Set in a lavish ski lodge amidst a picturesque mountain backdrop, Snow Valley had the potential for a tense, atmospheric thriller. First-time director Brandon Murphy undoubtedly had a vision for crafting an unsettling ghost story within the opulent yet isolated setting.
With a talented cast that included Barbara Crampton and rising stars like Rachel Michiko Whitney, the movie hinted at exploring something more profound about family secrets and the enduring legacy of past trauma.
But, alas, Murphy’s vision was never fully realized on screen. While the film begins by setting an alluring wintry scene, it slows to a languid pace before revealing its true intentions. We’re introduced to Laura and Heath, a charming young couple who seem poised for happiness until strange occurrences disrupt their romantic getaway. Yet the script spends too long on banal interactions that fail to engage, delaying the ominous possibilities suggested early on.
When unease does seep in, it arrives too abruptly without sufficient buildup. From the start, character motivations feel implausible and dialogue is stilted, undercutting efforts to generate tension or intrigue. The thin plot limps towards a hasty conclusion that wraps up loose ends but leaves viewers with more questions. It’s evident Snow Valley retained the blueprint of what could have been a gripping chiller. However, technical flaws and an incomplete vision held the film back from achieving its haunting potential.
Character Foils
At the center of Snow Valley are Laura and Heath, a young couple whose weekend getaway kicks off the film. Laura comes across as intelligent and perceptive, studying neuroscience, yet unafraid to call Heath out when something seems off. She senses trouble lurking beneath the picture-perfect facade. Heath owns the sprawling ski lodge but remains an enigma, dodging Laura’s questions and keeping secrets about the property’s past.
Their dynamic provides an early spark but fails to ignite; their dialogue lacks chemistry. Scenes meant to showcase their bond instead highlight stilted exchanges that lack passion. You wonder if these two truly care for one another or just play the part. Supporting characters further complicate matters, their intros proving more captivating than the supposed leads.
Take Elle, the elderly caretaker who appears without warning, freely traversing rooms as if she alone dictates the rules. Barbara Crampton brings a knowing slyness to the role, her enigmatic smiles hinting at depths left unplumbed. And Ed, oh Ed—he barrels in like a powder keg, spouting conspiracy notions that somehow land more convincingly than Heath’s platitudes about family history.
Played with unhinged gusto by Tom Williamson, Ed proves a vivid presence, dwarfing blander figures like Brannon and Anna. Scenes come alive around him, his volatile nature keeping viewers wary. Even interactions that grow uncomfortable feel authentic, which is more than can be said for Laura and Heath’s stilted exchanges.
When the truth emerges about Heath’s mysterious past, it’s these supporting roles who carry the intrigue rather than the so-called leads. Their dynamic stimulates imagination, and Laura and Heather leave you wanting. It’s a shame the film didn’t pivot further in their direction to explore volatile territory sure to ignite. Instead, it relies on a reveal that falls flat, failing to capitalize on the sparks lit by its most fascinating character foils.
Lost in the Woods
So the setup: Laura and her guy Heath head to his fancy family lodge in the mountains for a ski weekend. It seems his pops owns the whole valley, which used to be miner territory back in the day. Anyhoo, they gab with friends by the fire till things turn strange.
Like this old caretaker lady who pops by uninvited, acting like she runs joint. And late at night, Laura swears she hears a kid calling for help. Nobody believes her, though. Then some nutjob friend of Heath’s shows up, spouting stories about the weird history below their feet.
It’s starting to sound like there’s a mystery in their midst, right? Well, don’t get too excited. Because for like an hour, nothing else happens. These people just sit around chatting—real boring stuff too. No tension, nothing suspenseful. It feels like the movie’s lost in the woods.
And that mystery? It barely gets started before it fizzles out. Right when things start getting creepy, some big reveal occurs, and it’s all over real abrupt. The director didn’t know where he was headed either. Just wandering around the woods with no map and no plan. Storytelling skills must’ve been left behind at the lodge.
Like how you set up intrigue with that caretaker, then drop her story like a bad habit. And this mentally patient brother of Heath’s—did he escape or not? We may never know! Characters hint at dark pasts too, saying a lot without showing much. Tease us, why don’t you? Leave us wanting more!
Instead, we’re left empty-handed, none the wiser. And the ending? Let’s just pretend we never saw it, deal? Rushed resolutions never satisfy. Rather than getting lost, maybe try finding your footing first before trekking into the woods. Map out where you’re headed to keep viewers from getting stranded too. With better direction, this flick could’ve been a real creep fest. As is, the only thing frightening is how boring it gets!
Capturing the Chills
You gotta hand it to Snow Valley’s production team; they nailed the vibe. Stepping into that ski lodge felt like slipping into a cozy chalet in the middle of nowhere. All the rustic cabins and roaring fireplaces really transported you. The location shots of the powdery slopes and snowy pines were dazzling too.
But for a “horror” flick, it sure didn’t scare up much. With such a creepy setting crawling under their feet, you’d think they could’ve crafted some disturbing images. Instead, it was all telling, no showing—just characters blabbing on about past tragedies. Where’s the haunting? Jump out of your seat moments? Zilch.
I get they wanted to build atmosphere, but long dialogue scenes will only hold attention for so long. Especially when the exchanges felt stilted. Transitions between scenes also lacked polish, with very jarring cuts. It felt like key footage ended up on the cutting room floor.
