Scouring the Bargain Bin so you don’t have to.
‘Just when you thawed it was safe to go back in the fridge’
Welcome to my Cult Corner, residing in the somewhat ‘cult’ world of the ‘online exclusive’. If you have had the misfortune of stumbling across this blog then im afraid things are only going to get stranger and more bizarre. Regardless of questionable acting and production value, cult films are phenomena that rise out the bargain bin like a phoenix to re –invigorate the lives of us poor souls, with a ‘WTF factor’ evident in everything from the promotional material to the content on the lazer disk. That’s why I come in, to guide you through this quagmire of cinematic nonsense and pick the best and the worst offerings it can throw your way. Films with cult reputations are by no means ‘bad’ and in many cases sustain their own reputation because of sheer enjoyment or bewilderment they create, gaining a personal type of popularity separate from the marketing infused box office. So sit back, grab a few beers and check out these films that will hopefully bring you as much enjoyment as they have to me.
So first up, a personal childhood favourite of mine, Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman, with the title alone telling you everything you need to know about the film. The original film Jack Frost, mirroring the similar Michael Keaton headed family flick of the same title, placed a similar formula to Child’s Play (serial killer personality re-animated into an in–animate object) and had a man in a pretty lame snowman suit ‘icin and slicin’ and putting his dirty cold hands over many victims during the festive period. Facing-off against square jawed patriarch Sherriff Sam in an epic finale involving de-icer, the wise cracking, gravely voiced Jack Frost is vanquished, melting into the sewer in liquid form and purging the evil snowman forever right? Wrong!
Relocating the sequel to a tropical island, Sheriff Sam from the original is just about getting over the trauma before Jack Frost returns to wreak havoc on the islands inhabitants and enact revenge. Cue a lot of ridiculous death scenes involving carrots, snowballs that decapitate people and some of the most lame ice based puns since Arnold Schwarzenegger in Batman and Robin. But from its stereotyped eye – patched private detectives and Jamaican Rasta cooks, to self –referential humour it knows exactly what it is, pushing all the right laughter buttons. Which thankfully for a evil snowman movie set on tropical island, isn’t really saying much. Nevertheless , massive kudos for the improvised plot twist revealing the weakness of the new improved Jack Frost Fire? De-icer? No. … Bananas. Cue an absolutely glorious montage of characters loading banana milkshake into water guns and a Rambo like finale involving a Sam shooting a banana out of a bow and arrow. I’m not making this stuff up…
Despite a third sequel being set up for the franchise did not have the conceptual strength to continue but for all intents and purposes it is potentially ‘The best evil snowman film ever made’. At one point I held a paternal ownership over this film similar one of Jack Frost’s snowball underlings but it appears to have finally found a wider audience, becoming one of the most viewed films on ‘Love Film’ polls. If you ever were interested in breaking into the ‘evil snowman’ genre this film is most definitely its finest export.
