So bad it’s bad
Last night’s premiere of Brian Trenchard-Smith’s Arctic Blast left us cold, but probably not in the way the filmmakers intended.
Isn’t the charm of ‘bad movies’ the fact that those making them were being absolutely serious and failed miserably? Isn’t a cult movie something that stands out from the crowd and has a special, almost undefinable quality that connects with a very specific, adoring audience? However, deliberately trying to make a ‘bad movie’ (or a B-movie, as many would rather label certain filmic abominations), is a recipe for disaster.
Arctic Blast is a film that screams ‘look at me, look at me, I’m so bad I’m good!’, only to be told ‘no, you’re so bad you’re bad‘ by an audience that lost at least five of its members, who couldn’t process all 90 minutes of this The Day After Tomorrow tribute – we were sitting by the door, so we noticed those who walked out and never came back.
This film proves to Roland Emmerich haters that as over the top as his disaster blockbusters may be, there is a level of sophistication to them, that not everybody can write – and recite- those cheesy lines with the same kind of conviction, and that VFX do make a big difference when it comes to mindless entertainment.
Mark Hartley’s documentary Not Quite Hollywood made Australia rediscover and appreciate its ‘Ozploitation’ cinema, and while it is understandable that Trenchard-Smith would try to capitalise on this newfound love for his old films (Turkey Shoot, etc), he does so without the originality that those films had back in the 1970s and 80s. His Arctic Blast is nothing but a mockbuster that’s six years too late.
You can’t intentionally make a bad film and get away with it.
You can’t manufacture cult cinema.
Mate, that’s a very harsh (and shallow) review of the film.
Who cares if 5 people walked out of the screening? That would mean the majority stayed for the film which is good. I walked out of Samson & Delilah within the first 30 minutes because I found it incredibly boring, but that doesn’t mean the film wasn’t good (it just wasn’t my kind of film).
This type of negativity and bad press is such a typical response from Aussie reviewers. If the film had come from the US you would have probably given a much more positive review.
Kudos to Brian and the team for making the film – I’m sure it will find its audience!
(For the record – I haven’t seen the film, nor am I connected to Arctic Blast in any way.)
User ID not verified.
Dean, I could provide a much more detailed, professional review (I’ve been doing it for 10 years, both in Australia and internationally), but that was not the point of this post. The point is, you can’t make a ‘bad movie’ on purpose, in order to get cult following.
If the film had come from the US, the review would have probably been much more negative, because of the kind of financial resources available there.
Please let us know what you think of this particular film once you’ve seen it.
I saw this film the other night and I think this article makes a good point. Among other qualities the film lacked, ‘Arctic Blast’ sorely lacked fun. Maybe that’s what happens when cynical commercialism is the sole motivation to make a film. But maybe they went too cheap?There was less production value in Arctic Blast than in an episode of Home & Away. And when you’ve got the big-budget Emmerich-style spectacles on offer every other week, why would chose ‘Arctic Blast’ over those?
One of cheapest elements was the VFX. Always hard to get into a story when the VFX is so poor and sticks out so much. It would have been more fun if they’d done it all in-camera, I reckon.
Anthony Ginanne said back in November on RN’s Australia Talks program that filmmakers whose films gross less than $1million at the domestic box office should be “lined up and shot”.
How is ‘Arctic Blast’ possibly going to make more than that?
OK the main reason this film is so bad is the incredibly stupid concept – a killer cold front descends from a hole in the ozone layer. A KILLER COLD FRONT! Asteroids hitting the earth I can buy and that is seriously scary. I can also buy into the idea of a park of cloned dinosaurs, apes evolving to enslave humans, computers creating a false reality that enslaves humans and many other outlandish concepts. But I can’t buy into the threat of an isolated body of deadly cold air moving through the atmosphere. There’s been a hole in the ozone layer above Australia for years and there’s never been any blast of super deadly cold air.
The concept of Arctic Blast is confusing to grasp and totally illogical.
Why not take an idea that already exists in the mind of the audience and make the scenario somewhat plausible?
Plus all the measurements were in Fahrenheit so I never actually understood how cold it was meant to be…
User ID not verified.
As a fan of Michael Shanks I was waiting to hear anything about this film. Unfortunately it sounds like it didn’t hit the spot.
Thansk for writing the review.
Kriss 🙂
User ID not verified.
