DEAD OF WINTER

In the thick of winter, grieving widow Barb (Emma Thompson) drives to a remote northern Minnesota lake to scatter her husband’s ashes. Caught in a blizzard with no phone reception, she gets lost and stops at a cabin, where she asks ‘Camo Jacket’ (Marc Menchaca) for directions. While there, she sees a young woman (Leah played by Laurel Marsden) being held hostage in the basement, and Barb promises her she won’t leave. When the man’s hostile wife, ‘Purple Lady’ (Judy Greer), arrives Barb realises she’s the only one who can rescue Leah from the armed and dangerous couple. I didn’t have Emma Thompson as the hero of a violent thriller on my 2025 bingo card … and should’ve seen that as a sign to steer clear. Thompson adopts a Midwestern American accent and sounds like she’s overacting. As Barb, she constantly huffs and puffs, which becomes irksome, but her character is surprisingly resourceful, like a desperate female MacGyver, making the best of whatever she has on hand to survive. Greer and Menchaca lack chemistry as a married couple and the absence of their actual character names feels disconnected. We know little about them as they aren’t given a backstory, unlike Barb whose pivotal life moments are unveiled through multiple flashbacks. Camo Jackets redemption arc is implausible and too rushed. For a film that wants to be taken seriously, its entire premise lacks believability. Visually though, the landscape is mesmerising, with its snow-covered trees and picturesque frozen lake – these were the only elements that held my interest.