Frostbitten (2006) User Reviews

Where did the 21 big salmons go

[film_tobbe · 5/10 · 27 February 2006]

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Bad focus from time to time. Lack of creativity.

EDITING: Pretty good considering the cinematography.

ACTING: Various

LIGHTING: Nice but i prefer fog and mist-lighting effects in horror movies.

MUSIC: Very well written and performed. Almost too good to work effectively together with some of the scenes. Gets too melodramatic at times, like the old silent films that scared the crap out the audience a long time ago.

DIRECTING: ?

VAMPIRES: Super nice! Realistic make up and CG.

SCARE: Bad timing in editing and bad choice of camera angles. If the movie tries to make the audience jump out of their seats with fear, we jump with laughter.

HUMOUR: Funny situations appear in the story. Maybe the next Swedish film project.

OPENING SCENE: Boring and not quite convincing.

SCRIPT: Correct thinking in structure but unfortunately, some of the characters feel superfluous. Vampire-Sebastian would be a lot more fun idea for a movie.

OTHER COMMENTS: They have overseen some of the best opportunities to capture beautiful and scary scenes involving white snow, fog and blood. Desipite the fact that the action is taking place in the middle of the cold winter, this wasn't used as a physical problem for the characters. I believe it was much colder for the slow working film crew than what was captured in the final result of the film. Where did all the money go?

To bad it turned out to be bad

[Sarkax · 5/10 · 5 March 2006]

When it's finally time for a Swedish horror whit a real budget it turns out to be, well not so good. Its a shame really cause this movie has been under production for many years so one had hoped they would give us , if not great, at least a good film. No luck there.

I have no idea what the director was thinking when he watched the final cut. The whole climax of the movie is horrible edited. We go from one scene to another and after a while you have lost track of what is happening, and you really don't care either. The acting is at times lousy, the one who gets away is Jonas Karlstöm who plays Sebastian. He makes the movie worth seeing.

The effects of the movie are great, nothing to complain about there. What bothers me the most is if this was the last Chance for Swedish horror.

Bloody awesome - definitely doesn't suck!

[Torgo_Approves · 6/10 · 7 June 2006]

When a movie's title is a bad pun (it's equally bad in English - "Frostbite") you know you're going to be in for a good time. After endless amounts of lame comedy and drama productions from Sweden, it's refreshing to see that Anders Banke tries something new: a hilarious, suspenseful vampire movie, the first vampire movie to have ever come out of Sweden. In a way, it's an epic. Not that Banke's movie is anywhere near pretentious enough to be called an epic.

Frostbiten opens with some fantastic footage of a snow-covered, dark landscape, accompanied by haunting music that perfectly set the tone for the movie. Already at this point we can tell this will be different, and infinitely better, than most Swedish films.

What comes after that is an amazing, high-paced film with energetic performances and brilliant touches of humour. How can you not laugh at a little dog telling our hero that he's going to burn in hell? Or the fact that the main vampire is killed by a garden gnome? Though it is not perfect (especially not the badly executed ending), Frostbiten is extremely entertaining, clever and positively brilliant. The "shocker" scenes are shocking, the comical scenes are funny, and performances are great all around, with the possible exception of Grete Havnesköld, who is pretty lackluster as Saga, our main character. Emma Åberg's Vega, on the other hand, is an absolute gem.

Frostbiten is an amazing film that fulfills all your hopes and makes you believe that Swinema actually has a future. A bizarre, hilarious and competently put together action and gore fest that proves that even Swedish people can make high quality movies.(r#36)

Goddamnit ...

[Ihni · 2/10 · 9 February 2006]

I had really high expectations about this movie, you know. I wanted soooo bad for it to be a great movie. Well, I was disappointed. I saw it at the Göteborg Film Festival, at the world premiere, and I didn't know if I was to laugh or cry when it was over. I was closer to crying.

Honestly, it wasn't a good movie. They meant it to be scary ... but people LAUGHED when it was supposed to be scary. Which makes it a comedy? Not really. If so, it must have been unintentional.

I do believe that it could have been a good movie. I mean, the script itself isn't all that bad ... when one thinks about it. But bad effects and MUMBLING from almost all the actors (I had a hard time hearing what was said, in like, half the movie!) makes it a bad movie. Easy as that.

