Charles Darwin might not survive naming the horrors found in Blood Glacier (Blutgletscher), an Austrian film by writer Benjamin Hessler and director Marvin Kren. Together, they are known for Rammbock (2010) and Schautag (2009). If Ben’s last film is any indication, perhaps this filmmaker has a fondness for creating terrors formed by viruses. In the Alps, just what may lurk underneath the snow is definitely not the abominable snowman! Instead, as the title implies, there’s a glacier that is shrinking and revealing a red like algae that’s going to spell doom for the scientists studying the effects of climate change.
This movie falls into the B-camp category with some crazy one-liners shouted out in the midst of some beastly brutality. That’s strange when the film tries to be serious and to inject a Hitchcockian style of suspense somewhat successfully. The scientists are trying to make a new discovery, but instead they find that maybe the Triassic age held a genome, empty blood corpuscles, that could rewrite the history books—especially theories on the origin of the species. After a hefty explanation, what happens next is a parade of nightmares.
From hybrid beetles to foxes and hawks, these mutant beasts suddenly attack the camp! The main star, Janek (Gerhard Liebmann) handles encountering these monsters like a pro and this actor is perhaps the only man for the job. On screen, he is hard man to intimidate. When he’s seen walking around in the high attitudes in his underwear, maybe he is already unhinged. When he and a team-mate discover this mysterious substance, he’s the calmer of the two when they get closer to it.
When his pet dog, Tinnie, senses danger, even he does not seem unflinched. This film delves into some soft character development by showing how close Janek is with his pet moreso than the people in the camp, but when he learns his ex-wife, Tanja (Edita Malovcic) is coming to visit the camp with some dignitaries, the type of feelings he barely shares hints at something else.
In what he learns from her and what she’s been up to lately since their divorce, he could go nuts. Spoilers need not be revealed here or for how this film ends, but just the implication is enough to suggest what’s next if there’s a sequel to this film. Just what could happen next can easily make Darwin cringe.
