Dead of Winter [DVD]

SPOILER ALERT.This movie terrified me, but there were so many holes in the story - - I am listing some of them below.I thought that Mr. Murray and Dr. Lewis were two men who were honestly doing as they said, which was having Katie finish a movie that another actress abandoned. But I started to wonder when I saw that Mr. Murray cut and dyed Katie's hair himself - - instead of a professional hairdresser on a set or in a salon. But, I thought that maybe they were cutting costs by not using a hairdresser (or makeup artist), but I still thought that it was strange. And I expected Katie to at least ask about that - - she was trusting this man to cut and dye her hair - - I can't imagine an actress (or any woman) allowing someone who wasn't a professional to do major alterations to her hair. But, I figured that she was just very desperate for the work (her husband was unemployed with a broken leg and her brother was staying with them and they were so broke that they weren't able to pay the rent). Even so, why didn't Katie just ask to wear a wig?I knew for sure that something was wrong when the two men did all of the filming themselves, without cameramen or lighting men and no other crew or actors - - again, Katie didn't ask - - Mr. McMurray had told her something about the actors being "up in Canada," but nothing more.Katie should have wondered why she had to be driven so far away for several days for that short acting job which could have been filmed anywhere - - there was no "set." They played her video back for her to watch, which only showed a closeup of her from the waist up with nothing behind her. That video could have been filmed anywhere.Katie was shown "the script" which was only one paragraph - - she never asked to see the rest. She asked if the movie was a thriller - - and that was absolutely all that she ever asked. She never asked anything else about the movie, not even who else was acting in it. She never asked anything about Mr. Murray or Mr. Lewis. No matter how badly an actress needs the work, I can't imagine not asking anything at all.The major plot hole in the movie was the fact that Katie looked so much like Julie Rose, the actress who she was supposedly replacing - - Katie said that they could have been sisters, but they actually looked identical. The ad for the acting role was shown, which simply said something like "caucasian woman, about 28 years old, about 5'7" tall, need to travel immediately" - - how could Mr. Murray expect to ever find someone who looked exactly like Julie Rose from an ad like that? He wasn't really looking for an actress, he was looking for a lookalike - - and for Katie to be identical was really unbelievable. And, Mr. Murray was very lucky that Katie didn't have an agent to complicate his plot.So, after just the new hairdo, Katie was so identical to Julie Rose that even Julie Rose's sister couldn't identify Katie? And, Katie was also identical to the sister (Evelyn) so that when Katie put on Evelyn's coat and hat, even Dr. Lewis couldn't tell that it wasn't Evelyn? We are never told that Julie Rose and Evelyn were identical twins (were they?) but, certainly, Katie could not have resembled them both enough so that no one could tell the difference. Katie's voice even sounded identical to both Julie Rose and Evelyn?Katie did not find anything strange, and she wasn't afraid to be in a big house in the middle of nowhere. She trusted Mr. Murray and Dr. Lewis when she knew nothing about them or "the movie" or the location of the house. Supposedly, the phone lines were down because of the storm (this was before cellphones existed) and the car wouldn't start because of the storm. So, Katie expected that Mr. Murray would drive her home the next morning. But she never got upset or panicked or worried that she couldn't speak to her husband.Katie told her husband that she would call him when she arrived at the job. When he never received a call, he attempted to call her at the number that she gave him. When he found out that the number was a fake (there wasn't even such an area code), he didn't call the police. When more than a day passed and he hadn't heard from her, the husband should have been extremely worried - - his wife left with a strange man during a storm and he hadn't heard from her.Mr. Murray and Dr. Lewis made a careless mistake by throwing Katie's driver's license into the fireplace where she could have (and did) see it. I thought that they were too smart (and worked too hard on their plot) to make this mistake. They should have made sure that Katie's ID was totally burned, or they should have just hidden it somewhere.Even after Katie found photos of Julie Rose's dead body, she still trusted the two men. She didn't wonder why there were photos of "the suicide" and she didn't think that it was strange that she wasn't told that Julie Rose was dead. It was only when she saw her ID in the fireplace that realized that she was in danger.Once Katie realized that she was in danger, it was not smart of her to rush to the phone to attempt a call. Assuming that the phones were working again, how could she have made a call for help when the two men were in hearing distance? She should have tried to remain calm and then attempt an escape in the middle of the night, when the two men were asleep, because surely, they were going to notice that she left the house and they would go after her. How far did she think she could go without a coat in a storm? She knew that she was in the middle of nowhere. She tried to open car doors - - did she really think that those cars would be unlocked, and if they were, that the keys to drive those cars would have been left inside?It also was not smart of Katie to drink that hot chocolate - - at that point, she knew that she was in danger, so why would she trust a drink from them? After her attempted escape, as soon as she warmed up and calmed down, she should have attempted to fight them (at that point, to wait until the middle of the night would not have made sense because they then knew that she wanted to escape). She had "weapons" all around her - - the fire pokers and other heavy objects around the room and whatever was in the kitchen - - and she really only had to overtake Mr. Murray because Dr. Lewis was in a wheelchair. Of course, it is easy to say that - - but it is difficult to think clearly when you are terrified - - and, once they drugged her, it was all over for her.When I saw that the phone line had been cut, I assumed that there would be another working phone somewhere in that big house - - surely, the two men would not leave themselves without a phone. But, I thought that it was strange that there was a working phone in the attic - - why would there be a phone in a dusty attic that was obviously not being used for anything? When Katie found the working phone, she should have immediately called the police. But it was good that she called her husband because the police were no help to her and it was the call to her husband that actually saved her in the end.When Katie woke up and discovered her bandaged hand, I screamed along with her. That scene really scared me.Mary Steenburgen's acting in the last scene was amazing. By the time that her husband got to her, she was in shock and remained in shock through to the drive away in the police car. The look of shock on her face stayed with me even after the credits rolled.I found many holes in this story. But I am still giving it 5 stars because I loved this movie, it terrified me, and it absolutely held my attention to the end. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next and how it would end. At one point, I actually screamed. That all deserves 5 stars from me because so few movies do that for me. And, of course, I love Mary Steenburgen, no matter what she is in.