At times, I just hid my face in my hands and mumbled "oh my god" to myself. Ashamed to be Swedish.

That's it then! No more vampire films coming from Sweden. Bye bye, future vampire films!

Swedish Vampires... The World Needs More of This

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 15 November 2007]

During World War II, the Swedish army (under the direction of Hitler) is fighting the Russians, but is forced to retreat and hide in a cabin. Within the cabin lies a buried secret: a vampire named Maria. Sixty years later, the vampire menace returns to Sweden when a group of teenagers accidentally ingest tainted blood. Blood-thirsty teenagers? Oh my!

Let me get something out of the way so we can end the discussion right now: this film is not the Swedish version of "30 Days of Night". You would think so when the back of the box emphasizes this is a very northern town with thirty days of darkness, and there's vampires. But it's not anything like that other movie. This one was filmed first and has no connection to the graphic novel. And, with the exception of one line in the film, the fact there are thirty days of darkness isn't even relevant to the plot (it takes place over maybe three days, always during "night shift" anyway). So, just ignore all that... because if you're waiting for Ben Foster, you won't find him.

This film excels with the backstory. I really enjoyed how they tied the SS into the vampire legend, because connecting Hitler to evil is always a nice touch. But what I found even more interesting was how since this was from Sweden's point of view, the SS wasn't so much "evil" as it just happened to be a group of soldiers like any other country. Nazis with human traits -- wow, what a concept! Either way, it really gave a great background for what was to come later.

I was curious about some of the humor. I enjoyed it (this is just as much a black comedy as it is a horror film, not far removed from 1980s teen films), but I wonder if Sweden is living in a time warp. One person uses the "falling and can't get up" joke, which is probably obscure to anyone younger than twenty-five. And they make cracks about the drummer from Def Leppard. Hey, I do it, too... but a band that reached its peak twenty years ago is a hot topic? Weird.

More conventional humor exists, such as using a body chart as a dart board (the bullseye is the spleen). And this film offers what is the greatest weapon to use against vampires I've ever seen (at least as far as I can recall): a garden gnome. I have never thought to have a garden gnome as a weapon in a film, but I'm very thankful these guys did, because it sealed the deal on deciding between whether this was a good film and a great film. It's a great film.

The main character is a hot chick by Swedish standards (the character Saga, played by Grete Havnesköld) and another character, Cornelia (Nour El-Refai) is okay, too. Saga's role as the heroine was a nice one -- she is the focus of the film, but isn't some great vampire slayer or trying to save her boyfriend (she's single, guys). She is the heroine simply because she is able to survive... at least longer than most of her friends.

What set this film out from other vampire films for me was the great transformation sequence, showing a boy get the endless thirst. The following changes (allergy to garlic, dislike of Sun and crosses, no reflection) were cool, too, but the scene where he simply cannot control his thirst was amazing. I guess the talking dogs were alright, too, but I feel like something more could have been done with that (where's Zoltan when you need him?).

They do a thing with "vampire vision" which didn't bother me as much as usual, because they kept it to a minimum. The vampire eyes in the dark could have been removed. And, you'll rarely hear me say this, but the cgi was okay. Seriously. I'm a puppet guy, a rubber suit guy... but I think the computer work here was pretty decent. Although I could tell it was a cartoon, it was better than a lot of the stuff I see today (compare the wall-climbing scene here to the one from "Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes" and you'll think this one is platinum quality). So ,good work.

No nudity (sorry guys) but plenty of blood. Blood spraying, blood drinking, blood smeared on walls, animals mutilated... so that's not a concern. You'll get enough blood to satisfy yourself.

I really enjoyed this film beginning to end. From the opening previews (1970s English horror films) to the closing credits, this is what I want to see more of: blood, hot chicks and a good black comedy with teenagers who actually look and act like teenagers. You know, like the 1980s and not so much like the 1990s (sure, Sarah Michelle, I believe you're in high school. Riiiiiight). Unless you have a strong aversion to subtitles, give this one a whirl. Best thing to come from Sweden since Ingmar Bergman.

Oh my God!

[menhahaha · 1/10 · 5 February 2006]

Oh my god! I just got back from seeing it in The Gothenburg Film festival.

