A year after the disappearance of a young woman, a group of friends gather together at a cabin in the patch of wilderness where she was last seen. Assuming she is no longer among the living, they plan on paying their last respects. Well, what we know and they don’t (thanks to an extended mauling) is that a shaggy monster got its blood-hungry claws on her and now it’s pleased as punch that there’s a new gathering of fresh meat to feast on. The helpful narration from some comfy-looking man reading from an old tome lets us know what these wieners are up against… the snow demon that lives beneath the drifts, waiting for winter to come so it can feed. Glad that’s sorted. Along with the group of moody and mourning youngsters, there’s a vaguely handsome folklorist researching the demonic monster stalking the area and he’s determined to get to the bottom of the string of disappearances that plague the land. He lets us know this by dropping all of the information into his digital recorder as his introduction into the film. Convenience be thy name. There’s a whole bunch of time spent with awkward reminiscing and stilted line delivery with a lack of emotion behind it. It kind of snows (and then completely ignores that it’s supposed to be snowy during the lethargic chase climax) and the folklorist, wandering around the dark woods even though he knows the legend, gets attacked by the creature that is refreshingly not cgi and just a man in a decent and somewhat stiff werewolf costume. Memorial candles are lit and the friends hear the screams of the folklorist which forces a couple of them to head out into the woods to help. The two find fresh blood and the man’s recording device which is nice and convenient for them because now they can catch up with us. They also spot the monster and the only male member of the group is swiftly clawed before getting his throat ripped out. The blood-covered survivor makes it back to the cabin to let everyone know that they are in deep trouble, even if the shock she’s in won’t let her directly tell them why they are so damn fucked. The monster attacks when they try to scoot, thinning the numbers even more and leaving a couple ladies to attempt survival. The winter setting, the emotional depth and the hairy beast… none of these things are convincing, which makes the very basic story a chore to sit through. I’m always happy with a guy-in-a-suit menace no matter how stiff and rubbery and there’s plenty of blood but that will really only get me so far. It’s helped by a short runtime but still feels like it’s dragging more than anything else.
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