Jack Frost (1997 film)

Jack Frost
Directed by	Michael Cooney
Produced by	Jeremy Paige Vicki Slotnick
Written by	Michael Cooney Jeremy Paige
Starring	Christopher Allport Stephen Mendel F. William Parker Rob LaBelle Shannon Elizabeth Jack Lindine Zack Egniton Brian Leckner Marsha Clark Eileen Seeley Kelly Jean Peters Scott MacDonald
Music by	Chris Anderson Carl Schurtz
Cinematography	Dean Lent
Edited by	Terry Kelley
Distributed by	A-Pix Entertainment, Inc.
Release date	November 18, 1997
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Jack Frost is a 1997 American horror comedy film written and directed by Michael Cooney. The movie takes place in the fictional town of Snowmonton, where (on the week before Christmas) a truck carrying serial killer Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald) to his execution crashes into a genetics truck. The genetic material causes Jack's body to mutate and fuse together with the snow on the ground. Jack is presumed dead and his body melts away. However, he comes back as a killer snowman and takes revenge on the man who finally caught him, Sheriff Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport).

Despite being critically panned, the film has developed a cult following for its comical death scenes and cheesy special effects, and was followed by a sequel, Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman.

Plot

On a snowy December night, a state execution transfer vehicle crosses into the quiet backwater town of Snowmonton. Inside is serial killer Jack Frost (Scott MacDonald), who eluded police for years and left a trail of thirty-eight bodies across eleven states before finally being arrested by Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport), the sheriff of Snowmonton. Jack is scheduled to be executed at midnight, but Jack kills the guard and the vehicle crashes into a genetic research truck. Jack is exposed to chemicals from inside the truck, causing him to melt into and fuse with the snow.

Despite news reports of Jack's demise, Sam cannot forget Jack's threats of vengeance. Old Man Harper is found murdered, and soon afterwards a local bully named Billy (Nathan Hague) is killed when he is pushed into the way of an oncoming sled, getting decapitated. According to Tiler’s son, Ryan (Zack Eginton) a snowman caused the deaths. Billy's parents Jake (Jack Lindine) and Sally (Kelly Jean Peters) are later murdered by the same snowman.

FBI Agents Manners (Stephen Mendel) and Stone arrive in Snowmonton and convince the Sheriff to put the town on 24-hour curfew, sending his officers out to gather all the townspeople. Deputy Chris Pullman (Brian Leckner) is killed when Jack Frost runs the officer over with a police cruiser. Billy's older sister Jill (Shannon Elizabeth) and her boyfriend sneak into the sheriff's home to steal his wine and have sex, as revenge for her family’s death. The snowman kills Jill's boyfriend and pretends to be bath water to lure in Jill, solidifying around her.

Jack Frost returns with the police cruiser to the station, finally confronting Sam. Agent Stone reveals himself to be a representative of the genetic research company that created the chemicals and reveals that the snowman is a mutated Jack Frost. He also reveals that the human soul exists as a chemical and that the acid was going to be used to contain DNA in case of a nuclear holocaust. They attempt to destroy Jack by blowing him up by releasing aerosol cans in the police station and firing a bullet at him, but to no avail. They then use blowdryers to drive Jack into a furnace, which evaporates the snowman. Jack condenses, killing Stone and wounding Manners. Jack traps Tiler and Ryan within his car, but Tiler escapes by inadvertently throwing the oatmeal Ryan made him at Jack, burning the snowman's head. Ryan put antifreeze in the oatmeal, believing it could help keep his father from getting cold.

Sheriff Tiler tells his friend, Paul Davrow (F. William Parker) to fill the bed of his truck with antifreeze. Jack chases Sam through the halls of a church and finally catches him, driving an icicle into his chest and almost killing him. The truck full of antifreeze arrives just in time, however, and Jack and Sam crash through a window and into the truck's bed. Jack Frost melts in the antifreeze, and the antifreeze is poured back into the containers, and buried deep under the ground of Snowmonton. Tiler's wife Anne (Eileen Seeley), realizes that the state police are on their way. When Paul asks Tiler what they are going to tell them, Tiler says, "we'll tell them that it's too late". However, one of the containers is shown to be bubbling, revealing Jack is still alive.

Cast

Location

Portions of the film were filmed at the Fawn Lodge in Fawnskin, California, on the north west shore of Big Bear Lake.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 7% based on 17 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 3/10.^[1]

Sequel

Three years later, the film spawned a sequel, Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman. A third installment was planned with the tentative title of "Jack Frost 3: The Last Coming", but it was canceled after the death of Christopher Allport in 2008.

Home media

It was released on VHS by A-Pix Entertainment and DVD by Simitar Entertainment in 1997. Both releases have been long out of print. On December 13, 2016, Vinegar Syndrome released the film for the first time on Blu-ray. It includes the film digitally remastered in a 2K presentation. Special features included an audio commentary, a video introduction by director Michael Cooney, and a video interview with actor Scott MacDonald and director of photography Dean Lent.

References

External links

• Jack Frost on IMDb
• Jack Frost at AllMovie