Film Review – Dead of Winter

Emma Thompson certainly seeks out acting challenges. She always enjoys varied work and unique characters, looking to challenge herself, especially in recent years, playing villains (“Matilda the Musical”), sensitive souls (“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”), and even an animal (“Dolittle”). And now Thompson really takes a chance with “Dead of Winter,” finding the thoroughly English thespian looking to portray a native Minnesotan locked in the fight of her life as she discovers something wicked brewing in the woods. Thompson has one wild accent, but she commits physically to the part, and director Brian Kirk (“21 Bridges”) does a commendable job maintaining suspense as the screenplay (credited to Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb) cooks up survival challenges for the lead character. “Dead of Winter” isn’t exactly a nail-biter, but it delivers with its frigid setting and violent entanglements, providing an unusual actioner. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com