Like many other Sweedes who have bin starving for some genre cinema to call our own I was looking forward to the first Swedish vampire movie.

We start the movie in a cold and snowy German front, with some sweedes fighting for the Germans are pinned down and must find shelter for the night. This scene consists of 4 - 5 actors dressed up in funny looking German uniforms with fake icicles in their beards speaking awful German hiding behind a small hill and it all looks like it's shot by a blind cameraman.

And we get lots of cg muzzle flashes from the woods afar.

It all looked like a school project home movie.

After watching this scene I got really worried and thought it must get better than this! Or this movie will be a huge nail in the Swedish genre movie coffin.

They find a cabin , some of the get killed by a vampire and one of them gets turned. We flash forward to the present where we get:

Talking animals and a lot of amateur actors acting amateurish turning into vampires after taking some red pills.

The fx budget for the movie is 5 million Swedish kronor of with I don't see ANY of on the screen. There is this big rubbery suit main villain and some sub par cg. And thats it!

And by the time the end credits rolled I could not wait to get out of the school auditorium we saw it in.. The director was supposed to be there for a Q and A session but the failed to show up after the end credits rolled, I wonder why?

My god this is so bad! Seems like they got a 13 year old to write the script. And his def and dumb brother to direct it.

These people are in the music video / commercial business and this garbage is what they come up with?

I hope that there will be some brave producers out there after this mess who will have the guts to make and help make more genre movies in Sweden.

I'm so disappointed. Awful awful movie.

It's good for what it is

[slake09 · 7/10 · 1 October 2006]

A vampire tale set in Northern Sweden, the plot of Frostbite can be summed up fairly quick: a researcher has concocted a serum that turns people into vampires, and a bunch of people drink it.

I didn't think it was supposed to be particularly funny, or scary, or anything other that what it is: a lighthearted vampire movie that's enjoyable to watch. If you don't have other expectations the film is decent and watchable, the acting is good, the production is good. Sure, the plot is predictable but it's a vampire movie! How unpredictable does the genre get? I wasn't looking for originality or innovation here, just a good movie to watch, and this was.

When Lukas Moodysson directs a Swedish vampire movie, then you can expect some originality, some twists and turns, some things that you wouldn't think could ever be in that type of movie. Until then, pass the popcorn and enjoy Frostbiten for what it is.

There's a lot of blood and gore, but it isn't shocking, just the usual vampire bites. No nudity to speak of, but hey, you can't have everything. There is some drug usage, but it's a plot device, not gratuitous. Fairly tame for a horror movie, really.

Missed opportunity

[Coventry · 4/10 · 1 November 2008]

Over here in Europe, and especially during the annual Horror & Fantasy Festivals all over the continent, "Frostbite" got endlessly praised and acclaimed as one of the most innovating and creative new vampire movies of the last few decades, but you honestly have to put all this eulogy into perspective a little. First of all because European horror critics understandably wish to promote our own stuff as opposed to that uninspired American "junk" and, secondly, because the guys behind the camera (director Anders Banke and producer Magnus Paulsson) used to be involved in the organization of the Swedish Fantasy Festival and thus the critics support each other. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the horror-festivals and I'm grateful that I can go and watch a truckload of new cult stuff there every year, but this circle of European Fantasy Festivals is undeniably some sort of elite club. That being said, I don't intend to state "Frostbite" is a bad film or anything … It just isn't as original and refreshing as it pretends to be. Given the North-Swedish setting, the tag line and the synopsis, I was anticipating a sort of predecessor to "30 Days of Night" but it's actually something completely different. The story revolves on an obsessive doctor trying to create the ultimate breed of vampires ever since he himself became one during World War II. He invented these red pills to fine-tune vampirism, but they accidentally end up at a local teenager's house party and all the guests gradually transform into bloodthirsty monsters. "Frostbite" features a lot of ideas and simultaneously attempts to parody the horror genre, but unfortunately it only became a very incoherent, not-so-funny and seemingly finished horror movie. The intro-flashback is overlong and, in general, not a whole lot is happening during the first hour. The last half hour compensates for a lot, though, since the film becomes extremely gory, absurd and tasteless. The actual ending comes abruptly and makes no sense at all, but the foregoing house-party massacre is quite cool to watch. The special and make-up effects are excellent (clearly, most of the budget went there) and the acting performances of the primarily young and inexperienced cast members are more than adequate. "Frostbite" is definitely an interesting and potentially terrific film, but the writers nearly didn't make enough use of the location's possibilities and the polar night concept.

