Dead of Winter (2025) Vertical/Action-Thriller RT: 97 minutes Rated R (violence and language) Director: Brian Kirk Screenplay: Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb Music: Volker Bertelmann Cinematography: Christopher Ross Release date: September 26, 2025 (US) Cast: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden, Gaia Wise, Cuan Hosty-Blaney, Dalton Leeb, Brian F. O’Byrne, Paul Hamilton, Lloyd Hutchinson.
Rating: ***
I’m not sure how significant this is, but I saw the new thriller Dead of Winter on the first day of fall. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Vertical to wait until January to release it? It seems like the right time of year for it. I’m just saying.
Directed by Brian Kirk (21 Bridges), Dead of Winter is a taut, tense snowbound thriller starring Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) as Barb, a recent widow who finds herself a young kidnap victim’s only hope of rescue. She’s gone to a remote lake in the icy wilderness of Minnesota to do a little ice-fishing and dump her husband’s ashes as per his request. She’s not alone. In a nearby cabin, a teenage girl (Marsden, The Pope’s Exorcist) is being held captive by an ailing woman (Greer, Halloween) and her husband (Menchaca, This Is Where We Live). When Barb realizes what’s happening, she takes it on herself to save the girl.
Naturally, the universe is seemingly against Barb. There’s nobody else for miles. The closest town is two hours away. There is no cell phone service way out there. Her pickup is stuck in the snow. She’s unarmed. All she has is her husband’s old tackle box and her resourcefulness. Then there’s the matter of the two kidnappers who set out to kill Barb once they become aware of her presence. The woman, the one running the show, can’t allow her to interfere as her life depends on his girl.
Filmed mainly in Finland, the snowy landscapes are a perfect backdrop for Dead of Winter. The action takes place in a middle-of-nowhere location where not many people tread. The feeling of isolation is palpable thanks to cinematographer Christopher Ross. It perfectly illustrates the loneliness of Barb who just lost the man she’s loved for more than 40 years. Flashbacks give us glimpses of their life together from their first date to Barb caring for her husband in his final days. They reveal a lot about the unlikely heroine including her primary reason for wanting to help the girl. In other words, these scenes serve as more than filler.
Thompson, who might just be looking to reinvent herself as a woman of action, does a brilliant job in the lead role. She has a mile-wide streak of determination as she fights to save someone she doesn’t even know. She battles the elements, lack of supplies and injury as she pushes forward. At one point, she takes a page from the Rambo survival guide in treating a bloody bullet wound. Could we be looking at the next Liam Neeson-like transformation?
Greer chews up the scenery as the villain, a violent psycho who will stop at nothing to get what she wants from her hostage. She constantly berates her husband, a clueless sort just doing what he’s told even though he thinks it’s pretty messed up what she’s doing. Marsden has some good scenes as the scared kidnapped girl, somebody her main character sees as expendable.
At just 97 minutes, Dead of Winter is fairly tight save for some occasional lagging here and there. It’s a good story though. There aren’t any real plot twists or surprise revelations. It’s pretty straightforward in terms of narrative. More than that, it gives an action hero with depth. It’s a personal story if you think about it. One could even argue that it’s Bergman-esque.
I’ll say this; it’s definitely unlike any mainstream American action-thriller in that it places as much emphasis on character as it does action and thrills. After a summer of mindless blockbusters, it’s nice to see a film that takes risks. Dead of Winter certainly does that. The ending will not please everybody, but trust me when I say it’s the right ending.
The bottom line here is this: Dead of Winter is a good movie. You should check it out.
