Below Zero (2011) User Reviews

Waste of Time

[billcr12 · 3/10 · 1 September 2012]

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.

An OK movie that seemed like it tried to hard to be "The Shining". A little confusing but watchable. It's very OK. I say C

[cosmo_tiger · 5/10 · 2 September 2012]

"You know what they say about writing about monsters, you got to be careful not to become one." Jack (Furlong) is a struggling screen writer with a bad case of writer's block. Him and his agent come up with the idea of locking himself in a freezer until he finishes writing. While he is in the freezer writing about his serial killer the line between real and imagined begins to blur and Jack is finding it hard to distinguish what is real and what his mind is doing to him. This is another movie where the idea is better then the actual movie. While there are some creepy parts in this I found it confusing. The idea of Jack not able to tell what is real and what isn't is neat, but the problem is that the movie jumps all over the place and it is very hard to relax watching it because you never know what is going on. Normally that would be a good thing because you feel what the character is feeling but it comes off as being like there was a new writer every ten minutes and it was all cut together that way. I found it very hard to follow and by the end I found it hard to be surprised about the twist. Overall, not bad but a little confusing to follow. I give it a C.

Had potential but failed in delivery.

[Michael-Hallows-Eve · 4/10 · 5 September 2012]

* SPOILER ALERT! * > This movie had promise for me, after reading reviews and the storyline I thought it would be decent. But after the first ten minutes it went down hill. Because almost from the start you find out that most of the story is not real. It's what the main character Jack (Edward Furlong) see's as he writes his book. So you know that none of what's happening is actually real. Although parts of the film make you think it may be real, at the same time the film shows you it is not. Sure there was some nice blood and gory bits, but it's ruined by the fact that it's only what Jack is writing. The film sets up the ending to be a twist, but you actually see it coming too. It have to admit though, the acting was pretty good, just the script let it down. So I give this movie a 4 out of 10 for the acting, blood and some of the story which could have been better.

Good idea ruined by bad directing

[anonimac · 2/10 · 9 November 2012]

The basic premise of the movie is that of a horror story writer seeking some inspiration for writing his latest story, by going to a rural farm where he'll have some peace and quiet, and a prearranged eerie atmosphere given that he'll stay inside the farm's slaughterhouse. As he'll soon find out, he got more than he bargained for. Nothing too original about the storyline, but it's always a good starting point for a horror movie.

The problem was that the story didn't develop in a coherent way and many of the subsequent twists and turns in the plot seemed both trivial and unnecessary. There was no real moment of horror nor was there any eerie atmosphere throughout the movie. Many horror movies get away with bad scripts thanks to good directing, where a build-up of atmosphere and the occasional horror moment draw you into the story and make you forget about any plot holes or incoherence.

The problem here was that there was no real atmosphere. Partly, this was due to bad character casting. Miss "piggy laugh" was way too young and ordinary-looking for her role as some redneck farm lady, and the main character seemed more like a bored heavy metal-loving teenager than a professional horror writer fighting his inner daemons. Even so, the director could have saved the day with some "camera magic", adding a few extra flashback moments here and there and backing up the dialogs with fitting background music, just to get some atmosphere going. That's what separates good directors from bad, good directors don't just follow the script as a textbook manual and leave it up to the actors to make or break the movie, especially not when it's plain obvious that the main actors are unable to carry out their parts properly.

One of the worst films.

[jake-lamotta-batman · 1/10 · 20 December 2014]

Saying this film is god awful in every possible way, would be putting it nicely. This is one of the worst lumps of crap I have ever seen, randomly threw it on while looking through Netflix (and I'm in Canada, Canadian Content Laws guarantee tons of garbage content, this is worse than the Don Cherry movies). This movie was not suspenseful, it was not thrilling, it is a horror by attempt, which it fails miserably at. It actually becomes angering when this movie tries to mimic scenes from The Shining or Misery, the only way this film could've been made, is if the screenwriter produced the film herself (which she partially did). All of the actors stunk, the sound mix was garbage, the directing wasn't the worst or causation for this debacle. Do not watch this film, watch anything but this film, if you want to watch a terrible movie find HardRock Zombies, if you want a good movie, go elsewhere.

dull film

[jfarms1956 · 2/10 · 28 April 2013]

Below Zero is geared for those who are 16 and older. This film is OK for background for a teen party, teen get-together for something other than to concentrate on a movie. Just noise. I found the movie dull and boring. In order to keep it on, I had to do other things while watching Below Zero. No popcorn popper here. The story is dull. I suppose the actors try their best, but cannot save a bad movie. The sets are dull and boring.It is not as bad as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, but it is not that far away. Below Zero is a very low budget movie. Whatever money is/was received at the box office should amount to pure profit since not much money was poured into the making of this film. I give this movie two thumbs up, which may be one too many, but I felt generous remembering Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes.

