Frozen is a movie about three individuals stuck on a chairlift. It doesn’t sound too intriguing but quite frankly, it turned out to be one of the most thrilling and frightening films I’ve seen in the past few years.

Directed by Adam Green (Hatchet), Frozen has a compelling sense of realism to it. Best buds Joe and Dan (Shawn Ashmore and Kevin Zegers, respectively) head out for a Sunday getaway to their favorite ski mountain, with Dan’s girlfriend Parker (Emma Bell) in tow. They buy off the ski lift operator to get cheap tickets, enjoy a kickass day of skiing that runs into the night…and then they decide to go up for one last run.

Operator-man takes off to solve a vacation issue, and new-Operator-man takes over, mistaking three other skiers for our three protagonists, who were the last three to head to the top. When the chair stops, the trio discuss a rather morbid topic – the terrible ways to die. They joke and laugh until the mountain finally shuts off its lights and panic insets almost immediately.

What should they do? This particular mountain closes Sunday night and doesn’t reopen until Friday. Will they freeze to death? They panic, they freak out, and they panic some more as the film beautifully creates a highly tense and dangerous environment for our abandoned heroes. The audience feels their pain vicariously and sweats it out with them throughout. By mid-movie, you honestly care about the characters and their survival – it’s literally an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride (and I’m not even getting paid to say that!).

It’s hard to discuss the film further without spoiling some of the horrifying surprises, but these three are in for one hell of a week. Though the premise may be a little scarier for skiiers and boarders, I’m sure its sentiments of claustrophia and the fight for survival will disturb even the non-skiers in the audience.

I couldn’t go right to sleep after this one, kids. It was the last thing on my mind as I laid down and the first thing I thought about when I woke up. Like a great movie should, it haunted me, permeating my every thought for days. And you bet your ass it’ll be all I’m thinking about when I hit the slopes this season.

Well done, Mr. Green. Well done, indeed!

(In other news, Green’s Hatchet II was pulled from AMC theaters this week. AMC originally agreed to run the unrated slasher sequel, when it unexpectedly pulled it from screens only three days later. That only makes me want to see it more. PS – See the first Hatchet this Halloween season. It’s a fanastic 80’s-inspired, silly slasher that is deliciously fun!)