SHREDDER (2003) Review

Directed by: Greg Huson
Written by: Craig Donald Carlson, Greg Huson
Starring: Scott Weinger, Lindsey McKeon, Juleah Weikel, Billy O'Sullivan, Holly Towne, Brad Hawkins, Peter Riggs

Horror movies that take place in freezing climates have always been attractive to me. There's something about the contrast of crimson blood pumping out onto fresh white snow that just seems awesome. So I really had no troubles jumping into SHREDDER despite it being a slasher I'd never before heard about. Unfortunately rather than being cool as ice SHREDDER is quite a lukewarm affair.

Here is a movie that's borrowed the book on 'how to make a slasher' from the library and photocopied every page before returning it. It's about as stereotypical as you can get and doesn't deviate from the formula in the slightest. It follows a group of young attractive friends taking a trip to an abandoned, isolated ski lodge so that they can go carve some sweet snow. Cole (Weinger) and Kimberly (McKeon) originally planned a romantic weekend away but Kim reveals that they won't be making the trip alone. Skyler (O'Sullivan) and his video camera are accompanying Kirk (Riggs) who is apparently some sort of pro snowboarder and the pair are filming a documentary. Kimberly's cousin Pike (Weikel) and friend Robyn (Towne) are also coming along for the ride. After stopping off at a bar they are warned by the crotchety old bartender to stay away from the top of the mountain because it's not safe, but of course they don't really give a shit.

After shredding some snow and drinking and smoking weed and all that other shit you'd expect these kids to do they realize that something is not quite right. There's a skier clad in black who's starting to pick them off one by one. Could this have to do with the story of the little girl who was killed by snowboarders years before? And what about the mysterious European hunk Cristophe (Hawkins) who acts like he has something to hide? Will they figure it out before they are all... iced? (sorry).
The movie plays out exactly how you would expect and it's not really that big a mystery as to who the killer is. There are a couple of obligatory red herrings thrown in but if you've seen a few slashers then you'll recognize them straight away.

The filmmakers have also managed to work in some of that oh so cool meta stuff that SCREAM was well known for. But lines like "you never go in the basement!" and "you can't kill me, I'm still a virgin" just aren't clever anymore. Thankfully at least there are a decent number of kills and most of the effects are practical and pretty well done. The partial decapitation right near the start is probably the best but the last kill honestly looks pretty cheap and shitty. And at least we get to see some good ol' boobage too, although only one pair and not really for that long. The acting and dialogue is pretty much standard slasher level stuff, but the Skyler character has to be one of the most obnoxious people ever. He's the kind of guy who always has his video camera rolling and his dialogue seems to consist completely of 90s radical dude speak. Oh and the editing is horrid. I get the fact that's to match the awesomeness of these dudes shredding some gnarly virgin powder but too many cuts in a single scene is just distracting and ugly. All in all SHREDDER is a nice piece of fun cookie-cutter slasher entertainment, but just barely. Throwing in a twist or surprise would have been welcomed but at least there is some nice gore and tits, even if all of the characters are annoying idiots.