Funny

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 27 April 2007]

This movie starts with a flashback. A flashback were they talk German, but evidently you can hear (if you're familiar with the German language), that the actors are not Germans themselves. Just a trivia fact, for the beginning.

Because this doesn't hurt the movie, after the flashback you get to the present time and the movie kicks off. And that means it really get's going! It then starts out more as (teen-)comedy, just to evolve into a horror-comedy. The transition is pretty good and many jokes work, but unfortunately in the end (literally), the movie falls short. It just seems, that they run out of ideas or money ... or both, but this movie does not feel like it's finished. It's a shame then, because this could've been so much better, but it's still good!

Should have been a Swedish "Lost Boys"

[fred-83 · 4/10 · 11 September 2006]

It is nice to see some genre-movies produced in Sweden, finally. This is an ambitious project but somewhat let-down by (among other things) a low budget. The script is very enjoyable with funny set pieces and some good dialog which, unfortunately, is not always delivered well. The direction is lacking, some scenes are very awkwardly blocked, hardly rising above film-school level, and some of these things can not be blamed solely on the low budget. The ending is too abrupt, also. Much effort seems to have been put into the special effects, and they generally look very good. The score is symphonic, which is a really good choice, and it works well, although it is a bit overused. The sound is also really bad in some places, which add to the "film school"-feeling. The Russian music during the opening titles is really inspired and creates a nice atmosphere (reminiscent of Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers). It is sad that the rest of the movie doesn't quite hold up. But it deserves to be praised for its ambition and just because it at least tries to be different from every other film produced in our, film standard-wise, mediocre country. It should have been a full Swedish "Lost Boys" but instead we got about 1/3 of it. (Hm, the IMDb comments spelling device makes suggestions identical to what I have typed, happen to anybody else?)

Frostbiten (2006)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 8/10 · 14 December 2011]

After Let the Right One In, I was wary about approaching another Swedish vampire film. Surely it couldn't live up to the brilliance of that master piece. Well, it doesn't. But Frostbiten is a different kind of beast altogether. Frostbiten is a wonderful return to classical vampires. They hate garlic, don't have reflections etc. This lends itself well to the comic tone of the film. Even in a foreign language, this is instantly quotable and memorable. From lines such as "Stop throwing garden gnomes at me!" and a girl making an X rather than a crucifix, we have a film that doesn't take itself seriously, but isn't stupid either. The film does well to split up the adult world and the teen world. The teen world is basically filled with drugs and parties, lending itself as the perfect set-up for a massacre. Meanwhile, the adult world is filled with the backstory and the main plot thrust.The score and soundtrack work in perfect harmony. The film opens during the war, and the score has an eerie Gothic sound which seems as though is should be coming straight from a gramophone. The effects are perfect in my opinion. The mix of CG and make-up is almost indistinguishable. It comes across as an old classical stop-motion piece at times. The whole film was enjoyable in the same way as The Lost Boys. Fun, exciting and hilarious. Only, Frostbiten has talking dogs.

Funniest movie I'd seen in a long time...

[hellraiser033 · 7/10 · 25 November 2006]

If you're expecting a true horror movie, you'll be disappointed. This movie was hilarious. And that is exactly the way it was meant to be enjoyed, as a comedy horror (along the lines of "Shawn of the Dead"). The storyline that follows the daughter is better developed than the one with the mother, and plays for more laughs. I saw it courtesy of the Seattle International Film Festival, at midnight, with a theatre full of other vampire film lovers. My biggest complaint would be that it does take a little too long for the opening sequence (taking place during WWII, German with Swedish and English subtitles) to be explained. It's also the scariest part of the whole film. If you don't like horror films, this is a great one to see. Rent it and have a bunch of friends over.

Young girl moves to Nothern Sweden with her mother and finds herself invited to a party that turns into a feast of blood when a vampire epidemic strikes the small town.