I was there, at the Arctic Blast premiere. I did not walk out. I did, however, think that this was one of the worst films I have ever seen. I agree with the basic point of this review except; where Dean (who admits not having seen the film but has the gall to defend it!) insists ‘negativity and bad press’ is ‘typical’ I would suggest that the review did not go far enough to rip this film asunder. Miguel clarifies by saying that, had it been a US film, it would have ‘probably been much more negative’ – Since when should Australian films get let off with a soft review? – They should be compared, reviewed and scrutinised on an equal level to any international film. After all, that is surely (or should be) the goal of the Australian film Industry – to compete at an international level?! Well, then, we should not expect a free ride from the Australian press.
On another note – was this really a mockbuster? The impression I got from this film was that it was trying to be a genuine disaster film (as opposed to a film disaster), which was just poorly executed. ‘Kudos to Brian’???!! rubbish. The sooner Australian film-makers and the press realise that films are not ‘precious eggs’ the better.
User ID not verified.
I was one of the five that walked out of the screening. I never walk out of films as a rule, but I just couldn’t stand it anymore, and I didn’t sense ANY self-awareness of its schlockiness. I felt depressed.
I have worked in the Australian film & TV industry for close to a decade and it infuriates me when reviews are sweepingly dismissive of local films. On the whole, however, I actually think that critics are often too kind on Aussie films, and I would put David and Margaret firmly in that basket. Let’s call a spade a spade.
With regard to Arctic Blast, I was just gobsmacked. There is no way in hell this film can get a general release. Dreadful story and dialogue (“Mom! Dad! There’s a cold front headed towards Hobart! AND IT’S COLD ENOUGH TO KILL!!”), wooden acting, some of the worst VFX I’ve ever seen. I say this as an industry practitioner. At least South Solitary was shot well and had high production values, I cannot think of a single kind word to say about Arctic Blast. The worst thing about it was the over-indulgent, neverending music score. There wasn’t a single second of film that wasn’t artificially fattened up with this musical botox.
User ID not verified.
“There wasn’t a single second of film that wasn’t artificially fattened up with this musical botox.”
Fantastic turn of phrase. Nice one.
I can’t even find a trailer for this online anywhere. A bad sign.
Poor Brian. Why has he been relegated to making shlock like this & that awful stuff such as the diabolical Tyrannosaurus Azteca. The last decent thing he did was over 20 years ago. That Firebase Gloria flick.
I love a good bad film, but not bad bad films. There is a limit. And yes this obne doesn’t seem like a Troll 2 or a Birdemic. Just a bad film from someone who should know better. I guess it’s just a job for him these days. No passion anymore.
User ID not verified.
Although I am not disputing the verdict in this case I do believe that Australian films deserve to be treated well by (Australian) critics. Firstly, as we all know, whilst any reviewer is entitled to his/her opinion, when audiences are already reluctant to go to Australian films, dismissing one, often with a rant about the general state of the industry is only entrenching the problem. Secondly, when Australian films do not have the budgets, star power and wealth of resources of Hollyuwood films, judging them on a single scale of values is ridiculous.
User ID not verified.
Although I am not disputing the verdict in this case I do believe that Australian films deserve to be treated well by (Australian) critics. Firstly, as we all know, whilst any reviewer is entitled to his/her opinion, when audiences are already reluctant to go to Australian films, dismissing one, often with a rant about the general state of the industry is only entrenching the problem. Secondly, when Australian films do not have the budgets, star power and wealth of resources of Hollywood films, the suggestion that they can be judged on a single scale of values is ridiculous.
User ID not verified.
“Artic Blast” is a made for TV movie aimed squarely at the US cable market. Sci-Fi channel (and its parent NBC) put on one of these horror or disaster flicks at least once a week and they rate OK. They are made cheap deliberately so that with a very limited DVD and cable ales worldwide to sci-fi/NBC affiliates they should return a profit for the filmmakers. The US target would explain the farenheit. None of this explanation is intend to excuse the apparent poor entertainment value, just explaining the commercial intent behind the movie. Also, when these things rate OK on Sat night US cable TV, the producers get to make more of them!
User ID not verified.
I have just finished watching the film at home after renting the DVD. This was definitely the worst film I have ever seen. The script was cliched and facile, the acting of the Australian actors was deplorable and the VFX risible. From opening voice over, it was clear that this was going to be another shameful Australian dud. When will our industry get some originality and integrity and produce films which have an international appeal?
User ID not verified.