1976: Two young journalists leave for the French-Swiss border to investigate a strange case of cattle mutilations and record testimonies for a TV channel. Yet, once they get there, the scientific team they were supposed to meet has gone missing. Escorted by a first-aider, a British biologist and an American forensic investigator, Melissa and David will go looking for the missing team deep into the mountains.
Холодная земля, Fagyos föld, 极寒之地
USAR
Telluride Horror Show
USAR
France
France
France
USA
Some of my favorite scary stories take place in freezing cold climates: The Thing (1982), Frozen (2010), A Year Without Santa Claus (1974)… the list goes on. The thought of being abandoned or lost in the freezing cold, possibly with no hope of ever seeing Santa again, literally gives me the chills. Cold Ground captures this at times.
But this is what drives me crazy about found footage movies. The first forty minutes are a walking and camping simulation. We get it. It’s far away and it’s cold. Could have done that in five minutes, ten tops. The problem is, they can’t use flashbacks or creative vignettes to help us learn the characters because it’s FOUND FOOTAGE and has to be…
I’ve been overwhelmed by an annoyingly persistent, and equally uncommon, found footage horror craving. I’m not entirely sure where this came from but I have an idea, and I can make no excuses for it. I am fully aware of what indulging in this craving is likely to do, how many shitty films I’m undoubtedly going to suffer through until I feel I’ve seen enough. I made a list recently (shameless plug) called Just Keep Film-ing (yep, just like the swimming song from Finding Nemo) and I was convinced when I started compiling it that I had seen, or own, dozens and dozens of aforementioned found footage films. I was shocked, and more than a little disproportionately saddened, that I’d…
I started and stopped Cold Ground about three times since the very beginning of Covid quarantine. A found footage foreign language film is a lot to ask of my ADHD ass - foolish me didn’t realize the whole thing wasn’t in French. Howard’s Mill was one of those FFs that reminded me of my deep rooted love in the genre so it looks like I’m on a kick for shaky cam.
What’s the worst thing a found footage film can be? I don’t ask this rhetorically, for everyone it’s probably a different standard. However, for me the worst thing a handheld Jorge can become is a goddamn walking simulator. Aside from some Blair Witch rip off shit with bones, and some…
So our central team are investigating missing cattle up in the French mountains (I dunno where), and an avalanche hits which covers their tour guide, tragically killing him the process. How do the team react to his unfortunate and sudden end once they’re out and safe? By making a nonchalant quip, ‘Guess David wasn’t so lucky’. He literally just lost his life to help them and they repay him with sarcasm! Lovely. The film’s called Cold Ground, but the coldest thing here is these unfeeling people’s hearts
Found footage....well it's not my favourite sub genres but I did like this one.
I was freezing with them, they were all likeable which is unusual in found footage.
The survival situation had my interest, and the panic as to what to do and what is out there. I'm still not sure....a pack of werewolves?!
”Hey everyone, come take a look. I found something over here...”
Cold Ground doesn't bring a whole lot of originality to the well worn found footage space, but goddamn sometimes the simplest of scares are able to worm their way under my skin and leave me beyond creeped out. The absolutely hopeless atmosphere on this one was top notch!
A research team treks off on a long hike into the alps of the Swiss/French border, following up on stories of mutilated cows gone missing. I'm sure whatever killed the cattle definitely doesn't have a taste for human flesh... The first half is a bit of a dull drudge uphill through the snow, yet things really ramp up once the avalanche…
Once you get past the make believe camera that I don't believe existed at the time, there is a lot to love about this found footage monster flick.
The setting is amazing, the characters are likeable (Shocking! In a found footage film!), the monsters and their attacks are great and the pace is pretty solid throughout.
The only drawback is there was nothing that made the film have to be set in 1976, and if it had be set in modern day it would have got rid of those pesky questions like "Are they really changing the film during all this?" or "Wouldn't the batteries run out long ago in the cold?" amongst many others.
But then again, these nitpicks may not bother anyone else but me, so this is an easy recommend to those who like "Lost in the woods, monster movies".
Cold Ground is an unpretentious genre film. It's not very original, but it hits the required marks of found-footage horror.
Shaky-cam is active.
This one belongs to a team of researchers hiking up a mountain on the French-Swiss border. Something has infected the animals at the upper elevations and they're going up to take a look.
Bad things happen.
There are enough tense scenes and jump scares to make Cold Ground worthwhile. It's got people getting terrified and tents being crap places to hide. That's really all you need in your found-footage movie.
Terrible poster, though. Cold Ground is not a comic horror. Not sure who did that, but it doesn't fit the movie.
Continuing a found-footage kick with 2017’s Cold Ground. That rating is probably too high for this, as it’s a film that suffers from all the typical found-footage weaknesses (ie. why are you still filming?!?). If you’re tired of the FF formula or its more frustrating issues, Cold Ground isn’t going to change your mind. Despite those faults, I quite enjoyed my time with this wintry French entry to the subgenre.
Make no mistake, large chunks of Cold Ground are just the characters trudging through snowy woodlands, the crunch of footsteps and rustling of jackets a constant backdrop. This should be boring. Many will find it undeniably dull. And yet, I didn’t. That’s a testament to the film’s genuinely likable group…
I can’t believe it took until 2017 for somebody to make a found footage movie where people sit in a tent while something bashes on the outside of it!
Well balanced and pretty effective found footage film, set in the snowy mountains of the French-Swiss border, somewhere in the 1970s. And it shows with its grainy aesthetics and all. Enough room to get to know the characters, the film takes its time to build up a sense of dread and it eventually delivers with a number of chaotic jolts of horror. You won't see a lot of monster, but what you do see, is enough to make you squeeze your butt cheeks. I also liked the avalanche scene. The final 15 minutes or so didn't really work for me. Potentially powerful stuff, I guess, but it felt a little overdone. Also, the girl got on my nerves. Stop screaming, you twat.
A French and English-language found-footage creature feature that finds its characters traipsing through Alpine snowdrifts, "Cold Ground" offers a mostly watchable genre experience. Built around journalists traveling through the Alps to investigate cattle mutilations, the film finds the journalists discovering the dangerous root of their mystery. Of course, this being the type of film that it is, that root is communicated in short, jerky-cam, out-of-focus bursts; but those bursts, and the story they support, is sufficiently compelling and chilling despite a weak beat or two.
