I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed the German
horror film Blood Glacier (2013),
which I have to admit wasn’t on my radar.
I love foreign horror films but there was nothing about this film that made
me even curious and then it came across my desk and I put it in on a whim. Despite its borrowing a lot from other films
especially John Carpenter’s The Thing
(1982) this is an interesting and well done film.
A group of scientists doing research in the Australian Alps
discover a strange fungus that has turned part of the nearby glacier blood
red. It’s not long before the fungus
disappears as if it was never there but its effects are devastating as every
life form that comes across it goes through dramatic metamorphic changes. These “new” creatures are both dangerous and
aggressive and fascinating for the scientists who believe that they are at the
frontier of a new discovery. It is only
Janek (Gerhard Liebmann) who sees the real danger that is to come. Now he must convince the scientists as well
as a visiting party of diplomats to abandon their base and seek out help before
more of the creatures show up and more of their team are killed and/or
infected.
Borrowing from the Rob Bottin (creature FX for Carpenter’s The Thing) playbook of practical effects
over CGI FX this film has a plethora of morphing creatures that are mixtures of
other creatures. The creatures (both on
land and in the air) are very well done and the gore FX fly at an alarming
rate. There is CGI FX in the film but
they are used in the right places and do not over shadow or distract from the
rest of the film.
Benjamin Hessler writes the screenplay and the film is
directed by Marvin Kren who knows how to put together an effective horror
film. This is a thrilling and
entertaining film that provides enough new ideas to elevate it above being just
a simply copycat of other films or a horror film cliché. If you’re a fan of monster and creature
features then I suggest you give this film a chance.
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