Frozen Alive

Yes, I'm probably giving it way too many stars, but I really have a proclivity both for British films of the 60's and sci-fi thrillers about cryogenics and suspended animation. I didn't pay too much for this (it was part of my now-infamous Mill Creek 50-pack called 'Nightmare Worlds'), it wasn't ver ... y long (around 70 minutes in my cut), had jazzy, African and crooning music that I found highly enjoyable, had two gorgeous actresses at its core and a bizarre plot (which intercut plotlines of becoming the first to safely freeze and re-animate a human being, with an accidental shooting death that the scientist/first human subject is the main suspect of), and though it was rather predictable, I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would easily recommend it to anyone that likes B-movies from the 60's. You could do a heck of a lot worse. Somewhat relatedly, I would to see any other films that either Marianne Koch or Delphi Lawrence were in. I loved both of them dearly in this film. read more

This has quite a quirky premiss as scientist "Overton" (Mark Stevens) works on a project to develop elementary cryogenics. They've tried tests on monkeys, but now it needs that next step - and he volunteers to be immersed in cooling gases and to take a very long nap! Now is he just doing his bit for ... progress or has he a more malevolent motive? You see, his wife (Delphi Lawrence) has been found murdered and "Insp. Prenton" (Wolfgang Lukschy) wonders if this might not be a rather too perfect alibi. Just what is the nature of the relationship between our chilled-out friend and his colleague "Dr. Wieland" (Marianne Koch)? Indeed, as the police investigate further it seems that her husband isn't their only suspect - so who did the deed? Though the refrigeration concept is quite fun, the execution here is mediocre and neither the acting nor the script really do much to enliven the film from it's (and our) similarly frigid slumbers nor does the over-used and repetitive jazzy-style soundtrack. It can't have had much budget and that's reflected in the limited nature of the production and by the end of this thankfully short-ish feature I was a bit weary of the ropey accents as it descended into a rather unremarkable police melodrama. More slush than blizzard, sorry. read more