Tagged: blood glacier

Blood Glacier: An Old School Style Creature Feature!

I’ve been looking forward to “Blood Glacier” now for quite a while, anything that boasts similarities to John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is always on the top of my lists of flicks I’ve just gotta see. This neat little Austrian film is a pretty fun, gory, watch and really feels like it could’ve been made in the 80’s. It’s plot has the same type of  vibe as ‘The Thing’ as we have a small band of researchers up in the mountains doing research on the effects of global warming and how it’s affecting wildlife. It doesn’t take long to figure out that something sinister is lurking around the mountain sides here, especially when they discover a giant glacier that’s oozing a strange red liquid from within. Soon the team discover that weird mutant hybrid animals are  wandering close to their station and what’s worse is that they’re hungry and pissed off! Yipee!!

This movie has some great characters, in fact the main characters are what really make this one shine.Plus one grumpy older female bad ass scientist even shout’s out one of my favorite movie lines I’ve heard in a long time- “stop eating that banana while you’re crying!!” I had to watch that part a few times! Best ever. I was thinking the same thing right when she screamed that one out! I loved the atmosphere of it all too, a serious sense of dread lingers throughout and the creatures are also pretty inventively savage. I wouldn’t put them on the same level as “The Thing” but for almost entirely practical effects this one made the most of it’s smaller budget.

Much of the monster action here is most effective by what you don’t see and the sounds heard these mutants create while on the attack. I was hoping to be dazzled by the practical effects just a tad more and really could have seen a bit more CG being used to the films benefit? I rarely say that and I guess they kept the vision pretty well focused and consistent, I was just hoping to get a better full view of some of these monstrosities. This one does play like a cool lost 1980’s creature feature and i say that in the best way. You get some cool hybrid creatures, mutated mountain goats, killer mosquitos, mutant hawls and weird insect fox hybrids and one gory ass operation sequence! This one makes me even more pumped to see  “Harbinger Down” which is another upcoming Monster movie also boasting no CGI by special effects wizard Alec Gillis and crew. In the mean time check out Blood Glacier, you can watch it on Netflix streaming to get your monster on!

Here’s a little glimpse into some of the monster making:

Advertisement

For Fans of John Carpenter’s “The Thing”!

I decided last night to re-watch the more recent prequel/re-boot “The Thing” from 2011 as I thought I may have been too tough on it the first go round. What I discovered is that it was even less impressive the second time. This is due mainly to some rather crappy CG which replaced Studio ADI’s incredible practical monster effects they crafted for the movie. Many were outraged by the fact that their work was CG’d over and with good reason. Had the movie stuck with the original footage it may have made it the perfect companion piece to the Carpenter version, one of my all time favorite movies ever. Anyway it made me long for a real inventive monster movie, I’ve already stated how excited I am for Harbinger Down, which is the upcoming monster movie from the team who’s practical fx were replaced for The Thing reboot. The movie boasts to be a full on showcase for the power of practical monster effects in the age of CG. However there still isn’t a trailer! Hurry it up guys!

bg_970x390

Well luckily us fans of The Thing have another movie to look forward to that’s set to release. Blood Glacier, an awesome looking monster movie from Austria set to release May 2nd here in the USA boasts similar claims to Harbinger Down. This one claims to utilize some amazing practical monster effects as well with a little tasteful CG thrown in for good measure. The plot sound quite intriguing as well and carries a message regarding our environment, which is basically to stop fucking with it! Check out the synopsis and the rad trailer!

“The gates of hell are made of ice in this tense horror thriller paying homage to The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13. Four technicians and scientists at an alpine research station discover a glacier of blood high in the mountains. Testing the red liquid oozing from the ice, they discover a new alien organism with the astonishing capability of transforming the local wildlife into horrific hybrids and monster mutations. With the Minister of the Environment hiking to the station for an official visit, many frightening questions must be answered if the confrontational team are to survive and cope with the giant wood lice, the beetle-foxes, crossbred flying predators and much, much worse…”