Dead of Winter is a modern (1987) remake of My Name Is Julia Ross and is the reason I began to look into Director Joseph H Lewis movies soon after seeing Dead Of Winter. The ‘casting director’ in Dead of Winter is named after the Director of Julia Ross in homage to his early career, horror movie success.Checkout the early scene clues foreshadowing Dead of Winter plot: the billboard and the two young girls at depot dressed (symbolically) exactly the same on the cold winter day, precisely setting the odd tone for the rather unsettling events soon to follow.Mary Steenburgen stars as the actress looking for work at the mansion in upstate snowy New York.Roddy McDowell does his wide eyed, manic is he a good guy or not role.Jan Rubes is Dr Lewis.The isolation, chills and twists are real in this horror thriller, the only problem being the finale: the writers committed the cardinal sin: it’s not that scary when the hero or heroine is being chased by… well I don’t want to give it away. This is still a well done, suspense thriller that should leave you asking questions as the credits roll. All might not be as it seems!4.3 stars in The Dead Of Winter. Brrr.

Arthur Penn is one of those directors who had a checkered career. Coming out of live TV, he came into his own in the 1960s with the movies MICKEY ONE, THE CHASE, and especially BONNIE & CLYDE. LITTLE BIG MAN (1970) was his last major success and NIGHT MOVES (1975) was his last critical one. By the time DEAD OF WINTER was made (1987), his career had been in decline for over a decade and he no longer was a force to be reckoned with. He was actually the third and final director on this film. It has Penn's edgy camerawork, maximum impact editing and bursts of cringe inducing violence. It also features the typical strong performances from its principal actors. There's Mary Steenburgen (in 3 roles), Roddy McDowall, and Canadian opera singer turned actor Jan Rubes (remember the man in the original THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY?). There are a number of Hitchcock like elements to DEAD OF WINTER although it's a reworking of a celebrated B movie, Joseph H. Lewis' MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945). Jan Rubes character is even named Joseph Lewis.Down-on-her-luck actress Katie McGovern (Steenburgen), who lives with her injured husband and brother, auditions for a part in an unfinished movie and to her astonishment, is hired on the spot. She is whisked away for a screen test to a house in Upstate New York by the man conducting the audition (McDowall) to meet the producer, a crippled psychiatrist (Rubes). On the way there, a fierce winter snowstorm begins and before long Katie realizes that there is more going on than meets the eye. After her arrival, she learns that she is expected to play the part of a sibling to a psychotic sister (also Steenburgen) and then after that...she'll no longer be needed. A few twists and turns later, Katie tries to turn the tables on her kidnappers. What she does and what happens to them makes for a most a harrowing ending. Penn delivers a good, old fashioned thriller in the classic tradition with tense situations and colorful performances that suit the material. It's not a great movie but it is a well crafted one. McDowall is great and Steenburgen really shines.

