CHILLER

Miles, due to a liver tumor, falls into a hepatic coma and his mother, to not lose him, decides to have his body cryogenically frozen, awaiting a future operation that could return him to his loved ones. After a decade of cryogenic sleep, something extraordinary happens; in fact, due to a system failure, Miles is awakened and shows normal brain activity and serious but operable conditions. After a difficult operation, Miles is brought back to life, but he appears different both physically and in character; before he was a kind boy and a good leader, now he shows himself to be irritable, cold, cruel, and without any pity. Over time, his attitude continues to worsen and some of the people around him begin to have mysterious accidents. What has transformed Miles into a being without feelings and pity? How far will he go in his thirst for power and control? "Sleep of Ice" (Chiller) is considered one of Wes Craven's minor works, the author of masterpieces of the genre like "The Hills Have Eyes", "Nightmare" or "The Serpent and the Rainbow", but, despite some flaws, it remains a fairly interesting and still watchable film. The story is certainly the strong point of the film; it has its logic and coherence, there are no gross errors; it presents some points in common with the novel "The Satanic Verses", but maintains, in the end, its own identity. The best part is definitely the initial one, which, thanks to some happy intuitions (hints at possible explanations for Miles' character metamorphosis), keeps the viewer's interest high; then, unfortunately, in the second part, it gradually fades, repeating itself and ending up being almost predictable. The dialogues are acceptable, that is, they do not appear ridiculous or silly, although some in the second part could have been avoided because they were superfluous and not functional to the development of the story. The figure of the protagonist, played by a good, and in part, Michael Beck (already seen in the cult metropolitan "The Warriors – Warriors of the Night" or in the thriller "Game with Death"), is well outlined, although the contrast between his personality, before and after the coma, and his new "status" could have been made much more incisive through flashbacks or other devices functional to that end; the rest of the cast is decent, without infamy or praise. Interesting the photography with muted tones and often shifted to gray. The film's major flaw lies in its slow pace, at some points it really borders on staticity (in addition, in such moments, there is a certain tendency to dwell on details and elements unnecessary for the story); another flaw is the total lack of suspense in the second part, quite flat, unlike the first part which is better constructed and presents a certain suspense at least in the first thirty minutes. The ending wants to be effective but it is obvious, and it's a real shame because the story certainly allowed for other solutions, and many other twists; Craven could have thought of something better, maybe more gripping. "Sleep of Ice" is a fairly atypical b-movie, given the total lack of blood (not even a drop is shown) and comic or light interludes; it has a perhaps too serious tone that, if it can intrigue at the beginning, can also easily tire at the end. Certainly, some "bloody" elements could have benefited the film, perhaps explicitly showing the murders and violence committed by Miles could have been, in this sense, a possible solution.