Winter is typically the dumping ground for movies the studios don't think will win any awards or become a blockbuster hit -- namely, horror movies. But if you're going to watch a movie during the winter, why not heighten the realism by having the story set in the snow? Here are some horror movies that do just that; they'll chill you inside and out (slogan copyright pending).
30 Days of Night (2007)
© Sony
The snowy setting of Barrow, Alaska serves as the ideal locale for a vampire invasion, given the town plunges into 30 days of sun-less darkness every winter. If you're ever stuck there, pray for daylight...or Josh Hartnett.
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
© Anchor Bay
In this early British film from the legendary Hammer Film Productions, perennial Hammer hero Peter Cushing tracks down the Yeti in the Himalayan Mountains, despite the warnings of locals. Silly locals, thinking they know stuff.
Cold Prey (2007)
© Anchor Bay
In this gritty, scary Norwegian film, a group of 20-somethings on a snowboarding trip are forced to take shelter in an abandoned ski lodge that turns out to be home to a homicidal maniac. Said maniac proceeds to bump the snowboarders off, one by one. A traditional slasher set-up enlivened by the snowy setting.
Dead Snow (2009)
© IFC
More Norwegian horror about a group of friends in the snowy wilderness (naturally with no cell phone reception). This time, the foe is a battalion of zombie Nazi soldiers who were killed during World War II. Where's Indiana Jones when you need him?
Dead of Winter (1987)
© MGM
In this twisty thriller, Mary Steenburgen stars as a struggling actress who ventures to a remote cabin (never a good idea) in the snowy woods for what she thinks is a choice role. However, she ends up the captive of a maniacal doctor and his sidekick (Roddy McDowall), who force her to play a role in their murderous scheme.
Devil Times Five (1974)
© Code Red
Five killer kids (including Leif Garrett!) escape from the care of a psychiatric facility when their van crashes on a snowy road. They make their way to a cabin in the woods, where they play sadistic, deadly games with the occupants (including Boss Hogg!). Bonus: they turn one of the victims into a human snowman.
Dreamcatcher (2003)
© Warner Bros.
This mess of a Stephen King adaptation throws everything into the mix: aliens, ghosts, psychic powers, deadly infections, evil military men, Morgan Freeman's overgrown eyebrows, anal secretions and of course, a monster snow storm.
Eye See You (2002)
© First Look
Sylvester Stallone is a burned-out cop (Is there any other kind in movies?) who's trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol after the death of his wife at the hand of a serial killer. He's sent to a rehab facility in the middle of nowhere when a blizzard strikes, trapping the patients inside with -- you guessed it -- the same serial killer.
Frostbitten (2006)
© Solid
In this Swedish vampire movie, a rogue scientist attempts to merge human and vampire DNA, but when his teen lab assistants take the pills he creates, they turn into vampires who spread out across the snowy landscape to feed and create more slacker vamps like themselves.
Ice Crawlers (2003)
© Regent
In this cheap monster movie, a series of earthquakes around an Antarctic oil station prompt the oil company to send in...a bunch of grad students? I guess 50-year-old seismologists wouldn't have been sexy. To their dismay, the quakes have unearthed (uniced?) a bug-like creature with a taste for grad students.
