Cold feet, sniffles, and plenty of the white stuff – and that’s just the office Christmas party.
Welcome to December: the month of trendy knitwear, de-icer, and Figgy Pudding enigma (it’s still anyone’s guess). And as the chill really starts to set in and the UK is hit by a pretty generous seasonal splattering of snow, you better bring your hat and gloves, because here are 5 films that’ll really make you feel the cold…
The Revenant (2015)
The film that finally landed Leo that long-overdue Oscar is a grunting, spitting lesson in immersive cinema. Be sure to layer up though– both physically and psychologically – as Alejandro G. Iñárritu delivers a snowy, bleak, violent, and sensory masterpiece.
Touching the Void (2003)
There’s terror at 20,000 feet in this harrowing 2003 documentary of Joe Simpson’s and Simon Yates’ account of their near-fatal climb of the snow-capped peaks of Siula Grande in Peru. Based on the 1988 book by Simpson, Touching the Void is part nightmare, part inspirational survival tale, and part insight into life when on the brink of death. The reconstruction of the pair’s venture in of one of Earth’s most remote, unforgiving environments is one great big visual ice bath.
The Road (2009)
There’s very little actual snow in John Hillcoat’s powerful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winner, but, my god, do we feel the cold. While it might swerve the novel’s more shockingly disturbing episodes, cannibals and immorality are more common than sunshine across this dystopian landscape as every falling degree latches its icy nails on to the film’s only source of warmth: the paternal bond between Viggo Mortensen’s and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s unnamed protagonists. BBBRRRRRRRR!
The Thing (1982)
“Why don’t we just wait here for a little while, see what happens?” asks Kurt Russell’s MacReady at the end of John Carpenter’s arctic classic The Thing. Well, not unless you get the blankets and thermal socks in, Kurt! The cornerstone of every winter vacation, there’s snow, extra-terrestrial shapeshifting parasites, and a rather plausible final-scene fan-theory involving gasoline. One thing is for sure, though: this is a chilling experience in every sense of the word.
Everest (2015)
Another real-life mountain disaster to get the cinematic treatment. Based on the 1996 Mount Everest tragedy, Baltasar Kormákur’s star-studded film might suffer from trying to interweave too many character threads, but is nevertheless an emotional, distressing, and impressive visual expedition – and one that will make you want to crank up the central heating.
What's the Motive? 