjointed, missing pieces and also somewhat predictable!

Disjointed - The Snowman review by AC

Loved the book. What did they do to the film? Really unsubstantial - didn't get a feeling for the characters, except perhaps for Fassbender. Katrine Bratt didn't die in the book I'm pretty sure. Dreadful. Very disappointed.

Just read the book - The Snowman review by PC

I really enjoyed the book but this is a terrible adaption, it is muddled and appears to forget the main story. Hard to imagine Michael Fassbender appearing in a worst film this year, sorry forgot about Assassins Creed!

Awful - don't waste your time - The Snowman review by CKM

I thought with such a stellar cast this would be so much better - I was bored to tears and switched off (literally) way before the end .....

Absolute utter tosh - The Snowman review by LL

Snowmen are not sinister no matter what music you put on while filming them

Plot makes no sense what so ever, film smacks of someone running out of money and just mashing something together to try to recoup losses.

I rarely watch a film that is so bad that I actually feel angry at the end

Dissapointing - The Snowman review by CP Customer

I agree with the other reviews that it is terrible. The acting was awful nothing added together just jumped from one thing to the next. Do not watch

An enjoyable, undemanding thriller - The Snowman review by BG

After the critical kicking it received, I expected The Snowman to be a horrific mess of biblical proportions. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised to find it largely on a par with much of Hollywood's thriller output.

It's easy to see where the flaws are; there are confusingly juxtaposed scenes with Val Kilmer's alcoholic detective (miscast), and a frankly laughably 90's plot device that sees Fassbender's 'Harry Hole' keep waking up drunk in different places.

However, the story itself has enough meat on its bones and enough nastiness in its tank to keep the average thriller fan happy. The basic thread is that people are going missing, and they may or may not be connected to a strange threat Hole has received, signed with an image of a snowman.

The scenery is gorgeous and mysterious, and adds a huge boost to the allure of the film. Icy lakes and thick snowdrifts fill the frame constantly, and the change of location away from America is more than welcome.

Fergusson is fun and jagged as Hole's driven colleague (although could possibly have been given more to do), and the supporting cast largely help to round out a feeling of misdirection and suspicion.

Like all good murder mystery thrillers, it's a warped tale of psychological harm, and if you can overlook the holes you'll find more than enough here to enjoy.