You don’t need to be a meteorologist to know that it’s hot outside. Really hot.
So what better way to escape the relentless, stifling heat than to stay inside, crank up the AC (or fan) and watch a movie that may actually help you appreciate the heat a little?
We suggest these ice-cold winter flicks for your consideration:
If you want to go down a serious rabbit hole, have we got an unsolved mystery for you – the (true) case of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. A quick history lesson: Sometime on Feb. 1 or Feb. 2, 1959, nine Soviet college students – led by Igor Dyatlov – who were camping in the Ural Mountains were scared out of their canvas tent and ran through deep snow and freezing temperatures in various stages of undress. Their bodies were found weeks later by searchers. The weird thing is all of their injuries couldn’t (and still can’t) be completely explained ...
In this found-footage film, to determine what happened to the hikers, five U.S. college students go back to where the hikers were found dead, retracing their steps. The students don’t return from the expedition, either, and the recovered footage is deemed too disturbing for public viewing. Go for the story and the freezing tundra, but stay for the seriously bonkers plot twist. (Available free on Tubi.)
A few years ago in this Arts & Entertainment section, we ran a story about the 40th anniversary of the eco-disaster film “Avalanche,” which was filmed up at Tamarron and in various places around Durango (including downtown). The film stars Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow and Robert Forster, and it’s the story about an array of characters who converge at The Caprice for its grand opening. Hudson plays David Shelby, the resort’s wealthy owner, and Farrow stars as his ex-wife, Caroline Brace. Forster co-stars as Nick Thorne, an environmental photographer who tries to warn the resort-goers that the mountain is unsafe. The warnings are ignored, and the massive avalanche finally destroys the resort, setting off a series of further disasters. (Available free on Tubi)
When it comes to freezing-cold movies, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece “The Shining” is almost too easy to add to the list. Based on the novel by Stephen King, writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado. He settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack’s writing goes nowhere and Danny’s visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel’s dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.
In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp and they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot (Kurt Russell) and the camp doctor (Richard Dysart) lead the camp crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.
Stranded after a plane crash in the Andes mountains, individual members of Uruguay’s rugby team respond differently. Group leader Nando (Ethan Hawke) tries to keep everyone’s spirits up; medical student Roberto (Josh Hamilton) diligently treats cases of frostbite and gangrene; loose cannon Antonio (Vincent Spano) gradually loses his composure. Once all available food stuffs run out, the group faces a terrible dilemma: eat one or more of their deceased teammates, or die.
A post-apocalyptic ice age forces humanity’s last survivors aboard a globe-spanning supertrain. One man (Chris Evans) will risk everything to lead a revolt for control of the engine and the future of the world.
After climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) is largely ignored by U.N. officials when presenting his environmental concerns, his research proves true when an enormous “superstorm” develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is trapped in New York with his friend Laura (Emmy Rossum) and others, Jack and his crew must travel by foot from Philadelphia, braving the elements, to get to Sam before it’s too late.
katie@durangoherald.com
