Well, I'm not a frustrated (unsuccessful) filmmaker and I rather prefer movies that cross/blend/shatter stereotypical genre films, so I suppose that helps explain why I really enjoyed FROST. I suspect that the same people who don't like a combination of action and horror would call it "cliched" had FROST stayed in one realm or the other.
FROST hearkens back to a day when films were made to entertain and not done just to show how clever or slick the producer/director/etc. are. And FROST is entertaining. Damned entertaining. Watch-it-again-and-again entertaining. Part "Night Stalker," part Robert Ludlum, this movie pays tribute to the respective traditions and then sets out to bend several rules within them. We span 10 years, two countries, and four vampires by movie's end. Not to mention several murders, an art theft, two explosive-laden skirmishes, all deftly paced and all superbly handled. The dialogue for the characters is unique, as VanHook and the individual actors quickly define the personalities of their respective characters.
JACK FROST is the mercenary skeptic whose pragmatic world is rocked by the discovery that his best friend is now a vampire. And while Frost may not believe in vampires, he's also nobody's fool. Gary Busey is the wise blind Micah, Frost's friend and mentor in his battle against the undead.
Based on the best-selling comic JACK FROST (written by writer/director/producer Kevin VanHook), the movie remains faithful to the source material while both expanding upon and updating the tale. VanHook also pays homage to such influences (and I'm speculating here) as the afore-mentioned "Night Stalker," Tod Browing's FREAKS, Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND, perhaps THE TERMINATOR (and others, I'm sure) while keeping the very original storyline intact.
The effects are believable, which isn't surprising as they were done by many of the same crew who did FX for DAREDEVIL, MISS CONGENIALITY and a host of other major motion pictures.
Is FROST: PORTRAIT OF A VAMPIRE the next TRAINSPOTTING? Probably not, but it's a damned entertaining flick that will provide 92 minutes of fun and leave you wanting more. I look forward to more of Mr. VanHook's work. If more people made entertaining movies, instead of trying for the next "box office smash hit," we'd be better off. I hope to see more of VanHook's films soon. He is a highly talented creative force who should get more oppotunities to tell his unique brand of tales to ever-widening audiences. Here's to a sequel, or whatever the future might hold from him!
FROST hearkens back to a day when films were made to entertain and not done just to show how clever or slick the producer/director/etc. are. And FROST is entertaining. Damned entertaining. Watch-it-again-and-again entertaining. Part "Night Stalker," part Robert Ludlum, this movie pays tribute to the respective traditions and then sets out to bend several rules within them. We span 10 years, two countries, and four vampires by movie's end. Not to mention several murders, an art theft, two explosive-laden skirmishes, all deftly paced and all superbly handled. The dialogue for the characters is unique, as VanHook and the individual actors quickly define the personalities of their respective characters.
JACK FROST is the mercenary skeptic whose pragmatic world is rocked by the discovery that his best friend is now a vampire. And while Frost may not believe in vampires, he's also nobody's fool. Gary Busey is the wise blind Micah, Frost's friend and mentor in his battle against the undead.
Based on the best-selling comic JACK FROST (written by writer/director/producer Kevin VanHook), the movie remains faithful to the source material while both expanding upon and updating the tale. VanHook also pays homage to such influences (and I'm speculating here) as the afore-mentioned "Night Stalker," Tod Browing's FREAKS, Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND, perhaps THE TERMINATOR (and others, I'm sure) while keeping the very original storyline intact.
The effects are believable, which isn't surprising as they were done by many of the same crew who did FX for DAREDEVIL, MISS CONGENIALITY and a host of other major motion pictures.
Is FROST: PORTRAIT OF A VAMPIRE the next TRAINSPOTTING? Probably not, but it's a damned entertaining flick that will provide 92 minutes of fun and leave you wanting more. I look forward to more of Mr. VanHook's work. If more people made entertaining movies, instead of trying for the next "box office smash hit," we'd be better off. I hope to see more of VanHook's films soon. He is a highly talented creative force who should get more oppotunities to tell his unique brand of tales to ever-widening audiences. Here's to a sequel, or whatever the future might hold from him!