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Survival thrillers set in vast, isolated places aren’t anything new. We usually follow solo survivors who battle against the elements of the unique biome they are stranded in while also often being threatened by another entity. But Canadian director Sébastien Drouin‘s Cold Meat sets off on its own rugged path in the first act, which renders it a fresh take on the genre — fresh and chilly. Set in the Colorado Rockies during an all-consuming blizzard, the film meticulously crafts a deep chill that creeps into our bones, not only because of the cold, but because of the two survivors who are forced to work together despite the fact that one has abducted the other. From the unexpected twists in its premise to the ever-changing dynamics between the two leads, Cold Meat weaves subversion into each of its elements, while battering us with the pitiless, icy fringes of morality.
‘Cold Meat’ Is a Subversive Survival Thriller
Opening up with a cozy diner scene, Allen Leech’s David seems like an ordinary albeit brave chap who good-heartedly intervenes in an altercation between Nina Bergman’s Ana and her violent ex-husband. Opting for words rather than violence, he threatens to pursue a lawsuit against him to ensure he will not get custody of his daughter. Leech’s performance is graced with simplicity and a calm demeanor, as he reasonably talks to the menacing man but has a steely backbone we immediately admire. Once the ex-husband leaves, Bergman plays the relieved yet shaky Ana and also deftly garners our sympathy — it is a sharp and effective way to draw us into these characters.
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Later, when the redneck ex decides to try and ram David down during a snowstorm on the highway, we think we know where the plot is going until it pulls the rug out from under us. We are thrown into the wilderness alongside two characters, one of whom has just been kidnapped by the other, yet both are trapped in the car with the raging icy winds outside. The plot continues in this same subversive manner, as their cat-and-mouse game of survival against each other and the elements concoct an enticing relationship. Cold Meat then further stuns us with its third act, wafting over an effortless supernatural twist that fits in seamlessly with the surreal white landscapes and haunting howls of the blizzard.
The Kidnapper and Their Victim Survive Together in ‘Cold Meat’
Cold Meat doesn’t only subvert the genre conventions of a typically solo survival thriller, but is also subversive in the way it presents the strange dynamic between captor and captive. The two are instinctively against each other, but have the overarching issue of survival to confront at the same time. Trapped in the car with limited heat, water and food, hypothermia becomes the most pressing issue, leading to a distinctly uncomfortable scene of them reluctantly yet greedily feeding off each other’s body warmth. This scene essentially encapsulates their symbiotic yet conflicting relationship, keeping us hooked on their unwilling reliance on each other while anticipating the twist of the knife at any second.
With nothing to do except wait out the storm, it tentatively becomes a two-people-in-a-room-talking kind of film as they hash out their differences, taking turns overpowering and threatening each other while meditating on the value of life. Much of the camerawork is restricted to the confines of the car, entrapping us in the setting and the equally claustrophobic relationship, starkly contrasting the deadly expanse outside. With close-ups of mouths moving and eyes darting, there is an inescapable quality to the corruption that shrouds them, especially as the kidnapper begins recounting tales of his previous victims. As such, the actors’ micro-expressions really come into play here, as each movement conveys some capacity for frustration, fear or loathing.
‘Cold Meat’ Explores Crossing Moral Lines to Survive
Their interactions lead into commentary about crossing lines of morality. It’s most obviously seen in the serial kidnapper’s and killer’s nostalgic musings on his past victims, particularly his first one, where he made “many mistakes.” But this also provides a point of contrast, where the captive slowly begins closing the distance, being pushed to extremes to survive. As the peril of the supernatural entity derived from the local legend forewarned by the narrator in the opening sequence increases, the necessity for extreme measures also becomes more demanding. Even the “evil” kidnapper who relishes crossing moral boundaries has never really had the same threat held against him, making his actions under that pressure gripping to watch.
As the title suggests, the two leads slowly devolve into Cold Meat, stripping away what makes them intrinsically human and turning them into fodder for the third act, simply capable of terror and nothing more. Flipping our expectations multiple times throughout the film, Cold Meat is certainly not like any survival thriller you have seen. The lines of humanity become murky in more ways than one, all through a compelling central relationship that is as vividly chilling and sharp as the ice around them.
Cold Meat is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
Cold Meat
- Release Date
-
February 23, 2024
- Director
-
Sébastien Drouin
- Cast
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Allen Leech
, Nina Bergman
, Yan Tual
, James Barton-Steel
, Riley Banzer
, Sydney Hendricks
, William Kuklis
, Gil Botelho
, Kat Fullerton - Runtime
-
89 minutes
- Writers
-
Andrew Desmond
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