And, oh man, the pacing. Like a snail crawling up sandpaper, it inched along. Nothing happened for ages, then BAM, twist’s dropped with no build. There is no timing to let tension escalate scene by scene. Just info dump after info dump of clunky exposition. Total missed opportunities to pull us in visually and keep that motor running till the end.
So despite pretty pictures, the directing didn’t do the material justice. Some creepier camerawork could’ve stirred more emotion. Think shadows stretching where they shouldn’t, things glimpsed in the corner of the frame. And tighter editing to smooth the bumps would’ve helped too.
With such a vivid winter wonderland as their playground, this production team could’ve conjured a real chill-fest. But they let the cold setting go to waste on a lackluster execution that left me anything but frightened. A true shame given the potential lurking just out of sight in Snow Valley’s frosted forests.
Trying Too Hard
This movie certainly threw a lot of genre darts at the board—threat, horror, comedy, you name it. But did any of them actually hit their mark? Not so much.
Right from the start, it’s wanting to be a psychological thriller, building mystery around Heath’s past and the house’s history. But nothing’s really chilling or unsettling. We just get info dumped on with vague “someone died here” lore. Where’s the implied threat? The creeping sense that not all’s as it seems?
And when it does try for horror near the end, don’t even get me started. Two ghosts appear for five seconds, then vanish, while some over-the-top slasher nonsense plays out. Like, was I meant to find any of that scary? I never once felt any danger building.
The comedy bits are even more head-scratching. A few jokes get thrown in that land with a thud, like they realized—oh, wait, we said this was comedy too; better add a joke here. But it just makes the tone feel wildly inconsistent next to the “serious drama” parts.
Like, were the filmmakers unsure what exactly they wanted to make? Maybe if they’d picked a direction and fully committed, something could’ve worked. But sampling from multiple genres without nailing any one is just confusing.
I get they wanted an “all things to all people” movie. Give the romantics romance, thrill-seekers thrills, and comedy fans laughs. But great films have a strong vision and stick to their guns. This one felt rudderless, like it was trying too hard to please everyone instead of having the guts to be one thing and do it well.
In the end, it’s neither scary, funny, nor pulse-pounding. Just a mishmash of half-baked elements that never fuse into a satisfying whole. Next time, maybe focus the lens and stop mincing genres—tell one kind of story exceptionally instead of several kinds mediocrely. Now that’s a formula for success instead of just leaving everyone saying, “Huh?!”
No Easy Answers
Finishing Snow Valley couldn’t have been easy for Murphy’s collaborators after his passing. Taking over someone’s vision is a tall order under any circumstances. But I imagine they felt a duty to see the project through, warts and all, as a tribute to their friend.
It’s a real shame; we’ll never know how the film may have turned out with Murphy there to see it home. Having worked in Hollywood before, he clearly had some storytelling skills. But you also get the sense that Snow Valley wasn’t quite coming together the way he hoped. Maybe with more time, it could’ve gelled into the thriller we’re told it aimed to be.
Of course, there’s also a chance it just wasn’t the right project to break out his director’s chair for the first time. Debuting at the helm is a steep learning curve, even without added pressure or constraints. So who’s to say how reflective this really is of his talent?
In any case, completing someone’s first movie after their death can’t have been an enviable position to be in. Nobody would’ve blamed the team for walking away. But I respect that they pushed through to honor their friend and see his vision get out there, warts and all.
At the end of the day, all that really matters is that Murphy started telling his story before his time was up. Plenty of talented creatives never get even that far. So if nothing else, Snow Valley is a testament to his drive to create and proof that he got to live his dream, at least for a little while. What more can you ask for, really?
Uneven Debut
By the sounds of it, Snow Valley had the potential for a tense thriller set against a winter backdrop. The foundation was there—an isolated location, shadows of past tragedies, unnerving occurrences after dark. But somewhere along the line, the execution lost its footing.
It’s easy to see what Murphy was going for. Yet too much time passes before anything happens, and the characters prove harder to warm to than the film’s freezing setting. Their interactions feel stilted, draining tension instead of building it.
When the supernatural strands finally surface late on, it’s almost an afterthought—not given room to breathe or send a shiver. Shame, as the scene is set for spooks in that ghost-story locale.
You get the sense that a tighter edit and rewrites could have elevated Snow Valley to chiller status. As it stands, the intriguing setup isn’t enough to override its pacing problems and cool characterizations.
It’s a debut that drips with potential, yet ultimately misses the mark. Still, I hope Murphy got to develop his vision further before parting ways. With experience, he may have turned in a feature truly worthy of that haunting location.
Alas, we’ll never know. But for fans of the genre, there is nothing better than braving Snow Valley’s chilly reception. Perhaps his next effort would have buried us in an avalanche of scares.
The Review
Snow Valley
In the end, Snow Valley is a disappointing missed opportunity. Murphy demonstrated he understood the components of an effective thriller, but he failed to bring them together into a cohesive whole. The film lags for too long before simply delivering its chills too late. While the setting and concept held promise, poor pacing, uneven characters, and an anticlimactic resolution make this directorial debut one to be skipped.
PROS
- Atmospheric setting that sets the stage for supernatural intrigue
- A talented cast, including Barbara Crampton
CONS
- Plodding pace with little forward momentum for over half the runtime
- Unlikable, stilted characters that drain tension
- Anticlimactic resolution fails to deliver on chilling setup
- Opportunities for scares and thrills are wasted.
