Here’s a first for Eric’s Bad Movies at Film.com: a movie that has the same title as another Bad Movie I already wrote about. The title is “Jack Frost.” Last year we covered the one from 1998, with Michael Keaton as a father reincarnated as a snowman; today we cover the one from 1996 (or so), where a serial killer’s soul is transported to a snowman. There’s a third “Jack Frost,” too, a Russian-Finnish production from the ’60s that was handled by “Mystery Science Theater.” Apparently the title “Jack Frost” is cursed. Do not call your movie “Jack Frost”!
There is some question of when this “Jack Frost,” the killer-snowman one, was released. Internet Movie Database just says 1996, no specific date, and I can’t find any evidence that it actually showed in theaters (no box office data, no reviews even from Variety or the New York Times, which generally review everything). IMDb says it was released on video Sept. 22, 1998; some review sites have the year of release as 1997; basically, it’s a mystery. If anyone connected to the film happens to read this and would like to clarify the timetable, I’d be grateful. I do like to have my facts straight.
Also at Film.com is my What’s the Big Deal? column, this week focusing on Federico Fellini’s “8 1/2” (1963). It’s timely, too, because “8 1/2” was the basis for the Broadway musical “Nine,” of which a film version is being released this week. I am on top of things!
Ahhhh… Jack Frost… it was only a matter of time until you met your fate on Eric’s Bad Movies. Do NOT review the sequel – it’s impossible to sit through and actually TRIES to be funny.
I was in Brazil when I saw the poster for this film in the front window of a video rental place. I thought, “Oh good. Now everyone who sees my last name will automatically think of me as a monster.”
But luckily Brazilians are no dumber than Americans in that nobody ever saw the movie. Also, the name Jack Frost means nothing to anyone in Brazil.
Have you done “Mac & Me” in your Bad Movies reviews? It’s a 1988 family film that is both an E.T. ripoff, and a 90 minute commercial
@Dave McClelland: Mac & Me was one of my favorite “Eric’s Bad Movie” entries. I found it browsing the archives of Film.com.
http://bit.ly/7tjjbe
My favorite part of this blog entry (I’ll be reading the review shortly) is the request for clarification of facts from someone involved with the movie that he’s just eviscerated, because they’ll certainly be in a charitable frame of mind. 🙂
Okay, having read the review, I now wanted to look it up on Wikipedia, where the first like of the article reads “Jack Frost is an American black comedy film written and directed by Michael Cooney and released in 1996.”
I was not familiar with the usage of the phrase “black comedy” to mean “devoid of all comedy”. Huh. Live and learn.