The Frozen Ground Review

Director: Scott Walker.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens.

Running Time: 105 minutes.

Certificate: 15.

Synopsis: An Alaska state trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen (John Cusack) to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events.

THE FROZEN GROUND is constructed from true events and these type of thrillers can occasionally slip away into the dramatised side of reality. However, Scott Walker’s writing and directing debut feature stays on the right side of the story as the film explores both sides captivatingly.

It’s been up and down recently for Nic Cage and John Cusack, with neither quite hitting the heights that they’ve done easily in the past. In THE FROZEN GROUND they both return to form as Cage excels in the detective role of Jack Holcombe and John Cusack as silent, calculating killer Robert Hansen.

Set in 1983, we’re introduced to both lead characters in their different lives. First up is Jack Holcombe, a state trooper who sees a pattern in various murders of prostitutes in Anchorage, Alaska and so takes on a personal manhunt to find the killer. When Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens) turns up and says she’s just escaped from a lunatic, the local police don’t believe her, but Holcombe finds something in her story that might just give them a clue to why these girls have been disappearing.

So now, they’re on the pursuit of family-man and serial killer Robert Hansen – and before you worry, this role isn’t a twist or a big spoiler. The audience are given this reveal very early on as we see Hansen with a chained-up girl in his house and an array of dead animals on his wall. He’s definitely a hunter, but of young girls as well as animals. From there, our investigation into the murky world of Hansen begins and sets off a chain of events that tests every character’s resolve to the very limit.

Overall, it’s encouraging to see Nic Cage get back to basics and put on a performance of unerring commitment and conviction. John Cusack is cold and focused in his deathly role and you’ll get to see changes in character as the film progresses, with his underlying anger concentrated and unsettling. There’s also a notable mention for co-star Vanessa Hudgens, a vital part to proceedings. Last seen in SPRING BREAKERS, she once again effortlessly proves that her talent is beyond the world of Disney. Her messed-up, on the run prostitute really delves into the sordid world of drug and sex addiction with no holds barred.

Walker’s debut feature is filmed with a gritty reality and an essence of Christopher Nolan’s INSOMNIA. The bleak emptiness that the film portrays in a quite literal expanse can be somewhat unnerving but it’s achieved impressively. For some, the progression of narrative might be reasonably standard, but THE FROZEN GROUND is an intense, intelligent and tenacious affair.

 THE FROZEN GROUND is released in the UK on July 19^th.