The Thaw (2009)

A research expedition to the Arctic discovers that a melting polar ice cap has released a deadly prehistoric parasite.

Director:

Mark A. Lewis

Writers:

Mark A. Lewis (screenplay), Michael Lewis (screenplay) (as Michael W. Lewis)

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Martha MacIsaac, Kyle Schmid

1 win & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Val Kilmer	...	Dr. Kruipen
Martha MacIsaac	...	Evelyn (as Martha Macisaac)
Kyle Schmid	...	Federico Fulce
William B. Davis	...	Ted
Steph Song	...	Ling Chen
Anne Marie DeLuise	...	Jane (as Anne Marie Deluise)
Viv Leacock	...	Bart
Peter Kelamis	...	Mike
Garry Chalk	...	Jack
John Callander	...	Edward
Lamech Kadloo	...	Nuti
Sebastian Gacki	...	Chad
Alexandra Staseson	...	Infected Girl
Aaron Ashmore	...	Atom Galen
Alejandro Rae	...	Rob

Storyline

At a remote Arctic research station, four ecology students discover the real horror of global warming is not the melting ice, but what's frozen within it. A prehistoric parasite is released from the carcass of a Woolly Mammoth upon the unsuspecting students who are forced to quarantine and make necessary sacrifices, or risk infecting rest of the world

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Plot Keywords:

arctic | psychotronic film | canadian content | canadian horror | parasite | 

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Taglines:

Extinction will find you.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is inspired by the real concern of global warming unveiling ancient lethal supervira. Numerous different giant vira has already been discovered by scientists in the Siberian permafrost.

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Goofs

From the door of the tent, Jane fires her rifle at point blank range, hitting her target standing just outside the tent, but the sound of her gun comes after her target is already hit.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Kruipen: My name is David Kruipen. What is sacrifice? What does it mean to make a real difference? Throughout my life and career I have straddled two worlds. Increasingly I have become respected. Increasingly my books and articles are published and read. Increasingly I have been embraced by policymakers and referenced by bureaucrats, but today I realize that I have... misguided myself. Today I rediscovered what I knew when I was young.

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Soundtracks

Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
Traditional
Vocals Performed by Bory Woodward
Arranged and Produced by Matthew Rogers and Patrick Bramall
Courtesy of Thaw Productions Inc.

User Reviews

Mediocre suspense, great realism and production

Even though the movie as a whole isn't really awesomely smashing in any way, the first thing that really struck me is how well done and thought out it all is.

It features realistic portrayals of human behavior all the way through. From phobias, realistic explanations of how they came to the conclusions they did, to a person using a multimeter and electrical tape to actually fix something. Like a real person might. And they all have their agendas. Also gunshots don't sound like tanks, and they don't make 10" holes in people. There are no huge aliens, there's no gratuitous nudity and it doesn't take one chop with a cleaver to cut someones arm off. Another thing that surprised me is that bodies don't vanish, the same with tracks and bruises etc.

In most movies (*ahem* multi-million dollar productions) stuff like this, commonly called realism, is just glazed over. Your focus is shifted to the CGI and the huge explosions the MTV generation seems to love, like some magician distracting your attention so he can get away with tricking you (out of a good plot).

Anyone who likes realism and thrillers/horror will probably have a jolly fine time watching this one. There's a bit of bad acting on the part of a few characters (though all the main ones are excellent), and as I stated the movie isn't miraculously good in any way. It's still better than most, and it has some really redeeming qualities to it.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2010 (Philippines)

Also Known As:

The Thaw

Filming Locations:

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$149,857

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anagram Pictures, Etch Media, Artifact Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1