Product Details

• Actors: Al Santos, Sandra McCoy, Brian McNamara, Ella Joyce, Ashley Gardner
• Directors: Brian McNamara
• Writers: Graham Silver, Robert Egan
• Producers: Billy Hayes, Buster McCoy, Caroline Toulot, Cassie Ray Allebaugh, Graham Silver
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: November 25, 2008
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001FQLMTQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,416 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Dead of Winter" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

DEAD OF WINTER - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A New Take on the Slasher in the Woods, March 1, 2009

By 

R. Schultz (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead of Winter (DVD)

You might think that you've already seen every possible permutation of the mad slasher stalking the young couple in the woods. However this film, "based on real events," does put a new twist on the theme.

The couple's floundering in the woods gets a little repetitious, and you might think you are guessing the secret of their dilemma. But you probably won't know the whole truth of the matter until the very last frame.

So this film is marginally worth sticking with. But there's another, better film out there with the same title, "Dead of Winter." (Producers seem to be recycling titles with increasing rapidity.) This somewhat older film, starring Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall, is much slicker, more clever - and more frightening. So if you just have time for one chilling snow job - make it the Steenburgen/McDowall film.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Few Atmospheric Chills, Decent Acting, but Nothing More, December 12, 2008

By 

Cory T. Shaeffer "HockeyFanatic" (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead of Winter (DVD)

If you read the liner notes to this film, there are quotes that compare this film to "The Shining." We won't go THAT far here, although there are moments where the scenery and mood do succeed in creating tension and uncertainty. McNamara obviously draws from Mr. King in that respect, although this movie would compare with more standard King films such as "Riding the Bullet." It is better than most of the Masters of Horror series, though, and if it were not for the banal dialogue and absurd one-liners throughout, the acting by the two lead characters would have put this over the top. But the problem is that while it IS atmospheric and it IS chilling at times, everyone watching it knows what is going on, and the "twist" at the end really is not all that shocking. There is very little blood/gore, very few moments where you will jump or be startled, and the suspensful moments are just too few and far between to make this movie anything more than average.

McNamara deserves points for trying, however, and he does connect on certain thematic elements. In addition, the two young leads in the film deliver performances that should not be overlooked. It is not a total loss, but I would only suggest it as a rental.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reagan Reminds You to Just Say No, June 29, 2011

By 

NCJake - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead of Winter (DVD)

Wow, this movie is unapologetically bad. The instant and mind shattering effects of crystal meth star in the leading role (incidentally a young couple also flees from a madman while braving the elements).

The story kept me intrigued, though I'd advise any viewer to have the mute button ready and turn off the volume when the girlfriend's auditory hallucination scenes start (think Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes, only instead of funny, annoying, and longer).

The police officer and 911 dispatcher roles are convincingly played and I actually connected with them by the end of the movie. The young couple strained credulity at times, but I suppose the drug card was used as a get out of (scriptwriting) jail free card.

Overall it was not worth watching. The idea is a decent one, but the drug's impact on the story was way overplayed; the director let this one get away. As bad as the end product is, judicious editing here and there might have bumped it up to the crappy but entertaining enough level. In the end it was little more than an hour and a half public service announcement to not do crystal meth (and of course no one with the sense to read my review would consider doing that anyway.)

Skip.