The Thaw (2009)

24% of users liked it
(1,706 ratings)

A team of ecology students led by a famous environmental advocate discovers that some secrets are better left buried when they unearth the perfectly preserved remains of a frozen wooly mammoth and discover that an ancient parasite has been incubating inside the beast for centuries. Dr. David Krupien… More A team of ecology students led by a famous environmental advocate discovers that some secrets are better left buried when they unearth the perfectly preserved remains of a frozen wooly mammoth and discover that an ancient parasite has been incubating inside the beast for centuries. Dr. David Krupien (Val Kilmer) is examining a melting ice cap in the Arctic when he unearths a prehistoric specimen the likes of which researchers have never seen. Elated by the possibilities of such a remarkable find, Dr. Krupien hastily summons four of his brightest students to the base to take part in the excavation. But something isn't right; soon after extracting the massive prehistoric creature from the ice, the students are besieged by a swarm of unidentified insects that burrow deep into the flesh, and lay eggs in their host to reproduce. With each new infection, the prospect of containing the parasitic bane decreases. Now, stranded in the Arctic with their numbers quickly dwindling, the desperate students realize that their only hope of preventing the parasite from reaching the general population is to quarantine the base, even if it costs them their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Mark A. Lewis, Mark Lewis
Written By: Mark A. Lewis, Michael W. Lewis
Genres: Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Dec 1, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Oct 6, 2009
Studio: Lionsgate

Critic Reviews

Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central
The Thaw appears to borrow a tremendous amount of its plot from The X-Files. There was a good movie here that lost its way.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dr Blood

If you ignore all the boring ecological crap about global warming that seems to get spouted at length every ten minutes, "The Thaw" isn't a bad little horror film about parasitic bugs at all. Basically, the action takes place at a remote Arctic research station without… More
If you ignore all the boring ecological crap about global warming that seems to get spouted at length every ten minutes, "The Thaw" isn't a bad little horror film about parasitic bugs at all. Basically, the action takes place at a remote Arctic research station without much snow to be seen anywhere (possibly due to this really being filmed in Canada) and has quite a few similarities to "The Thing" in terms of isolation and the need to quarantine the nasty little beasties. Unfortunately, most of the budget must have been blown on hiring Val Kilmer for his minimal screen time so, if you are expecting lots of gory nastiness, this is slightly disappointing for truly hardcore horror fans. The effects, although sparse, are nasty enough for most people especially if you have entomophobia as one of the characters indeed does. Various infestations and burrowing creepy-crawlies are shown in all their low-budget CGI glory so be prepared to sit there scratching at yourself throughout the movie. There's even a rather nice arm amputation scene which, although still somewhat ridiculous, is a lot more realistic than most that you'd see in a film of this nature. Of course, there's a little bit of a twist to this involving the motivation of Val Kilmer's professor character whose subplot lingers mostly in the background as the small team of thirty-something graduate "students" vainly fight against the bugs. Other than that, it's all formulaic stuff with one character being picked off after another in a typical slasher film style. As usual, none of the characters are particularly well developed or likable and seem hellbent on making you hate them even more by being absolutely useless apart from bickering with each other in most of the situations that they get themselves into. There's even the tired old cliché of self-sacrifice which you'll get pretty sick of hearing about or seeing by the end of the movie. The camerawork is nice and steady, not any of that shakycam crap, and, although the sets give away the budget in a few places, it still looks quite good. The location means that a claustrophobic atmosphere is severely lacking and, it almost goes without saying, that there's a distinct lack of tension throughout. Considering that "The Thaw" was released straight-to-DVD on the "Ghost House Underground" label, it's one of the better ones and fans of things like "Slither" (2006) or "Ticks" (1999) will enjoy it if they prefer something which takes itself a lot more seriously.
Bruce B

One of the great movies from Ghost House Underground Series. This one is as good as they get. A research team in the Artic discover a Woolly Mammoth, but what they don't know is that they discovered much more, a prehistoric parasite that feeds on its victims. Excellent special… More
One of the great movies from Ghost House Underground Series. This one is as good as they get. A research team in the Artic discover a Woolly Mammoth, but what they don't know is that they discovered much more, a prehistoric parasite that feeds on its victims. Excellent special effects and some terror sights but not in the class of a Halloween film, but still a thriller and horror, 4 1/2 stars
Nani V

For some reason, my boyfriend and I watched this whole movie and got somewhat into it. It was watchable and you wanted to know what was going to happen next to the students. Not the best, but we found humor in it and it was a decent tv movie about creepy crawling bugs.
Brian D

Well above avenge horror across between the thing and touches of cabin fever.Startes well and carrys on thru out leaving you with a satifying climax.Acting is well above par for this type of low budget fair.Any Val Kilmer fans will be disappointed as he as a short screen presents.This… More
Well above avenge horror across between the thing and touches of cabin fever.Startes well and carrys on thru out leaving you with a satifying climax.Acting is well above par for this type of low budget fair.Any Val Kilmer fans will be disappointed as he as a short screen presents.This to me is a rare and surprise find and recommand it to horror fans....
Jacob P

A fantastic horror film. Very creepy\eerie plot.
Daniel P

Appalling, badly written and even worse acted 'host' horror in the style of The Thing, that is populated by vacuous, frustratingly tokenistic characters that make stupid decisions. The writers try to justify the film with a fucking awful 'twist'… More
Appalling, badly written and even worse acted 'host' horror in the style of The Thing, that is populated by vacuous, frustratingly tokenistic characters that make stupid decisions. The writers try to justify the film with a fucking awful 'twist' wrap-around ending that serves as a warning message about global warming that is likely to infuriate anyone with even the smallest of green sensibilities. The Thaw sucks. The Thing, Splinter, heck, even the X-Files episode Ice did this so much better.
John M

I enjoy the mixture of horror, and political commentary. The acting is good across the board. The premise is somewhat believable, and the tension is thick. The location lends to the creepiness, being such a remote location. Good effects, suspense and atmosphere.