Tom Chaney was studying filmmaking in Michigan when he met special effects designer Gary Jones while working on The Carrier. The two instantly became good friends, having a shared love for monster movies and started working together. Chaney and Tom were both influenced by Sam Raimi and company, and Jones did special effects on Evil Dead II. While working on commercials and still attending school, Chaney was saving up to buy film stock for his first movie. Over the course of several weekends, Chaney, Jones, and their small cast and crew worked on a fairly ambitious film. Chaney connected with Nanette Sorensen, who produced Singapore Harbor, U.S.A., which Jones worked on, to help finish the film. Though it was originally filmed in 1988, the film, originally titled Wendigo, wouldn’t see a release until 1994. Once Troma picked it up, they released it under the title Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo.
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Synopsis
On Manitou Island, friends Gary (Ron Asheton) and Dave (David Wogh) are out hunting when they encounter an old man. Referring to himself as The Guardian (Mike Missler), Gary accidentally shoots him, which breaks the circle holding the Wendigo captive. Meanwhile, The Guardian visits his granddaughter Sandy (Lori Baker) as a ghost to tell her she must reseal the Wendigo. She hires Duke (John Mietelka) to fly her to the island, only for the plane to crash after he’s killed. Elsewhere, Gary’s with his friends Peter (Patrick Butler), Tony (Tom Franks), Nick (Alan Madlane), and Jerry (John Bussard). Along with new guy Leo Phillipe (Devlin Burton), the group encounters chili monsters, witches disguised as centerfolds, and the Wendigo. Before long, the guys are gradually picked off one by one by the Wendigo until only a few are left. Will Sandy successfully reseal the Wendigo, or will she suffer its wrath?
Review
Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo is one of those movies you’ll either love or hate depending on your expectations. If you’re looking for a low-budget schlocky monster movie with gore and nudity, you’ll more than likely enjoy this. Given that this was made by guys with experience in special effects, those are the movie’s main selling point. For the most part, the effects look pretty decent given the low budget they had to work with. There are some decent gore effects and some fun stop-motion animation sequences that’ll satisfy fans of practical effects. Admittedly, the old man makeup used for The Guardian looks decent in wide shots, but in close-up looks terrible. Some optical effects are thrown in that add to the film’s low-budget charm, particularly towards the finale. Also, the design of the titular Wendigo is pretty cool and easily the best part of the film.
Unfortunately, what this movie has in terms of effects lacks in story and characters, which are pretty lacking. Granted, something like this shouldn’t require a deep story and nuanced characters, but this doesn’t give much to work with. We hardly get to know anything about the characters other than their names and maybe some ancillary background information. It doesn’t help either that almost everyone is giving a fairly sub-par performance that’s neither good nor bad but forgettable. Ron Asheton and Lori Baker are at least trying given the small amount of material they’re given to work with. Also, in between the scenes of monsters and gore, the film is padded out with tons of filler. These scenes ultimately lead to nothing and drag down the pacing of a fairly short film at under 90 minutes. Overall, Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo is an average monster movie worth watching once.
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