Why Jack Frost Became A Cult Classic Christmas Horror Movie
The Christmas horror movie Jack Frost is now considered a cult classic. Here’s why it gained cult status despite its overwhelmingly negative reviews.
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While some holiday horror movies gain a cult following through their incredible use of mythology or slasher elements, others like Jack Frost become popular for their status as being “so bad, it’s good.” The sub-genre isn’t the most expansive, but there are definitely better movies available than Michael Cooney’s 1997 flick. Here’s why Jack Frost remains one of the most beloved holiday horror movies of all time regardless of its poor critical reviews.
Jack Frost follows the story of a convicted serial killer of the same name who evades his death sentence only to be transformed into a genetically modified snowman. His revenge plot unfolds throughout its entirety with borderline comical killings and bizarre character interactions. Following the release of the 1997 Christmas horror movie, it received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, but this did not stop it from getting the sequel treatment. While Michael Cooney expressed interest in directing a third installment in the series, it has yet to come to fruition. The director planned to make Jack Frost into a Godzilla-sized creature and title the movie Jack Frost 3: The Last Coming.
There are several killer snowmen that exist in popular culture, but only three of which are full-length feature – Jack Frost and Jack Frost 2 included. In 2017, Tomas Alfredson’s psychological thriller The Snowman released with an equally poor response from critics as Cooney’s movie. As of this writing, the original Jack Frost and Alfredson’s movie have a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the 1997 feature has the upper-hand by having an unwavering cult following.
Jack Frost gained cult status for its comedic aspects that Cooney set out to add to his low-budget horror movie. The kills are beyond ridiculous, as they are nonsensical and oftentimes feature characters going through several forms of weaponry before settling for and equally ridiculous object. Jack Frost shoots icicles out of his hand, slaps people with his snowy oven mitt shaped hand, and says phrases like “one p***ed off snow cone.” Its almost fitting that Scary Movie actress Shannon Elizabeth portrays Jill Metzner, as Jack Frost is a horror comedy that’s almost a parody of itself.
It is important to note that it gained an even larger following due to the release of 1998’s fantasy drama Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton. Both movies feature a man who turns into a snowman. While the 1998 version is a family friendly movie about a father who bonds with his son as a living snowman, the other is a slasher flick. The juxtaposition of the two movies that share the same name and somewhat similar storyline adds an air of comedy when a false rumor spreads that Michael Keaton’s Jack Frost was inspired by the serial killer. Ultimately, the main reasons that Jack Frost has gained a cult following is because of poor time, bad special effects, comical killers, and cheesy one-liners, which only adds to its charm.
There are plenty of incredibly horrifying holiday movies available in sub-genres featuring elements of slasher, paranormal, zombie, and other creatures, but nothing comes close to being as infamous as Jack Frost. It has a familiar comedic flare that can be located in movies such as Silent Night, Deadly Night 2’s garbage day scene except amplified beyond belief. Jack Frost is more than deserving of its cult status, especially considering the fact that it didn’t oversaturate the holiday horror market with too many sequels and was attentive to the ridiculousness of a snowman come to life to kill people.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/jack-frost-horror-movie-cult-classic-reason/