The Frozen Ground (2013)
Intriguing and deliciously moody fact based thriller stars Nicolas Cage as an Alaskan state trooper on the trail of a serial killer. Vanessa Hudgens plays a young prostitute who escapes the killers clutches following a terrifying ordeal.
Being based on the true story of Robert Hansen also known as the Butcher Baker, and taken from the account of Cindy Paulson, here played by Hudgens, the film sticks largely to fact without feeling the need to have sensational set pieces or added thrills for the sake of it. Set in 1983, the crux of the story is Cage having to convince his superiors he's after the same man who raped and murdered 17 other women in the region throughout the previous decade, whilst also protecting Hudgens from a killer intent on finishing what he started.
Cage is good as the detective, steering clear of the often manic turns that often plague his films and John Cusack is excellent as Hansen. Is it just me or is Cusack actually starting to look like a serial killer in real life now he's getting older and lost his youthful exuberance?
However the star of the show is Vanessa Hudgens. An actress challenging herself as she approaches 30 (although from her looks you'd never know it) and moving ever further away from the squeaky clean roles of her youth.
There's some great location filming in and around Anchorage and the whole thing has that stark cold feel you'd expect from Alaska which creates a suitably atmospheric air in this uncompromising procedural thriller.
Recommended.