Let It Snow is the feature length directorial debut of director Stanislav Kapralov and it has a fairly intriguing premise: A couple on holiday, Mia and Max, decide to do some free-riding snowboarding on a notoriously dangerous mountain and are tormented by a masked snowmobile rider who is out for retribution for an 11 year old girl who was run into and left to die by free riders three years prior.
Let It Snow advertises itself as an action-horror film, but unfortunately fails to meet either mark. The first third of the movie is a slow build with predictable tropes, such as the creepy hotel worker who warns the couple not to go to the Black Ridge, the arrogant American boyfriend who ignores every warning sign, and the clearly smarter girlfriend who is worried by the warning and the dead body that was found on the mountain and thinks going there isn’t such a good idea. Sadly, none of the tropes get subverted in any meaningful way, resulting in a story that doesn’t feel surprising or original.
Fair warning: skip this paragraph if you don’t want spoilers. One of the most frustrating things about this movie is that Mia doesn’t act in a way that feels consistent. After she is rescued by the old man and wakes up the next day, she discovers a snowmobile and has the good sense to grab her things and try to run. This doesn’t work, but it shows initiative. However, later when she finds one of the killer’s layers, she examines the weapons there but doesn’t bother to take one, which, given everything that has happened prior to this, makes no sense as she should clearly have come around to the idea that fighting is probably the better option than running at this point. Following this event, the cliff ending becomes ever more predictable, and the mid credits reveal falls flat because if Mia was going to develop the nerve and rage to fight, she would have done so long before then.
The production is hit or miss, but the hits are noteworthy. The setting is absolutely gorgeous, and the shots of the Georgian Caucuses are often breathtaking. Kapralov has a love of close ups, and more often than not they seem unnecessary, like when he is focusing on Christmas decorations. However, when he uses them right, such as with the old man and the tape or of Mia during her difficulties on the mountain, they do have the desired impact.
While the snowboarding sequences are cool, the rest of the action sequences feel rushed and don’t hit well, and at times the camera switches to a first person perspective, which means you don’t really get to see what is going on, you just see blurred scenery as a camera is thrown around. I understand that the terrorizing is supposed to be the horror aspect of this movie, but it doesn’t happen often enough, and isn’t filmed menacingly enough, to actually put you on edge. Also, this movie portrays long exposure to the elements over a period of days, and I don’t think the impact of those elements on the human body for that period of time were properly represented, which was a gnawing annoyance in the back of my mind for much of the film.
I don’t often comment on this, but as this is a direct video release it bears mentioning. The back cover of the box depicts the climax, which is in and of itself a huge spoiler, but the image used clearly has Ivanna Sakhno safety lined and there is another pair of boots visible indicating someone is standing behind her. Clearly, this is a behind the scenes production image, and they really should have edited it or found a different picture for the box art.
Let It Snow has a fairly small cast, and Ivanna Sakhno, who plays Mia, steals the show. Mia is the most developed character in the movie, and while I would love more of her backstory, there is at least enough there for Sakhno to work with. Despite what I feel are inconsistencies in Mia’s actions, Sakhno does an impressive job of portraying the emotional damage and physical hardships the Mia endures, and her performance is one of the few things that kept this movie interesting. Max, played by Alex Hafner, is a one-dimensional character that is the archetypal arrogant American. Alex does a decent job with the role, but there isn’t much to work with and you don’t miss him when he isn’t on screen.
Kapralov’s reach exceeds his grasp on Let It Snow, and it’s disappointing because the base story has plenty of potential in terms of action and horror, but it simply wasn’t achieved. If you’re a fan of Ivanna Sakhno or just want to see some beautiful shots of the Caucuses, then you may want to check this movie out, otherwise I’d pass on it.
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