'Wind Chill' - A Movie Review

Wind Chill is an underrated 2007 psychological drama directed by Gregory Jacobs. It is a beautifully haunting story written by Joe Gangemi and Steven A. Katz. It is the end of yet another semester in college. A girl finds a ride with a guy back to Delaware for their Christmas celebrations. Except they end up in a snowbank off Highway Junction 606. Will they survive the night in a ghostly territory and dark past?

The film stars Emily Blunt and Ashton Holmes. Their characters are unnamed. At first, I didn’t agree with the idea of having unnamed main characters. After my third time watching the film, it works really well. It would have ruined the mysterious outlook of the film if you knew their names.

Wind Chill is VERY well acted. Emily Blunt is known for her roles in The Girl on a Train, the baker's wife in Into the Woods, and most recently in the horror flick, A Quiet Place. Blunt does a terrific job conveying fear, bravery, and a snarky attitude. Even with just her appearance, Blunt does not want any interaction whatsoever.

Ashton Holmes has performed on TV shows such as Revenge and Being Mary Jane. What I like about Holmes’ characters is how little we know of him. He reveals quite a few secrets along the drive. For one, he actually had no idea where he was going and wanted to have the opportunity to get to know Blunt’s character. He admits to doing wrong and does everything to get them to safety even if he jokes around or doesn’t admit to the truth.

Wind Chill does an exemplary job with dialogue. That’s what captures audiences into this film. That and road travel. Nobody knows what is going to happen along the road or what dark history has happened. Viewers find out who the characters are through their dialogue.

This film could even be a stage play with the dialogue and minimal setting. It also supplies audiences with a chilling (no pun intended) soundtrack. But, for a movie, it has the most beautiful cinematography capturing snowy trees and a dark forest. You never know what could be surrounding you when you’re alone in a broken down car.

For the remainder of Wind Chill, our main characters are trapped in a snow bank off of Highway 606 after an accident. They are not alone. Supposedly. This is where the film started becoming confusing to follow. Highway 606 has a dark past and some figures return only for a jump scare.

As much as I enjoy horror movies, Wind Chill would have been better without ghosts roaming around. Eventually, it tries to hard to be horror and goes over the top, losing that realistic luster. Then again, it does make good for a psychological sense. Did the characters wake up after the crash? How much of this is really happening?

The horror aspect interrupted from our main characters interactions. There was already a horror atmosphere because the characters, who are total strangers, are alone at night, in a dark woods, freezing, with no food. You can actually feel the chill!

Emily Blunt carries the whole film. She even climbs a telephone pole IN HEELS! I also like the symbolism. They’re trapped in a woods area that’s stuck in time. It doesn’t want to move forward. Similar to Blunt’s character she has shut out the world. Luckily, Holmes was her guardian angel. He opened her up. Now she doesn’t want to stop talking because talking can be the best therapy.

With a small cast, Wind Chill is definitely worth a watch. It is most definitely an unrecognized psychological thriller/drama. Emily Blunt and Ashton Holmes did a terrific job conveying the realistic fear nobody would want to face.