DIRECTOR
Brian Kirk
21 Bridges

STARS
Emma Thompson, Marc Menchaca and Judy Greer

Making the decision to watch and review Dead of Winter was a no-brainer. The premise does propose an exciting and thrilling film experience and when has the marvellously versatile Emma Thompson ever starred in a mediocre film?

Set in remotest northern Minnesota despite being mostly filmed in Finland, Emma Thompson plays Barb, a widowed fisherwoman who returns to the location where she and her late husband once visited to scatter his ashes. Being such a remote and freezing location, crossing paths with other people is few and far between. It is therefore terribly unfortunate for her that someone she does encounter to ask for directions isn’t just giving her the cold shoulder (pun intended) but is holding a young woman captive at his home. Very fortunately for that young woman, however, Barb witnesses something that makes it apparent she has been kidnapped and immediately realises she is that young woman’s only hope of being rescued.

Well, finally, it has happened. After seeing her in close to 30 movies over 4 decades, Emma Thompson finds herself in a film that is always less than mediocre. Somewhat surprisingly though, she partially contributes towards its numerous erroneous ways with an unusual American accent that she never sounds comfortable or natural with! I suppose it is then fortune in our favour that she spends most of her on-screen time in Dead of Winter groaning, grumbling, stumbling, gasping and exhaling over the little dialogue she is given to speak. As questionable as her accent might be, Emma Thompson never overacts like her co-star, Judy Greer, who is evidently miscast in her role I’ll keep privy from revealing details about in this review. They aren’t very well set-up or supported by the indolent and imprecise writing of the screenplay, which has all the subtlety of blood on snow and didn’t even bother to give Greer’s character a name (she goes by ‘Purple Lady’)!

Aside from its stark location, some credible camerawork and music score, Dead of Winter is short on creativity. Unfortunately, director Brian Kirk mistakenly believes the reason underpinning the young woman’s kidnapping, which is delivered in one scene via muffled dialogue (so too bad if you understandably miss it!), makes his entire film standalone in a sense for its type of movie. This is not the case. While yes, it is less formulaic in its motivations, there is hardly enough character development to bring any of its originality to the fore. This applies to all, but especially to the kidnapped young woman, who I believe should have been given the same backstory screentime afforded to Barb and her late husband. Furthermore, I would have preferred to see the writing and directing pay closer due attention to some of the specifics that transpire but just don’t quite add up and loosen the film’s shaky credibility throughout. 

Dead of Winter is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from November 27th, 2025.

Moviedoc thanks Maslow Entertainment for providing a screener link to watch and review this film. 

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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