Below Zero (2011)

Based on true events, BELOW ZERO is a thriller with a 'Fargo' feel. It is the story of 'Jack the Hack', a less than average, but once successful screenwriter who now faces writer's block. ... See full summary »

Director:

Justin Thomas Ostensen

Writer:

Signe Olynyk

Stars:

Edward Furlong, Michael Berryman, Kristin Booth

Cast

Credited cast:
Edward Furlong	...	Jack / Frank
Michael Berryman	...	Gunnar
Kristin Booth	...	Penny / Paige
Dee Hanna	...	Mrs. Hatcher
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Eisner	...	Morty / David
Sadie Madu
Weezer	...	Dog

Storyline

Based on true events, BELOW ZERO is a thriller with a 'Fargo' feel. It is the story of 'Jack the Hack', a less than average, but once successful screenwriter who now faces writer's block. Desperate to meet a career-saving deadline and lock out the distractions of his troubled life, Jack arranges to be left alone and locked inside a meat cooler, with only vegetarian meals and his imagination to inspire him. As the temperature drops, the lines between reality and fiction blur, and Jack's script comes dangerously to life. Will he make the most important deadline of his career? Or is Jack 'just a hack'? While writing the script, the actual screenwriter and producer of BELOW ZERO, Signe Olynyk, arranged to have herself physically locked in the meat freezer of an abandoned, remote slaughterhouse. That's partly how this story developed. It was filmed at the same location.

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Taglines:

There's nothing scarier than a blank page.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some bloody violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

2012 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Edson, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twilight Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Waste of Time

Sounded like a great idea; a guy with writer's block decides, with his agent's blessing, to get locked into a slaughterhouse, so that he will have no distractions while he completes the script for a horror movie; forget it, this doesn't work at any level. Edward Furlong is fine as the writer, but the story is ridiculous and the format annoying beyond belief. At the start, Furlong is in truck being driven by a woman who is doing a dead on impression of the Frances McDormand's character from Fargo. This is not anywhere near that great Coen brother masterpiece. The movie flashes back and forth between Furlong typing on his laptop and a bald bad guy who looks like he has been in the sun too long, cutting up people with an axe and a hacksaw. The writer puts himself and a woman trapped by the unnamed villain. There is also a little boy who never speaks. The whole thing makes no sense, and the ending is dumb. Do not waste your valuable time on this tedious film.