[magnuspg · 5/10 · 6 March 2006]

I honestly don't know how to review this Swedish vampire spoof. Is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be taken seriously? Or was the initial intention on the film makers' part to make a scary vampire movie(in the true sense of the word), which the opening scene suggests, but somewhere along the way this idea was abandoned (well, in that case rather quickly and brutally)? So what is Frostbiten? Comedy? Horror? Amateur Evening Night in Kiruna? Or have I just been watching another horror turkey? Like many horror fans out there I was hoping for a real scare, the buzz around the FDIC might have fooled me. However, when dogs start to speak, you can throw those expectations out the window. Don't sweat, you say to yourself, just lean back and go along for the ride. This could go in any direction. And it does. Horribly. Experienced film actors struggle desperately with lines, that would have made Staffan Hildebrand blush, while the young actors are left completely on their own. The dialog scenes are awful, poorly directed like the director and the cinematographer walked away from the set and hoped the camera in some mysterious way would instruct the actors. There is a plenty of gore but who really cares when those damned dogs start to speak. What the hell were they thinking? But don't get me wrong! I had fun the whole time. In some of the scenes the comedy works for the film(when one of the leading actors is impaled by a garden gnome, you come to think that if the whole movie lived up to that ingenious gag, this would be a masterpiece in the horror-comedy-genre). Sorry to say this isn't a Swedish Lost Boys (which I hated by the way) or An American Werewolf in London (which I love). This is Amateur Night in Kiruna. Butit sure was an entertaining one.

Great Movie

[SteffeB · 10 March 2006]

I just watched the film in a small town in the southern of Sweden called Laholm and I must start this review by saying that I'm mighty impressed by this movie.

On my way in I cached a few words with a woman standing in line and I also tough I recognized a man in her company, but I could place him and later when they got up on "stage", to present the movie, it all came clear to me who they were. I had seen the man on TV doing an interview and if I just had tough of that earlier…

But anyway, on to the review.

To begin somewhere, I will start with the Visuals. I think the camera placement in the scenes were OK and with good colors. Sometimes it could seem like it was getting a bit out of focus but I think it was intended to add a good feel to it. The special effects were nice and not to flashy.

Then we come to the audio part. Music was really nice and fitting. The audio were clear and the dialog felt real.

On to the story. It was an interesting story with a great beginning as well as ending.

The feel. The whole thing felt very real, not at all Swedish and not to "Hollywood". I have heard that the movie were somewhat comical and when I heard I taught something like "No, not another silly comedy", but now after I've seen the film I must say that it had some funny moments but they all felt real and not silly comedy as you see in a lot of movies these days (Maybe the talking dogs were a bit to silly, but it were kind of cool the first time). Vampire movies are often either action, splatter or vampires-are-good movies but this movie had a good blend of events that made it unreleasable in any of these categories. It didn't feel like a Horror movie, walking home alone at midnight in a small dark "village" after seeing the movie were no problem, although I cached a glimpse over my shoulder once in a wile just to make sure. Also the fact that the producers of the film were there and presented the whole thing is always a bonus.

The Rating I give this movie 7/10… no, because of some circumstances 8/10.

The Circumstances ^ I don't like to compare movies to other movies from the same country, but I must say that this were really nice, not just for being a Swedish movie. And then maybe some people think vampire movies should be all dark and fogy and sure these are great movies to, but they shouldn't be compared to this one. There were some few things that I didn't like but they really were few and I think you can overlook one or two things in a movie and still think it is great.

//SteffeB

Not that good unfortunately

[drsnap · 2/10 · 21 September 2006]

This movie has it all on paper.

Vampires, blood and gore. Special Effects, and good comedy. unfortunately it doesn't deliver. Although they seem to have a good basis of FXs, the dumb story, the bad acting and the poorly written dialog is laughable.

It hurts to see it sometime because it could've been so much better.

The only upside is that, it may be a starting point in better horror movies from our great country. Because the production were at least high valued. Next time with a good story and good actors it may really become the great horror flick we all been waiting for...

Good acting!? REALLY!!?

