Awesome Movie

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Boring as hell, terrible acting.Nick Cage is awful.

An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events. The Frozen Ground is easily one of Cage's most underrated works it's full of intense and great performances by Nicolas Cage himself, John Cusack and even Vanessa Hudgens. The whole "based on true life events" is very shocking and well made as for the characters themselves they were excellent. My only flaws is that they should take a bit more time and wait in order to show who the murderer is and also 50 Cent was awful like always but other than that this was a great film and easily one of the best that Cage has starred from recent memory.

***SPOILERS**** Director Scott Walker purposely filmed the movie "On Frozen Ground" at the end of fall and into early winter season in Alaska just to get the feel of the upcoming darkness that we see during the entire length on the movie. With the daylight at little as possible that makes the film much more gloomy then the actual and real story that took place for some 12 years-from 1971 to 1983-that its about. What the film is about is a Ted Bundy like killer who targeted women as if they were wild game kidnapping raping and then flying, in his private plane, them out into the woods and letting them loose for him to hunt down and kill them.There's no secret to who the killer is upstanding citizen husband & father Robert Hansen,John Cusack, who's got this thing about women that he has to act out in killing them. That's because of an unfortunate experience he had in his youth when he was soundly rejected, in trying to make out, by them. Masking his violent hatred of the opposite sex Hansen went as far as getting married to look normal as a loving and bible thumping family man married with two children but use that as a front to hide what he's really all about. It's Alasken state trooper Jack Halcombe, Nicolas Cage, who connects the dotes in a number of murders that were committed over the last 12 years to finally track Hansen down.***SPOILERS*** The key piece of the puzzle to Hansen's killing spree is 17 year old runaway prostitute Cindy Paulson, Vanessa Hudgens, who was kidnapped by Hansen but escaped to tell about it as well as identify him. With no help at all from the local Anchorage Alasken police Halcombe went out on his own to not only track down Hansen, whom he knew were he was, but uncover the evidence that could convict him. This has Hansen go for broke in trying to find and murder Cindy to keep her mouth shut. Going so far as getting Cindy's pimp Clate Johnson, 50 Cent, whom he later had murdered to turn her over to him for special treatment. It was in losing his cool it's Hansen who under relentless interrogation by Halcombe who finally cracked and admitted his guilt just after Cindy was brought into the interrogation room to identify him as her kidnapper. Given a 461 year sentence behind bars with no chance of parole Hansen passed away in prison in 2014-a year after "On Frozen Ground" was released-after serving only 31 years of the 461 years time he was given by the court.

I had not read reviews, I found this by accident at the rental shop, so I came to it with open mind. The approach was different enough that I found myself pulled into it, wanting to see this creep nailed and jailed.The young woman who played a victim of the serial molester did an amazing job of making you feel her frustration and fear. I was impressed with her performance. The scenes where she was ducking in and out of the seedy places in Anchorage were disturbing. It bothers me greatly to think there might be such a huge amount of traffic in drugs and prostitution. Too often a high percentage of the women are being used and abused. And often they are underage girls lead into that by people who use them as cash cows and do little for their welfare.The story moves along well, there is music perfect for the scenes that help you feel the tension at times and yet foreboding when the camera pans the wild Alaskan wilderness. Beautiful but a bit intimidating with its harshness.The movie does an excellent job of slowly building the tension as it nears the end. For a few agonizing minutes you do not know what will happen to the young frightened girl. Will the bad guys do her in? Will the cops find her in time? I won't tell you and ruin it for you.I recommend this movie for any above age 17. There is considerable nudity at the dance "studios" that might be a bit much for the younger teens. If you let the younger teens watch prepare them mentally that what they will see in the clubs is not behavior you want them to imitate.