Scary but different

[vchimpanzee · 12 February 2015]

We go through some amazing plot twists in both the "real world" and the movie within a movie. I found it funny when the characters had to figure out what to do next and ended up looking through the pages Jack had typed. And it's not the only time they break the fourth wall.

In a flashback we do learn about the other character which the actor playing Gunnar was. He's very different but still scary looking.

The ending was quite unexpected (to me, anyway) but very satisfying.

The movie within a movie is somewhat effective as a B horror movie. Michael Berryman is a very frightening and intimidating villain, yet loving as a father, in his own way. The young actor quite creepy for a kid. Kristin Booth is very convincing when she is cold, but frightened? Not as talented in that situation. She's better in her "real world" role.

I've heard the name Edward Furlong. He's pretty good, I guess. Nothing overly distinctive.

I felt comfortable with Michael Eisner. He was sort of the voice of reason when he could be.

The "real world" has its own interesting suspense qualities. And there is occasional comedy in both.

This most definitely isn't for kids. The sound went out a lot since this was broadcast TV. I know what that means. And that's just the bad language. Maybe when cleaned up for TV, some kids can handle it.

Is this any good? Well, it's different.

Not what expected!!

[kedmond13 · 2/10 · 3 September 2012]

Overall good movie. Started out great but the ending sucked. Would advise anyone who wants to watch a good, make you jump thriller not to waste their time watching this. They will be overly disappointed! I liked the fact that it was based on a true event, but its not something I would have expected them to make a movie about. True enough the writer hit a block and decided to be locked up in a freezer to inspire him to make a hit movie, but the fact that didn't succeed makes it boring. Who would have thought through out the whole movie he was just passing the time reading another persons work and decided to steal their idea. The movie scenes where all over and it made it look like a dream. And why have a kid in the movie if he wont do anything or say anything throughout the whole movie? Seems like a waste of an actor. However if you want something to watch on a rainy boring day, this is the movie for you.

Stay Out of the Horror Genre Signe

[artpf · 2/10 · 29 October 2013]

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'?

So dumb. No way based on a true story and once again, the positive reviews here are written by people involved with the movie! So tired of that crap.

Truth is, this could have been a good movie but it's poorly written and very hard to follow. Ed Furlong took some time between prison stints to star in this movie and he's miscast.

Also, this movie does not feel like Fargo in any capacity. And it only proves once again that women cannot write horror.

Below Zero by name only, this was an ABOVE Average

[gddyhaimsjc · 10/10 · 2 February 2012]

A slow burning thriller. When I found out that this film was written by a writer (Signe Olynyk) who suffered from writer's block and locked herself inside a freezer for 5 days I was instantly drawn in by her commitment to break through her dry spell. This film isn't autobiographical but it does hold some elements of truth to it. Namely the writer Jack (Edward Furlong) locks himself inside a freezer to free himself from writer's block while hoping to come up with a screenplay. Once the film kicks into gear as a member of the audience I had to ask myself why a guy would lock himself in a freezer without a proper toilet to crap in? The second thing I wondered is what Jack would do to his agent once he got out of the freezer. Would he sue his agent? The film deals with none of this. Want to learn about 'hacks' see this; What this film does deal with is what a screenwriter must visually see when the plot out a story. This is done by showing characters and events in the writer's life then being twisted and turned in his story and presented to us. The film has a very nice twist ending that will please the audience by taking them for a ride. Below Zero has snappy dialogue and excellent performances by Edward Furlong, Kristen Booth, and Michael Berryman. This is Edward Furlong's best movie in years. The main thrills come from the parts of the film in Jack's mind that give us nail biting suspense and brutality. It's a low budget slow burner for anyone who is more inclined to a well written dramatic piece instead of action packed horror film. Watch out for writer Signe Olynyk, she is a talent for the future.

How exciting can a movie be when the entire story is in a basement?

[gunn-wrights · 3/10 · 19 April 2023]

BORING! You only see a freezer, a dissection room, and hanging pigs. Although the problem is - what part of the story is the BOOK, or which is REAL LIFE? I realize, when the guy is wearing the red plaid shirt, he's in the story - and when he is wearing the hoodie, this is real life... but... they keep rewriting the book, changing the story.

So, is Person X alive in the real world, or is Person X dead in the book? Did they resurrect him like Jesus, or just done with a pen (computer and later an old-school non-electric typewriter).

