There is an audience for downbeat, extreme-survival thrillers. Witness the persistence of the Open Water series (not to mention the Robert Redford solo All Is Lost). Filmmaker Brandon Slagle's elemental extreme-survival thriller is a particularly wintery, grim addition. Short take: not an uplifter.
Heavily pregnant Abby (Devanny Pinn) drives into unspecified forests for a reunion with her estranged father Grant (Vernon Wells), who, following the ambiguously described death of Abby's mom, has retreated into a mountain-man existence, trapping and being a wilderness guide - and, to Abby's chagrin, drinking too much. It is the first time the intimidating Grant learns his unwed daughter is having a baby, and he is not happy.
But he convinces Abby to bond on a father-daughter fishing trip before a predicted snowstorm arrives. But Grant steers the car off the road, where it stops perilously on the edge of a precipice, Abby speared by broken glass and branches in the passenger seat. She still manages to free Grant, who staggers off, promising to find help. Viewers already know from the chilly flash-forward opening that help won't be coming soon.
For a feature that stays largely confined to the cramped interior of a wrecked car, Frost holds interest in its seemingly hopeless central situation, and it makes a difference that the leading man here is not a typecast hero type like Tom Hanks or, well, Robert Redford, but rather longtime trouper Wells, a menacing bad guy in material such as The Road Warrior, Circuitry Man, and Innerspace. The sketchy, minimalist details about these characters and their relationships are more of an asset to the suspense than a detriment; how do we know Grant did not deliberately contrive this horrific predicament?
Horrific it is, and a number of viewers will want to look away from the increasingly gut-churning ordeal. Some may give Frost points for not backing down, but it's a warning that we get the carnie "based on a true story" come-on up front. Just like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and other horror shows. Which should be a fair warning.
Director Slagle hails from a background in hard rock and heavy metal (perhaps unsurprising, given the film's ultimate nihilism), and the Blu-ray edition comes packaged with an extra soundtrack-music CD. Optional.