If Fridtjof Nansen is the father of Arctic exploration, Norwegians can also boast that the Cold Prey franchise is the sire of superior sequels. 2008's "Cold Prey 2" (Fritt Vilt 2) followed a sensational slasher film....and I believe...topped it! This film had many reasons to fail; A different director (Mats Stenberg) , set indoors instead of utilizing the beautiful and haunting Norwegian landscape, and...it's a sequel. When John Carpenter made "Halloween 2", he utilized Jamie Lee Curtis as a frightened, sedated teenager who was constantly running away in fear. In "Cold Prey 2" Ingrid Bolso Berdal, recreating her portrayal of Jannicke, refuses to be a victim and is bent on annihilating the maniac.
The plot: This sequel begins, as H2 did, immediately where the first one ended. Jannicke is found on the road by Ole (Kim Wifladt) covered in blood, dazed, and almost frozen. She has a look on her face as if she has emerged from battle and is ticked off that all her friends are dead. Ole brings her to the hospital where his girlfriend, Camilla (Marthe Snorresdotter Rovik), is on staff. The cops arrive and Jannicke tells them her story. When the cops go to the crack in the glacier (see above picture), they find the bodies of her friends and the maniac. One cop then researches old cases and new clippings and realizes exactly what has happened. When her friends are brought to the hospital's morgue, Jannicke identifies them, but when she sees the supposed corpse of her nemesis, she attacks it.
Johanna Morck (Trollhunter, not to be confused with the very lovely and talented Jon Mack-actress and lead singer of my favorite band, Auradrone) plays a very sweet and clean-cut nurse. She develops a relationship with a really clean-cut blonde policeman. The two are so sweet together, we all just sigh and say "Awwwwww." This is a slasher movie, and each one of them then dies a gruesome death....oh well! When the maniac shows signs of life, the hospital staff resuscitates him. When Jannicke tries to stop them, she is sedated by Nurse Audhild (Morck). Now resuscitated, the maniac makes ground beef of the hospital staff, and the responding cops. Jannicke then mobilizes with makeshift hospital weapons and sets out, joined by Camilla, to save the helpless patients and kill the Jason-like figure. Unlike the frail Laurie Strode in H2, Jannicke is peeved off about being sedated and takes measures to un-sedate herself....what a gal!
The ending is horrific and extremely suspenseful. Where John Carpenter failed to make the hospital corridors menacing in H2, Mats Stenberg is able to make his corridors ominous and ooze horror. With the extinction of strong male heroes in film over the past 20 years, Jannicke delivers inspiration for today's women to refuse to be victimized. Strength and smarts will defeat evil...male or female...a terrific message.
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