According
to this religiously motivated serial killer, Islam’s Zamhari Hell is so cold,
it burns. In that case, it would not mean much if Hell froze over. Regardless,
Hell may very well have frozen over judging from the surprises this Austrian
thriller has in-store for viewers. In addition to being relentlessly tense, it
also stays true to current realities, in ways that would be spoilery to explain.
It also happens to be the work of an Academy Award winner, Stefan Ruzowitzky (for
The Counterfeiters). Hitchcockian elements
get a very-of-right-now spin in Ruzowitzky’s Cold Hell (trailer here), a Shudder exclusive, which premiere tomorrow on the
horror streaming platform.
Özge
Dogruol has a right to be bent out of shape. She constantly endures hostile
sexism, especially from her Muslim Turkish family. She is closest with her
cousin Ranya, whose husband employs Dogruol as a cab driver. She even faces
condescending chauvinism at her Muay Thai gym, but fighters quickly change
their tune after going a few rounds with her. She is a tough customer, but she
is still alarmed to see a shadowy psycho torturing a prostitute to death
through a courtyard window, especially when she realizes he noticed her
watching.
Initially,
the Archie Bunkerish Det. Christian Steiner dismisses her fears. He still isn’t
very compassionate when Rayna is murdered wearing her jacket. However, he
finally admits she might be in peril when the killer tries to murder her in her
own cab, causing a series of spectacular accidents as a result. In addition to
playing the killer’s cat-and-mouse game, Dogruol is determined to protect Rayna’s
toddler daughter Ada from her pederast father. It is a lot of pressure, but at
least she somehow forges an unlikely alliance with Steiner.
Cold Hell played a number of
horror-specialty festivals, but it is really a dark thriller in the tradition of
Se7en, but considerably superior. This
is a lean, mean psycho-suspense machine. It all starts with Violetta Schurawlow
blowing the doors off the joint as Dogruol. If it were not for Kim Ok-vin’s
action lead for the ages in The Villainess,
Schurawlow’s Dogruol would probably rate as the best action heroine since
Angela Mao retired. She is intense, vulnerable, and completely credible when
administering a beatdown.
Schurawlow
is also terrific playing off and with Tobias Moretti’s Steiner. Although
unlikely, their sharp-edged chemistry is so potent, it just carries us along,
sweeping us past any credibility objections. On the other side of the ledger,
Sammy Sheik is relentlessly sinister as a character who turns out to be rather
malevolent.
