Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, drinking, language in flat horror movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
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Where to Watch
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Snow Falls
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In SNOW FALLS, five young adults take a trip to a vacation home in the middle of ski country for New Year's Eve. The house belongs to River's (Johnny Berchtold) family, and he brings his friends Andy, Em, Kit, and Eden. While things start out as a big party of binge drinking and laughter, a blizzard moves in, cutting off the roads and the electricity. As they try to stay warm with firewood and the gas stove, they soon find themselves struggling with their sanity as the wood runs out, there's no phone service, and the snow isn't melting. It only gets worse as they struggle to stay awake to avoid dying of hypothermia, and their hallucinations and delusions become increasingly violent.
Is It Any Good?
This is a mostly unremarkable horror movie that doesn't get far beyond the conventions and cliches of the genre. Snow Falls is another version of the "young adults go to the vacation house in the country to die" horror story, only instead of murderous countryfolk, the homicidal culprits in this one are both snow and cold.
The lack of heat and the lack of sleep leads to delirium and hallucinations, and while it almost gets close to doing something creative with the story, the whole thing comes across as formulaic, with jump scares galore, cheesy hallucinations, and unsatisfying plot twists. And while the acting is pretty good across the board, this is also marred by young adult horror movie archetypes (i.e. the sensitive guy, the jock-bro, etc.).
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about horror movies like Snow Falls. How is this similar to and different from other horror movies you've seen?
How does the violence here compare to that in other horror movies?
Does the movie glamorize binge drinking, or is it more of an honest depiction of young adults partying in a vacation house?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : January 17, 2023
- Cast : Anna Grace Barlow , Jonathan Bennett , Johnny Berchtold
- Director : Colton Tran
- Inclusion Information : Gay Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 79 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : Brief bloody violence.
- Last updated : January 30, 2023
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