Title: DEAD OF WINTER (1986)Label: 88 FILMSTranfer by: MGMAspect Ratio: 1.85:1A pretty solid BD release from 88 FILMS. What a wonderful old-schoolish creepy thriller in the style of an intimate play. Although shot in 1986 there are nowhere elements you know from typical 80th movies. The character-actors are so cool and gifted and they seem to perform with heart and passion. The technical aspect ist great eather. The photography really can be described as painting with light. Pure eye candy. Good frame compositions, nice set- and costumedesign, script, lightning, acting, atmosphere…everything great on that side. The movie is a tense little nailbiter - a gem you can enjoy several times. The many lovley set in place details fit strongly together cause it is so well written. Brian de Palma and Hitchcock would appreceate this movie for sure. Re-see it if you know it already. If you dont knwo it, see experience it new (lucky bastards :)) Do not expect a slasher movie with breathtaking special effect. Here you are truely tied to narrating and acting qualities. DEAD OF WINTER is a kind of its own and stands above nearly (there are always exceptions) every slasher movie I saw, regarding its qualities and acting aspects.No Grain Baby, No Gain / The Transfer:A nice HD transfer has been done by MGM. There is some grain structure left but in many scenes I thought its appael could be more filmic, especially in darker segments of the movie it kind of can look a bit noisy and sometimes I missed texture and grip to the picture. MGM did certainly no new 4K transfer. They do it quick and easy. But the master has been cleaned well and is very good stabelized. Colors are de-saturated, which I find supports the atmosphere further. The Deep dimension picture is very good and the transfer offers relativly good levels of detail. Although the picture sometimes tends towards smoothness. On the other hand, I couldnt spot edge enhancement. DEAD OF… is mastered bright, therefore no crush in blacks occur. This supports the color-composition and style of photography very well.Cut and Run:DEAD OF WINTER is a version integrale. NO noticeable inserts from different sources have been applied. The movie is uncut.Final Thoughts:Fans, collectors and cineastic people with bigscreens or projectors should spent their money. The Movie is worth it anyway. This may not be the definite quality version but it represents the movie quite well and looks relatively filmic.Statement:My ratings refer exclusively to technical aspects of BD sets. The more filmic / photographic a movie looks and feels via bigscreen projections and the more authentic to its camera negative (or other sources) the movie is scanned and digitally treated afterwards, the higher the ratings will be.I do not rate movies at all. I just watch them and I think of them as artificial pieces of work where many efforts have been taken (including complex postproduction) to accomplish a vision of whatsoever kind. No movie ever shot has earned a 1 star rating on AMAZON or a 1 point rating on IMDB. Anyway, I could rate them because I have studied in private many publications about making films, their psychological impact, and the subject violence on film. And because I am a hobby photographer for years now I know much about frame compositions, color composition and different styles and so on. I am interested in the arts in general. I am also a hobby musician and sound designer with a little studio. So I even could rate the filmical scores. But hell...why should I? Things are what they are and nothing more or less. I like to think beyond mind constructed terms like good and bad. So called "objectivity" becomes fast diluted by personal preferences which results in comments of personal taste. And that should not be the base for a rating-scale which claims to be universal. When it comes to technical aspects thats a different kind of thing. DNR, edge enhancement or block noise and such things are obvious on big screens and we can speak of objectivity and measurability.All about Ev(m)e:I am a collector of films for about 27 Years, own about 3.000 films (would be far more, but I often sort out transfers I dont like) and watch them in a home-cinema room via bigscreen projection. I am also a hobby musician and photographer with some experience scanning camera negatives in high definitions. I am fascinated by films from reels since I am a kid and spent hours for hours in cinemas and visiting film festivals.

Very atmospheric mind bending scary story. I've loved the film Black Christmas and wanted something similar to watch at this time of year and I found it in Dead of Winter. The story is completely different and there's no masked killer but the guide lines are the same. Spooky house a blizzard outside all alone and dead bodies hidden away it's dark it's gloomy it's nightmarish.

Good to watch on a winters night.

Not bad at all. Higher production values, if compared to the other Slasher Classics Collection titles!

I first saw this movie on Beta, back in 1988, and it stood out in my mind so much so, that I just had to order it. Great story, and Roddy Mcdowell, plays his role wonderfully. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good thriller with no gore & good storyline. Not the best acting all around, but it's good enough.