The end of the movie (or the book, not sure) was kind of funny, especially if it was done in the real world. But, I wouldn't watch this snooze fest just to find out the conundrum at the end. Just not worth it!

SKIP THIS ONE!!!!!

Cute Actress

[twelve-house-books · 3/10 · 2 November 2018]

The only thing going for this movie, worth at most 3 stars, is the cute and versatile actress Kristin Booth. The rest of the horror is a patchwork of scenes from every slasher film you've ever seen mixed with every evil kid film you've ever seen. The concept was original, but the execution, pardon the pun, was disastrous.

Creatively, intelligently different

[Chris_Docker · 8/10 · 10 April 2012]

BELOW ZERO is a thinking person's mystery horror. A scriptwriter, Jack the Hack, has writer's block and arranges to be locked in a slaughterhouse freezer until he comes up with a script. Believe it or not, scriptwriter Signe Olynyk tells me she also did this when writing the movie. On screen, the story is dramatised for us as Jack writes, so we have two on-screen narratives: Jack's world (think, Fargo) and that of the alter ego in his story (think Saw). As he considers various re-writes, the story within a story changes. But a third story is at hand: that from Jack's own psyche. His basic plot, surprise surprise, is someone accidentally being locked in a freezer, in a building owned by a serial killer. But, if you can stand back from the subsequent on screen gore, there's maybe time to work out what's really happening! This Kaufmanesque horror story keeps you on your toes all the way through. Signe doesn't recommend new writers try the freezer trick at home, but she does run a scriptwriters' workshop, Pitchfest (www.pitchfest.com), and invites any budding writers reading this to get in touch with her.

Frozen hell

[snoopgg · 8/10 · 13 June 2021]

I found this movie on Tubi tv. I never heard of it but thought I would give it a try. If I didn't like it , I would just shut it off. Well 10 minutes in and I was entranced by the movie. The atmosphere was so engrossing. Edward Furlong plays the lead character who is sent out to a secluded slaughter house to finish his story. He has writer's block. Here's where the psychological horror kicks in . He starts writing and his story starts meshing with reality. Needless to say this movie grabbed me and I had to keep watching. You see, there's a crazy man with him that is killing people. This would make a great book. In my opinion I had found a hidden jem of the movie. This movie has alot of twists, and always keep you on the edge.

Writer's block can really take a heavy toll on a guy

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 5 February 2020]

Frustrated screenwriter Jack (a solid and convincing performance by Edward Furlong) is suffering from a severe case of writer's block, yet still has an impeding deadline to meet. So Jack decides to be locked up for several days in a meat freezer in order to meet said deadline. However, the twisted tale Jack concocts about serial killer Gunnar (a spot-on intense and intimidating portrayal by Michael Berryman) soon causes Jack to start doubting his own sanity.

Director Justin Thomas Ostensen relates the intricate and absorbing story at a steady pace, makes the most out of the cramped and claustrophobic main location, ably crafts a creepy gloom-doom atmosphere, and builds a good deal of tension. Signe Olynyk's smart and layered script not only astutely captures Jack's struggle to get his creative juices flowing again, but also makes a neat central point on how imagination (or the lack of same) can get the best of someone. Kristin Booth contributes a lively and engaging turn as perky aspiring writer Penny. Both Norm Li's crisp widescreen cinematography and Jeff Tymoschuk's shivery score are up to par. Nice surprise grim ending, too. A cool little indie horror flick.

IT'S A BOSH!

[nogodnomasters · 9/10 · 18 July 2018]

Jack (Edward Furlong) has writer's block. His agent suggests he lock himself up in a freezer for 5 days. In northern rural America, he meets Penny (Kristin Booth) who has just the place. Penny is very likeable. She has the "Fargo" accent and laughs at her own jokes with a snort. She is single and says things like, "You can make anything good with ketchup, just not a marriage." She aspires to be an actress or a screenwriter, while she cares for her mute son.

Once Jack is locked up in a room in a meat processing factory. The movie then becomes the account of his writing. But don't let this deter you from watching this film. Michael Berryman, the face of "These Hills Have Eyes" and an underrated actor becomes an unsavory character in the script. The film bounces back and forth from the script to Jack's imprisonment which is becoming more unbearable as the plot twists. Jack incorporates his surroundings and characters he meets into the story.

At some point you have to ask yourself, "Is there a limit on plot twists before the movie becomes a BOSH?" This one approaches that number. In some ways this film reminded me of "Misery" i.e. a writer being tortured to write.

I enjoyed the ending...at least I think that was the ending. Good indie thriller, for those who like twists. Most of the horror is generated in what we know to be a fictional story.

Parental Guide: F-bombs, no sex, no nudity (woman bra/panties)