Frost: Portrait of a Vampire (2003)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Ok, I admit to two things. First, I've never (until now) written a bad review for any movie.Second, I'm a vampire freak.Now, there are so many glaring things about this movie that I just can't get my brain back on straight again.At first, we're told the time is ten years, or something. Then we discover it's 1989. Then a year goes by (with the long-hair issues there!). My biggest issue (besides the Afghani vampire's death which I agree "sucked!") is WHY did Jack remove his shades at all? Strange, strange...That scene could be perhaps the best of the movie which is an even worse thought!No movie is totally without redemption, but this sucker comes pretty close.I do like Jack, though. I was always a fan of Don Johnson and George Michael. :)

you'll probably pass on seeing this movie, as I nearly did. That may be a mistake. This is not a bad movie. It's not perfect (what is?), and it's definitely low budget with some so-so acting. But it does what it sets out to do, and my be the only movie to draw parallels between vampirism and post traumatic stress syndrome. Charles Lister as Nat, who goes from human to vamp in the course of this does an excellent job. The direction, staging, and composition of many of the shots are also above par, with careful thought given to them. It does have too many locations, but the jumps are easily followed by anyone who's half awake. Not a standard "vampire horror movie" (what exactly is that, any way?) by any means, but an interesting juxtaposition of vampires and war--a worthwhile addition to that small category (see also Lost Platoon, Deathdream, and Ghost Brigade for an instant vampire/war movie fest). If you're looking for something different, give Frost a try.

Oh my God!! Everyone was right - Frost is a horrible movie. I found it last night at the rental place and decided to give it a try. Once I got home I checked out IMDB for comments and got very concerned, but decided to try it anyway. Let's just say I fell asleep half way through. The acting was so horrible that it made me wonder if the director went out in the streets, asked the first person he saw "Have you ever acted before?" and when the person replied "No" he said "You're hired!!" I've seen better acting in porno movies! And my big question is after Nat got bit and they fast foward 1 year (it did say 1 year on the screen) how did his hair get so long!! I wish my hair would grow that fast in a year. And I thought Vampire couldn't walk in the daylight?! Maybe I missed that explaination at the end?! This is a horrible, pointless movie that couldn't scare me if it really tried. If you can avoid, please do so.

Spoilers for most of the film ahead (or they would be spoilers if it were possible to make this film worse). If you plan on watching the movie - something I highly recommend against - don't read on.It was a toss up between this and `Ticker', and I went by the IMDb voting for this. I can only assume that the cast and crew of the movie have voted.Opening with some ominous music and lots of fast cutting, and an exhortation to `Get Frost - he's the only one who will know what to do', the film starts quite well. Then we flashback to the Afghan war, and the rot sets in.Jack Frost and his band of mainly out of shape mercenaries are behind enemy lines. After we get to see how cool they all are - Frost never removes his shades (some nonsense about a phosphor grenade making his eyes sensitive to bright light), they make pop culture jokes, and they manage to take out a huge Hind CGI chopper with an RPG - the locals present them with a man they think is a demon, and ask them to kill the man. Frost's best friend, Nat, does the job because he looks into the man's eyes and sees evil, but gets bitten in the process. Nat later tries to cauterise the wound, and it seems that all is well.A year (or two or three) later (I had already realised that this movie was a stinker of the first order so wasn't paying close attention to the subtitles), Frost is out of the Soldier of Fortune business and is painting, writing art books and (it seems) doing a bit of burglary on the side (judging by his tubby size - though it's probably supposed to be `all muscle' - he must have to get especially strong rope when he lowers himself into a museum in one scene). Nat and the rest of the guys are south of the border, involved in a revolution. In the intervening time, Nat's hair has grown ridiculously long, and he seems to have developed Vamp speed and senses (though none of his friends think that it is odd when he blurs across the room at great speed). His vamp senses save him when the generalissimo orders the squad's execution, and he wanders through the desert, collapsing in a deserted town. Even though the town's well is sealed and there appear to be no inhabitants, there is still a sheriff and a jail with three or four prisoners, who Nat quickly dispatches - it seems that you only become a vampire after your body dies.Nat's wife back in the States is worried, and asks Frost to investigate. It seems that the generalissimo never hires the same team twice.Frost heads South, and confirms that Nat's team was executed. He avenges his friend by blowing up everyone in the generalissimo's compound.Nat, meanwhile, has made it to the States. We get a few scenes that show he is fully vamped out and evil before his distraught wife asks Frost for his help again. It seems that Nat has tried to pick up the pieces of his old life, but the bloodlust is too strong. After pussyfooting around for a while, aided by the most open-minded and forgiving cop in movie history (`You're girlfriend's dead in a pool of blood? You think it's Nat and he's a Vampire? Well, get out there and kill him' - a slight bit of paraphrasing, but you get the gist), Frost tools up and goes after Nat, having a special gun made.At first, this seems to be a small one-shot crossbow, but it turns out that he has had wooden-tipped bullets cast. At last, someone in a vampire film using a bit of brain-power! It will come as no surprise to learn that Frost survives, though it is a surprise that he then goes back to the crossbow as his main weapon - one slow, one-shot weapon against a fast, repeat-action one - come on! There is a slight twist at the end (in the vain hope of a sequel I guess).Direction and especially acting are well under par - my girlfriend commented that some of the actors seem to have come from the `adult movie' school of acting, and checking IMDb shows that at least one of them literally has - but the saddest thing is that, judging from what seems to be a lot of families involved in the cast and crew, this must have been a real labour of love for some of those involved, but they turned out the worst film I have seen for years.