[edgelake · 2/10 · 3 October 2007]

OK... seeing to comment made by slake09 it's obviously difficult for nonswedish people to judge the acting. Because seriously the acting in this movie is awful, and I actually know why. The makes of this movie are two real horror fanatics. They love horror and gore. So that's what they wanted to do. Sure there is no other Swedish movie in this genre, but this is not a good first. The script is horrible, it has no apparent structure and the main concept get's lost along the way entangled in all the effects, bad acting and quite bad comedy. The main concept is awesome, vampires in a place where it's dark for a whole month. But that timelock is mentioned just once or twice and then lost. You never get the feeling of suspense that premise could bring. This is a disappointment because I really had hopes for this film. As a filmmakerin Sweden myself I hoped that this would be an opening for the Swedish movie business to dare do something different. But sadly it just shows that we still don't have the knowledge to make genre flicks well. We still try to do it the American way instead of trying to find our own way. We don't have the budgets they do, so we have to bring something else into the equation, and "Frostbiten" does not. Quite the opposite, it sets us back, because now it's gonna be a long while before anyone dares to try it again.

Ambitions not realized

[Antagonisten · 6/10 · 13 March 2006]

I tend to be the kind of person to give grades partly on ambition and partly on the result. So a movie with good ambitions but a dreadful final product can still get a reasonable grade. I found "Frostbiten" to have the ambition although the end result didn't really live up to the hype.

Vampire movies are not my favorite genre to say the least. Whether it's the anemic gay vampires of "Interview with Tom Cruise" (or whatever it was called?) or the macho vampires with silly accents in outings like "Van Helsing" or other action-movies. Usually Vampires work so much better when there is comedy involved so in that regard i think that this movie went the right way, focusing on comedy rather than horror.

So, what works? Well the effects are very good and the production values high, which is a very good start. The actors are a mixed offering with some veterans doing pretty well, the younger actors giving a mixed set of performances. From pretty good to quite awful. In the end though the acting is not bad enough to ruin the movie, nor is it good enough to leave a lasting impression (the only exception being Måns Nathanaelson who has some of the funniest scenes in the movie).

Something that did leave a lasting impression with me though was the lousy script. Which is a real shame. Considering that they had the proper effects, decent actors and a decent setting (northern Sweden with constant arctic night). Not that Swedish movies usually have the most coherent or interesting scripts, but a Vampire-comedy doesn't really require Shakespeare, just someone who can make a simple yet effective story. This movie fails quite miserably in that. Especially the ending is unusually pathetic.

So the ambitions were good, the results were not as good. What i would like next time they make a Swedish vampire movie is to see the film-makers really go crazy. Just go completely wild. That's what this movie needed, the good old "From Dusk till Dawn"-treatment where you start sensibly and finish senseless. To paraphrase the British SAS: Who dares wins!

A Nutshell Review: Frostbiten

[DICK STEEL · 2/10 · 3 September 2006]

To think I was once avoiding horror movies because I thought I was chicken. Hell, I now believe the real reason's cause there are so many bad horror movies out there, that it's just not worth the time and money to watch them on the big screen. This Swedish movie unfortunately, is one of them.

Frostbiten started off promisingly, with a link back to the horrors of WWII, where soldiers were being cut down in size by the enemies. They stumble onto an unused hut, but before they can get a good night's rest, they realize that there is something mysterious about the entire place, and got attacked by strange creatures. It's quite an extended scene before the opening title, but we get fast forwarded to today.

Mother and daughter Annika (Petra Nielsen) and Saga (Grete Havnesköld) come to a new town to start life anew, but before they get settled down, it's a mixed bag of incidents which see Annika uncovering a deep dark secret in the hospital she works in, and Saga's teenage friends getting high on an experimental drug without their knowledge, and get turned into vampires. So begins a battle on both fronts as they fend off vampire rejects from Underworld.

The story is nothing to shout about, being very weakly made up of lame excuses just to feature the vampires in various fang-sinking-into-necks opportunities. Plenty of things went wrong, right up until its ending, which tried to be too intelligent for its own good with a suggestive open ended ending, and it doesn't make much sense. At times, the movie's littered with humour, but in cheesy ways as it wasn't able to decide whether to be funny, or dead serious with the antics. It's nothing scary, but there were copious amounts of blood used to up the gore factor.

