A group of friends go on a skiing trip... when tragedy strikes -- one of them breaks his ankle. Taking shelter in an old hotel, things seem to be okay for the time being, and one of them leaves to go for help. But wouldn't you know it? They've taken up residence in the home of a brutal, nasty killer.

My past associations with Norway are varied. When I was much younger, my family took in two Norwegian exchange students for a week. They were nice enough, though they had a strange aversion to showering. Instead, they relied heavily on Neutrogena, not coincidentally a Norwegian product. I have never used Neutrogena myself, but have a soft spot in my heart for it due to its spokeswoman being a huge love of mine...

Later, Norway arose again when a group of friends decided they would move to Norway following the 9/11 attacks, to live in a more peaceful country with more progressive values. They went so far as to learn Norwegian, and while I was not intimately involved in this, I did supply them with some Norwegian books and read a few of them.

A few years later, a Norwegian film crossed my desk -- "Naboer" ("Next Door"), one of the best films I had seen in a while, and very psychological. My past experiences of Norway on film were with "The Thing", so this really opened my eyes. And that was the last I saw of Norway, until now... with "Fritt Vilt" ("Cold Prey"), another winner.

This film really revives the slasher genre. I enjoyed the new "Friday the 13th", but felt it wasn't anything special. "Cold Prey" brought the idea home. A group of young people in isolation, hunted down and hacked to bits. That's horror gold, people. You can quote me on that -- horror gold. No clichés about drug use, sexual promiscuity or anything else... this plot is sold on good storytelling and bloodshed.

The film does start a bit slow, and this is intensified if you're not into reading subtitles. But there's a good cast (I especially enjoyed Viktoria Winge, whom I can't wait to see in the sequel) and the build up pays off. Even the killer stands out. He's not a mutant, not a revenge addict... when you finally get to see him, he's terrifying in his normality. Nothing supernatural here -- you get trapped in the mountains, and this guy might get you! This film should be available at all video stores and shopping centers.

I strongly urge a rental and perhaps even a purchase. It hit home for me, and I think many others will agree. (I also suggest tracking down "Naboer" if you haven't seen it yet, as the two would make a great couple for a Norwegian double feature.) If this is what the Norse have to bring us, I say long live Odin and long live Thor. I'm ready.

It's midwinter.Five youngsters are heading for the Jotunheimen mountain area to go snowboarding.On the slope,one of them has a bad fall and breaks a leg.There is no sign of any other people around and their mobile phones are out of range.They catch sight of a mountain hotel in the distance and decide to find shelter there.The hotel lies emtpy and silent,obviously closed down years ago.The phone lines are dead and the youngsters realize they have to spend the night in the hotel.Unbeknownst for them there is somebody else in the building-somebody thirsty for their blood...Pretty eerie Norwegian slasher with truly creepy looking killer.The director Roar Uthaug manages to create few moments of suspense and terror.There is very little gore and the motivation of the killer is fairly silly,but if you want to be scared give "Cold Prey" a look.

While snowboarding in the ice mountains with Jannicke (Ingrid Bolse Berdal), her boyfriend Eirik (Tomas Alf Larsen), Mikail (Enfre Martin Midtistigen) and his girlfriend Ingunn (Viktoria Winge), Morten Tobias (Rolf Kristian Larsen) has an accident and breaks his leg. His friends seek shelter to spend the cold night and they find an abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere. They discover that the hotel was closed in 1975 when the son of the owners vanished in the mountains. However on the next morning they find that they are trapped in the hotel with a psychopath killer, and they have to protect themselves trying to survive.

"Fritt Vilt" is an engaging thriller that has a predictable story but entertains. I startled many times along the feature, and I liked the performances of the unknown cast. The gorgeous Ingrid Bolse Berdal has the strongest character and her performance is very convincing. I have just seen in IMDb that there is a sequel of this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Presos no Gelo" ("Trapped in the Ice")