THE FROZEN GROUND (2013)

Studio:       Lionsgate
Director:    Scott Walker
Writer:       Scott Walker
Producer:  Mark Ordesky, Jane Fleming, Randall Emmett, Curtis Jackson, Remington Chase, Jeff Rice
Stars:     Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, Dean Norris, Kevin Dunn, Radha Mitchell, 50 Cent

Review Score: 

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Summary:

An Alaskan State Trooper hunts serial killer Robert Hansen with the help of a woman who narrowly escaped being his next victim. 

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Anchorage, Alaska – 1983 – Anchorage Police Department officers respond to a call at the Big Timber Motel and find young prostitute Cindy Paulson hysterical and bound with handcuffs. APD investigates her allegations against Robert Hansen for kidnapping, raping, and holding her hostage with the intent to kill her. The police confirm Hansen’s alibi and dismiss Cindy as an unreliable hooker since Hansen is a respected citizen.

Alaska State Trooper Sergeant Jack Holcombe says goodbye to his wife Allie and daughter Sandy as he prepares for his final two weeks on the job. He and Sergeant Lyle Haugsven are called to a remote site where a body was found with a bullet in its skull. They suspect a connection to similar unsolved murders.

After Cindy is released from custody, the officer who rescued her defies orders to drop the case. He compiles a file and sends it to the State Troopers’ office. The file is forced on Jack since it appears related to his investigation. Jack examines the files and takes note of the patterns and similarities linking the crimes to Robert Hansen.

Debbie Peters leaves her roommate and drives away as a passenger in Hansen’s vehicle. Later, Hansen checks in at the bakery that he owns and operates.

Aided by Vice Detective John Gentile, Jack begins searching for Cindy. He also meets with Mrs. Moorehead, whose missing sister fits the profile of a Hansen victim. She gives Jack a bracelet, adding that it was part of a pair and her sister had the other one. Jack finally finds Cindy and tape-records the story of her captivity and escape.

Cindy meets Chelle Ringell, another working girl who tries to get Cindy off the streets by turning her into a stripper while also getting her high on drugs. Cindy is confronted by her pimp Clate Johnson about having traded hooking for stripping.

While Jack continues the investigation with Lyle, Hansen uses his Piper Super Cub plane to take Debbie Peters to a remote location where he kills her. Jack meets with Cindy again and tries to promote her rehabilitation.

At the strip club, Cindy grows fearful when she sees Hansen in the crowd. Hansen begins stalking her again. Hansen’s agitated mood creates friction with his wife Fran. Jack has to convince Cindy not to leave Alaska out of fear because he needs her in order to capture Hansen. He offers to have Cindy stay at his house. Cindy runs away when she hears Jack arguing with Allie about allowing her in their house. Cindy returns to her pimp.

Jack and Hansen separately search for Cindy. Jack finds Cindy after she overdoses. They bond while she recovers in the hospital. Hansen contracts Carl Galenski to find Cindy. Galenski threatens Clate the pimp to turn Cindy over to him.

When he sees Jack and Lyle conducting a stakeout, Hansen takes his plane and dumps the souvenirs that he collected from his victims. Jack convinces District Attorney Pat Clives to push for a search warrant. While Jack detains Hansen for questioning about his past crimes, Lyle and the others search Hansen’s properties. After an exhaustive search, the investigators eventually find a hidden compartment with a .223 rifle that matches bullets found in several victims.

Cindy goes on the run when she learns that Hansen is after her. Clate picks her up and takes her to a meeting spot with Galenski. After making the exchange, Clate puts a gun to Galenski. Cindy uses the opportunity to escape in Galenski’s car. Galenski kills Clate and follows Cindy in Clate’s vehicle. Cindy calls Jack. Jack and Detective Gentile race to her location. Galenski captures Cindy, but he is forced to let her go when Jack arrives and draws his weapon. Galenski escapes, but Cindy is rescued.

Jack learns that the D.A. is afraid to indict Hansen due to a lack of evidence. Lyle produces a map marked with X’s found behind Hansen’s bed. Jack realizes that they match dumpsites for bodies. Desperate for a confession in order to secure an indictment, Jack rattles Hansen by producing Mrs. Moorehead’s bracelet and pretending that they found it where Hansen dumped his murder trophies. Hansen cracks when they open the interrogation room door and he sees Cindy.

In an epilogue, Hansen leads investigators to the dumpsites of several bodies. Hansen confessed to the murder of 17 women and to the kidnap and rape of another 30.

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Review:

In the spectrum of serial killer biopics presented as action-oriented docudramas, “The Frozen Ground” ranks low on the list in terms of both entertainment and informational value.  Possessing all of the hallmarks that give it the polished appearance of a modest budget Hollywood feature, the film is still a formulaic potboiler whose chills come from the frigid setting as opposed to the onscreen drama.

Played by John Cusack in the movie, Robert Hansen was a real serial killer who preyed upon numerous Alaskan women before his capture and incarceration in 1983.  As a dramatized character, Hansen is underdeveloped.  His characterization is delivered in the form of superficial details about his community standing and bakery business along with notes and facts about his family life and routine activities.  What brief flashes there are into his criminal mind are so few and far between that he teeters towards nonthreatening even when he is about to commit a murder.

“The Frozen Ground” starts behind the eight ball by beginning at a point in the story when Robert Hansen has already been identified and he almost immediately becomes the top suspect in a string of similar cases.  Absent is any mystery to the investigation as a whodunit or as a gripping procedural.

Somewhat untouchable by the authorities as a respected citizen, Hansen also operates in plain sight, negating the potential for suspense in having to hunt him down.  A race to capture Hansen thus becomes a matter of when instead of if.  The investigators only need to prove a link between him and his crimes by reviewing files and conducting interviews behind the scenes.

Following in the footsteps of other child actors eager to shred their good girl images, former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens trades mouse ears for lace panties and a brass pole as a resilient hooker turned troubled stripper.  Being the only known survivor to escape Hansen’s clutches, she teams with Nicolas Cage as a state trooper in an effort to take Hansen down.  Hudgens and Cage are more than capable in their roles, but their characters are too flat to allow either one an opportunity for creating unique personas.  Cage’s lawman is burdened with the case despite the trope of having only two weeks left on the job.  He spends his performance in a state of perpetual pensiveness with either a vertical line between his eyebrows or a horizontal one on his forehead.

Dean Norris, Radha Mitchell, Kevin Dunn, and several others fill out a solid cast of misspent supporting roles that have very little to do.  Most of the scenes are loaded to the gills with expository information and fast-paced dialogue.  “The Frozen Ground” tries to disguise the abundant talking heads moments by pulling an Aaron Sorkin and having the scenes play while the characters are moving quickly to go somewhere else.

Knowing that the slice of the “true story” chosen for the film’s focus is a relatively mild chapter, artistic liberties are taken with the facts to inject some forced action into the final reel.  Even though Cindy Paulson already identified Hansen as her abductor and nothing ever came of it, he strangely risks exposure by embarking on a mission to stalk her once again.  Despite the fact that she no longer poses a threat, this twist involves a contracted hitman, a turncoat pimp, and a police pursuit that is ridiculously contrived, not to mention completely fabricated.

The indecisive structure of “The Frozen Ground” makes it a clash of confused threads that do not play nice with each other as a singular narrative.  The movie has difficulty choosing from a portrayal of police bureaucracy impeding the capture of a criminal, Nicolas Cage as a torn family man, the redemption of a young hooker, and the tale of a killer.  The head-on crash of all four together makes for an average thriller elevated by its performances, but sunk by a misdirected screenplay.

Review Score:  55

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