Frostbite (2006 film)
Sweden's first vampire movie, set in polar night.
Frostbite (original Swedish title: *Frostbiten*) is a 2006 Swedish comedy horror film directed by Anders Banke, with a screenplay by Daniel Ojanlatva. The story unfolds in a small northern Swedish town during midwinter, where the cold climate and scarce daylight make it an ideal setting for vampires to prey on the locals. It is often noted as a milestone in Swedish horror, though it is not Sweden's first vampire movie—that distinction belongs to 'Vampyr' (1932) or 'The Vampire' (1913).
The plot begins in 1944, when a group of soldiers from the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, retreating from the Red Army in Ukraine, takes shelter in an abandoned cabin. At nightfall, vampires from a hidden crypt beneath the cabin attack them. In the present day, doctor Annika and her teenage daughter Saga relocate to a town in Lapland so Annika can work near the renowned geneticist Gerhard Beckert. The polar night has begun, leaving a month until sunrise—much to Saga’s disappointment. Saga befriends a goth girl named Vega, who invites her to a party. At the local hospital, medical student Sebastian discovers pills that Beckert has been using to treat a comatose patient. Assuming they are drugs, Sebastian tries them and develops acute hearing, improved vision, the ability to talk to dogs, and an intense thirst. Vega, who paid Sebastian to supply the pills for the party, steals them after he claims he forgot. Meanwhile, Annika is bitten by the coma patient and seeks help from Beckert, who knocks her unconscious. It is revealed that Beckert is the sole survivor of the wartime massacre, along with a child vampire named Maria. He brought Maria to northern Sweden to find a cure for vampirism but later shifted his goal to creating human-vampire hybrids. The pills contain vampire blood, which Beckert used to covertly spread the condition. Annika escapes, stakes Beckert, and runs him over with an ambulance, destroying him. At the party, John consumes one pill and puts the rest in the punch bowl, infecting many guests, including Vega. The party descends into chaos as vampires attack. Saga hides in the basement but is pursued by Vega, whom she impales on a garden gnome. Police arrive, are overwhelmed, and Saga is driven away in an ambulance. She meets Maria, who says they will be sisters, and sees Annika in the driver’s seat with red vampire eyes.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Anders Banke
- Producer
- Göran Lindström · Magnus Paulsson
- Writer
- Daniel Ojanlatva
- Starring
- Petra Nielsen · Grete Havnesköld · Jonas Karlström · Emma Åberg
- Music
- Anthony Lledo
- Cinematography
- Chris Maris
- Editing
- Kiko C.C. Sjöberg
- Studio
- Solid Entertainment · Cinepost Studios · Cinestar Production AB\Fido Film AB\Film i Skåne · Filmpool Nord · Moviemakers Nord AB\Persson-Mothander Film · Svenska Stuntgruppen · Yggdrasil AB
- Distributor
- Paramount Pictures
- Released
- 6 February 2006
- Runtime
- 98 minutes
- Country
- Sweden
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The plot interweaves two timelines. In 1944, during World War II in Ukraine, remnants of the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking are attacked by vampires in an abandoned cabin. In present-day Sweden, doctor Annika and her teenage daughter Saga move to a town in Lapland, where the polar night has begun. Saga befriends a goth girl named Vega, while at the local hospital, medical student Sebastian finds pills used by geneticist Gerhard Beckert to treat a comatose patient. Sebastian takes the pills and develops acute hearing, improved vision, the ability to talk to dogs, and extreme thirst. Vega steals the pills and gives them to a party host, who puts them in punch, infecting multiple guests and turning the party into a bloodbath. Meanwhile, Beckert is revealed to be the last survivor of the massacred platoon, who brought a child vampire named Maria to northern Sweden to create human-vampire hybrids. The film was primarily shot in Luleå and other locations in Norrbotten, with some interior scenes at Ystad Studios—not mostly in Kalix.
Reader's Guide
Frostbite holds significance as Sweden's first vampire film and as a landmark in Swedish horror cinema. It was the most special-effects-heavy film ever made in Sweden at that time, with over 300 FX shots, a record later surpassed by Kenny Begins. The film struggled to find a distributor until Paramount Pictures took over DVD sales after seeing only the first 20 minutes. It premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival on February 3, 2006, and was applauded at the Cannes Film Festival, selling to over 40 countries. According to the producers and director, it became the first horror movie ever screened in North Korea. The film was a big hit in Russia and launched Anders Banke's career in the Russian film industry. In Sweden, it received mediocre to negative reviews with a few exceptions, but after Cannes it became the most popular Swedish movie on foreign markets that year. The score, composed by Anthony Lledo and performed by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, was well received by critics, with Rue Morgue calling it one of the most stirring horror soundtracks in recent years.
Did You Know?
- Frostbite is Sweden's first vampire movie.
- The film was shot mostly in Kalix in the winter of 2005, with board scenes shot in Ystad Studios.
- The supervampire suit worn by actor Kristian Pehrsson took over six weeks to make and prevented him from sitting down or defecating while wearing it.
- The film was promoted with a now-defunct Beckert website that deceived moviegoers into thinking Gerhard Beckert would be the 'Abraham van Helsing' of the film.
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