DVD Review: Blood Glacier

By Brad Henderson

I’m pretty sure most people would agree that The Thing is one of the best monster flicks out there. Since its release there hasn’t been anything like it. Just a few years ago there was a The Thing prequel that I enjoyed to an extent, but it is flawed and doesn’t even come close to the original. Of course, we get decent monster flicks every now and again but John Carpenter made something very special with The Thing.

Recently a film has surfaced called Blood Glacier that totally feels like it was made in the same vein as The Thing. How could you not get a movie boner with a title like Blood Glacier? I agree the title is sort of ridiculous because it doesn’t make sense in the context of the movie other than the fact that the glacier has a red liquid running through it. Personally, I can’t think of a better title, and in all honesty Blood Glacier grabs me and makes me want to watch it no matter what the plot is about. When this film was first playing at festivals it was called The Station, which is simple and boring as hell so I’m glad they made the change for this release.

I have no doubts the filmmakers behind Blood Glacier are huge fans of The Thing because you can feel it throughout the whole film. It doesn’t have the characters The Thing has, but it does keep up with most of the practical effects. Blood Glacier is about a group of scientists who uncover ooze flowing through a glacier in Austria that is altering both humans and wildlife who come into contact with it. Long story short: it makes the wildlife badass and we get some cool ass monsters with wonderful special effects.

Marvin Kren, responsible for the mediocre Rammbock a few years ago, directs this flick. Don’t get me wrong; I like Rammbock, but it was bland. I was disappointed when it ended because it felt like the film was just getting started. Blood Glacier starts off kind of nuts and keeps up the pace until the very end. Michael Fuith, who was in Rammbock, is also in this. (He was also in a sick, twisted, and delightful film called Michael a few years ago. If you haven’t seen Michael I highly suggest it. It is a dark, twisted dramedy about a pedophile who keeps a kid in his basement. Yeah, I know it sounds sick, but it isn’t tasteless in the slightest. It does have some “what the fuck!” moments, but that’s kind of expected in a film with that content.)

IFC has released Blood Glacier and I’ve heard they have cut 15 – 20 minutes from the original German release although I can’t find any evidence backing that up. I wouldn’t put it past IFC because it sometimes feels like they don’t give a shit about movies and give them the worst releases. Blood Glacier is something that deserved a Blu-Ray release but we are stuck with this measly DVD. However, at least the movie was released and people can see it. I suggest renting it from Amazon or watching it on Netflix to see it in HD.

Blood Glacier was released by MPI Home Video and IFC Films on DVD on August 26./dp/B00K2PN9JM