Come to think of it, certain production aspects turned out quite childish with its lack of attention to continuity issues, although there were some sparks of brilliance in its special effects department. Other than that, if you really want to experiment with a foreign language horror movie, just wait for the discs to arrive.

Fresh, freakily fun take on the vampire genre!

[ozjeppe · 6/10 · 31 August 2009]

A nurse moves with her teen daughter to wintry northern Swedish town, where strange goings-on - particularly at the hospital - soon point to the horror buff's favorite fanged bunch of blood suckers... Fresh, freakily fun take on the vampire genre that winningly and highly entertainingly admits that it's not going to take itself seriously. Surprisingly well-written (well, a few loopholes and an ending that does take a very easy way out) with a nice WW2 background story, good teenage lingo and many humorous nods to the genre that will safely elevate this up on a cult shelf. The cross-cutting between the date-dinner-at-parent's-house and the teen party scenes is great!

And as Swedish movies come in this genre, it's reliably acted and really colorfully and convincingly made! As an interesting comparison with "Let the right one in", guess what? - I honestly enjoyed this one more...

6 out of 10 from Ozjeppe.

Seriously, guys?

[thenudeferret · 2/10 · 29 June 2006]

Considering it really had the makings of a great horror movie, I really got disappointed. Vampires, blood, night for a whole month in a pretty small town. Furthermore there aren't many good Swedish horror movies, so this one was really something I was looking forward to.

How wrong I was.. I mean -why, why, why?! Where did the budget go? Why don't write at least 25 pages of manuscript before start filming and why not hire a director while you're at it? Awful acting, sometimes good special effects but no more than in a half-decent B-movie. A good thought started it all, and the idea isn't all bad, but where did it all go? We need more odd and special, not just strange and intellectual pictures from Sweden, but sure a heck not more movies like this one.

Instant Cult Classic

[kittaa · 10/10 · 13 February 2006]

I saw this movie at the Göteborg film festival. I'm a bit of a vampire nut, and already knew I'd enjoy the movie if only for the fun of vampires speaking Swedish. However, it went far beyond my expectations. They actually put quite a lot of money into the special effects, not quite up to Hollywood levels, but definitely better than a b-level horror flick. The script was absolutely fantastic. It had all the right elements to make you laugh and really enjoy the movie, with the same not-entirely serious horror genre theme found in The Lost Boys. The audience was warm and receptive, and it was definitely worth every öre to see it.

I also dragged a friend to see it, who is not at all a fan of the genre, and he hasn't yet murdered me in my sleep, so I assume he wasn't lying when he said he enjoyed it.

There were a few things to complain about, but really, in this kind of movie you NEED some cheesy elements to throw your popcorn at. It just makes the movie more enjoyable.

I'm going to give it a 9, just because I know this movie won't appeal to everyone - but for god's sake, if you don't LIKE funny horror movies - don't watch them, instead of wasting your time going to see it (or rent it) and then bad mouthing a movie you knew would never have enjoyed anyhow. :Þ

And really, c'mon.. vampires.. speaking Swedish! Someone finally making use of the fact that half of Sweden lives in permanent darkness half the year. If I was a vampire, I'd be spending my winter vacations there.

"hey, stop throwing garden gnomes at me!"

Frostbiten

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 4 April 2010]

