The Frozen Dead (1966) Reviews

• Emotionally ugly with a sense of dread

  exoticafan2003-04-14

  Another reviewer mentioned torture and pity as key elements to this movie, and I would like to support this idea. There is a grim, sleazy venear to this movie that is not easily forgotten. I too (like another reviewer) saw this when I was kid, and the feeling of depression and dread followed me for days. It was one of the few movies that when it was repeated on the Saturday afternoon program Theater X, I declined to watch it; not that it was a bad movie, but because of the feelings of fear and pity it generated in me (not valuable emotions for one so young). Unlike other "keep-the-head-alive-in-a-box" movies, this one effectively makes you empathize with the victim forced to submit to Nazi torture. You cannot distance yourself and enjoy slummy "fun" like you can with The Brain That Couldn't Die, which had the head scheming from the outset for revenge; it takes a while for this victim to come to terms with her power and state in life (?). The almost subliminal, eerie, atonal score that accompanies the various "unveiling" sequences puts nerves on edge as well. This is a truly unsettling movie. The final words of the various "heads" in both movies are telling as well: Brain... has the disembodied exclaiming, "I told you to let me die!", followed by a vengeful cackle, while the Frozen... victime rasps in barely intelligible tones, "Bury me." Disturbing.

• The Frozen Dead Can Be A Chilling Film!

  ClassixFan2004-03-22

  OK, so this isn't the greatest of horror films and perhaps there are moments when the film slows to a crawl, but it also has some truly chilling moments! I first saw this film on late-night TV as a young one and I'll always remember the creepy ending and the decapitated head pleading to be killed. Dana Andrews heads the cast and does a nice job as the Nazi Dr trying to bring the frozen soldiers of the Third Reich back to life. I was thrilled to find this film on DVD as part of a double-feature with the truly horrid film, 'They Saved Hitler's Brain'. If you have an opportunity to watch this film, you really should give it a try.....it's not nearly as bad as some would have you believe!

• The Frozen Dead: Very underwhelming stuff

  Platypuschow2018-11-01

  The Frozen Dead is not the zombie movie you'd probably assume, in fact it's not even what it makes itself out to be based on the cover. A British horror film it tells the story about a Nazi doctor hidden away in England who is working on re-animating cryogenically frozen soldiers. Alas his attempts thus far have failed, though he can bring the body back the mind appears to be broken. All he needs now is a live brain to experiment on! Shot in colour but broadcast black and white in the cinema this is an incredibly underwhelming title. The plot appears so neutered, even though the idea behind the concept is shocking the execution is lacking to the degree that almost all impact is lost. Poorly paced, no likeable characters and just an all round borefest The Frozen Dead demonstrates why 1966 was a dreadful year for film. The Good: Some interesting ideas The Bad: Painfully slow Really doesn't go anywhere Things I Learnt From This Movie: The creators did little to no research on cryogenics

• not easy to forget

  jay_bondrock2005-10-05

  I just read the other user comment saying this film was not easily forgotten and I felt compelled to comment. I too saw this movie when I was young.. about ten years old... and here I am thirty years later and I suddenly felt compelled to Google it out of the blue. It really did haunt me and obviously still crosses my mind from time to time. I would not watch it again, either - there was something very sickening about it. I guess if I watched it now, used to the modern age of special effects and film techniques I would not be terribly impressed... but at the time it left it's mark. For that I give it positive rating even though I wish I'd never seen it in the first place.

• Sad, creepy, silly. A good time if you're into this sort of thing.

  Hey_Sweden2017-06-24

  A delightfully schlocky premise is given straight faced treatment here, as a Nazi scientist named Norberg (a slumming Dana Andrews) goes about the business of keeping various Nazi characters on ice and experimenting on them so that they can, one day, be resurrected successfully. A problem arises when his visiting niece Jean (the gorgeous Anna Palk) becomes VERY concerned about the sudden disappearance of her friend / traveling companion Elsa (Kathleen Breck). While somewhat disappointing - this doesn't play out the way that some people might want it to - it's an okay forerunner to the "Nazi zombie" genre that eventually flourished. There might be too much talk and too little action for some audience members, but everything is played with admirable sincerity, and the movie isn't completely lacking in memorable imagery. Writer / producer / director Herbert J. Leder ("Pretty Boy Floyd", "It!") gives us a pitiable decapitated head on a table, and the sight of severed arms attached to a wall. Filmed in Britain, this is limited in its color palette, and in fact was apparently originally shown in theatres in black & white. It features a wonderful schlock movie score composed by Don Banks. The cast is fun to watch, especially Andrews, as he makes an attempt at a German accent. Palk is an appealing leading lady, but Philip Gilbert is rather bland as the nice guy American scientist who becomes party to the machinations of our bad guys. Karel Stepanek and Basil Henson are entertainingly malevolent as Nazi goons. Alan Tilvern delivers a standout performance as Norbergs' crazed assistant. A young Edward Fox pops in and out of the story as one of the unfrozen dead. Breck is ultimately quite the sight, and she does earn ones' sympathies. An amusing, diverting bit of rubbish that may be worth a look for schlock enthusiasts looking for golden oldies of decades past. Seven out of 10.