Vampirism spreads like an uncontrollable virus in this Swedish vampire tale. Mother Annika(Petra Nielsen)moves with her daughter Saga(Grete Havnesköld)to a new city in Sweden to work exclusively with a famed geneticist, Professor Beckert(Carl-Åke Eriksson). What she doesn't know is that Beckert is a Nosferatu, having been bitten by a vampire after a group of his fellow soldiers were trapped in the Scandinavian wilderness, encountering two of the undead while holding up in what seemed to be an abandoned cabin. Beckert has a captured little girl, plagued with vampirism, held strapped to a gurney, his experimental guinea pig. Beckert decided to develop a form of "blood pill" which turns those that swallow it into Nosferatu. Well, this devious plan will come to fruition as a young medical student confiscates a sum of red pills for a party, and soon another teenager, Vega(Emma Åberg)will pass them off to all her friends setting off an outbreak that will be certain to spread beyond control. Annika will be bitten by Beckert's lab rat and confront him(..well, he bops her over the noggin with a hammer, her awakening bound, but gaining the upper hand momentarily, to learn of her unfortunate fate, as well as, get the goods on his back story and masterplan to create a superrace)with a fight for survival the result. The comedy part of the film concerns kids as they become Nosferatu, and how an entire party escalates into a bloodbath, poor Saga having to defend herself against fellow students who are now the undead. Beckert's monstrous Nosferatu suit is a hideous creation, what he truly is once the human "disguise" is "removed" for Annika to witness first-hand, as her body slowly dies to the "rhabovirus"(..Beckert claims that the vampirism is a form of rabies)and he gives chase. The showstopping highlight is death by yard gnome statue! There's an amusing dinner table scene where the first to swallow a red pill, Sebastian, becomes "stricken" by the rhabovirus, meeting his girlfriend's parents, her father a priest! You have the feasting from a rabbit so animal lovers beware. I have no idea what the deal was with Sebastian visualizing a dog's talking to him over and over, but I couldn't stop laughing at it so I have to say that it serves it's purpose as a comedy gag. For some reason, it takes a while to really pick up steam and seems to end as it was just starting to entertain. Nice punchline at the end(..two, in fact, if you take into account how the police are surrounded by teenage vampires, with no escape since they live in a place where the sun is absent for a long period of time)when we see that a new family will be uprooting, traveling on to other places, a duo introducing a new sister, becoming a trio, never worrying of separation.

Much up and down, but most down

[niklas-ringdahl · 4/10 · 7 March 2006]

I had some low expectations on this one, more praying than hoping it to be good. It wasn't. My ticket money is nevertheless well spent I think, in just telling the Swedish film society to not only give money to Hobert or Osten, casting only Persbrandt, Bonnevie, Endre and the other "standards".

This said, the movie sucks. There are some peaks and some bottomless holes, the peaks being unexpected (intended?) comedy. I actually liked the talking dogs, cause it came from nowhere. Much of the acting also seemed to come from nowhere, but in that case not being a positive thing. The tag line "one month to sunrise" is excellent, but nowhere in the film that issue is handled. Too bad. The effects and cg, in my regard, is flawless, so good I didn't even think of them at times. The plot on the other hand is so neglected even a bastard stepson in the early 1500's would have been loved more. What the hell were the writers thinking? The lines, my god, the lines! The motivation for the characters, hello?! And what stopped the super-vampire from just ending the poor vampire-in-the-making Nielsen in the end? Hopeless.

Upsides: 1 The beginning. Scary, until they show too much of the vampires. 2 Sebastian and his struggle at the parents' house. Excellent. 3 The bathroom scene where Saga peeks out into the mayhem.

Downsides: 1 The plot 2 The script 3 The so called "directing"

Total disaster

[iRONFiSTER · 1/10 · 21 October 2006]

Awful. I give it a '1'. The lowest value I could find.

The movie could have been great. After I've watched the first 10-15 minutes of it I gave the movie a fair chance. It caught me. A group of soldiers in a deep forest in Ukraina during WW2, looking for shelter during the night. (Man! This can be great, I thought).

Anyway, so far the movie seems to be great. Great acting and filming. THEN, all of a sudden, the movie jumps into modern time. And a complete disaster is a fact (only after 10 minutes or something like that). After I've watched the first half of the movie, I was starting to feeling sick. The acting was bad, the story was awful, the whole thing and idea was a disaster. I hated it.

Before I started to watch it, me and my friend I watched it with had a few movies we've promised ourselves to never watch again. A few of them were Dogma, ExistenZ and The Cube 2 (Hypercube?). These films, which I've hated for so long suddenly appeared as masterpieces. But I must give Frostbiten creds for their great effects! Sorry to tell you all that they have absolutely no use.

Frostbiten made me wanna commit suicide. I can't sleep at night, I can't watch Swedish movies any more - It killed me from the inside, and not because of the story or effects, only because of it's "worthlessity".

Do I recommend you to see it? Well, I'm sorry (or not), but I can't say 'yes' to that question.

A Swedish teen vampire comedy horror.

[parry_na · 6/10 · 12 July 2015]

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 cat-walking 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.