I didn't know anything about "Blutgletscher" (aka "Blood Glacier") prior to finding it in the horror section. And my love for the horror genre and the movie's DVD cover made me pick it up and give it a chance.

For some odd reason I ended up with an English dubbed version of "Blutgletscher", which was a an insult to the original German language. Why? Well, because the dubbing was so questionable and dubious that it was atrocious to listen to. And without the option to switch to German, I was forced to suffer through laughable dubbing work because I really wanted to watch the movie. The English speaking voice over cast that was doing the dubbing had no conviction, no heart or spirit in their voice work, so it was unfathomably monotone, dull and lifeless, and it didn't match the characters on the screen one bit. It was like watching a dubbed Hong Kong movie from the early 1980s.

"Blood Glacier" is definitely inspired by Carpenter's "The Thing" and there is a number of similarities between the two. Whether or not this was intentional, I have no idea. It could be an homage or pure coincidence. I can only guess.

Director Marvin Kren actually managed to set up a fairly good atmosphere in this movie, and again very reminiscent of Carpenter's "The Thing". But oddly enough, it worked well enough in favor of "Blutgletscher". Just a shame that the horrible English dubbing was destroying it effectively with its laughable dubbing work.

As for the acting in "Blutgletscher", then I will say that the people were doing good jobs, and it was nice to see a cast ensemble of all unfamiliar faces. But again, their performances were toned down by the atrocious dubbing audio layer.

There is some pretty interesting creature design in the movie, and the creatures do look rather convincing and realistic, which really works very well in favor of the movie, especially when it is a horror movie of this type of setting.

The special effects in "Blutgletscher" was quite good and realistic and it helped to add to the overall movie, giving it flavor and more enjoyment for the audience. And the make-up effects were also quite good, and came off as rather realistic and good looking. So thumbs up to the special effects department who worked on this movie.

Visually then this movie turned out to be rather interesting. There were some very nice scenes and shots throughout the course of the movie, and the cinematography was definitely in good hands.

The music used in "Blutgletscher" was also quite good, very fitting for the atmosphere of the movie. It was well enough composed to be serving as background music, but at the same time be audible enough to instill an unnerving layer to the visuals portrayed on the screen.

"Blutgletscher" is a rather entertaining movie, especially if you enjoyed the otherworldly element that was in "The Thing", because it is also present here. However, it does not have the same quality to it to render it a classic like "The Thing". But all in all, an entertaining movie with a good story and good effects.

Walking through my local DVD shop I came across this title, "The Station". Quite plain sounding, but it was the comment at top of the case that caught my attention; "A slice of horror reminiscent of John Carpenter's 'The Thing' ". Being at massive fan of that film, I decided to take the chance and in some regards the Austrian made "The Station" comes close. Hey I even enjoyed it more than the prequel / remake that came out a year or two back. What it has in common with Carpenter's film is more so the ice setting, an unknown threat that is a single-form alien organism transforming the local wildlife into gigantic monster mutations and hybrids. It's like "Day of the Animals", but on steroids! Then there's the ending that only paints the apocalyptic mood playing out. This is a basic straight-face creature-feature at heart with a climatic cautionary warning, which tells a simple story that effectively lays it out with a strong grizzled protagonist (a very solid showing by Gerhard Liebmann),well timed suspense, gruesome thrills and a sense of mystery of mankind's fate. The final frame of the film is surprisingly effective in its suggestion, but they spoil it on an uncalled for tacky jump scare.

The premise is far from unique and quite down-pat; a group of scientists/ technicians discover a glacier of blood (an inspired image when shown) high in the mountains, which after testing the liquid discover it contains an alien organism. As they try to survive and hold up against the effects of this organism, on a hiking trip to the station for an official visit is the Minister of the Environment.

The feature is slickly photographed (despite some shaky camera movement early on) and makes excellent use of its vast, breathtaking backdrop. There's a definite sense of isolation and uneasiness, but never does it struck a feeling of claustrophobia and dread. The tension seems to unfold from threatening situations and the punctuated shocks. Its momentum is fairly sedate, but it becomes crazy, excessively so as it goes along and the director keeps a fairly tight hold.

What I got a kick out of was that CGI was virtually little, if unseen, opting mainly for traditional special effects and they do pay-off. The creature designs are creative and horrific with beetle-fox hybrids, giant wood lice, flying crossbreeds. There's a whole range of beasties… and they're not friendly. Squamish moments are plentiful and there a creepy developments. While the generic script doesn't over feed itself, still it had some issues like an appearance of a sudden character for them to only disappear with a poor explanation. The performances are adequate, without anyone really standing out, other than Liebmann.

Clichéd, but fun, strange sci-fi / horror monster romp.

And the title "Blood Glacier" sounds so much better.

You know how things are. There you are in a scientific research station 3000m up a mountain when suddenly all sorts of horrific creatures start turning up wanting to eat you. We've all been there and laughed about it the next day.

There's nothing really special about this film. It's a solid workman-like horror film that doesn't do anything wrong compared to other horror films, but it doesn't lift itself up to iconic-level cult status. The acting is good, the scenery is fantastic (or very bleak and forbidding depending on the mood required),the setup works as a way of isolating a group of people and the mechanism for creating the creatures, whilst being completely bonkers tripe, does allow for any crazy mix of chimeras that you care to think up in your worst out of body experiences.

It's never explained where the 'organism' that creates the nightmare creatures comes from, and whether every chimera created survives to become a viable creature, or why this organism has suddenly appears and in such numbers. However, most horror films are just as bad at explaining things so I don't hold it against this film.

Although the number of people is limited, there is a high death rate, most of them being suitable gory but, sadly, the one you really want to survive is the first to get it in the neck.

The minister's character is superb. The minister is a woman, thankfully breaking the stereotype/cliché of useless women, and boy has she got guts, presence and a working brain. Anyone who says something stupid, does something stupid or just gets in the way are soon put in their place, hence the "Stop eating that banana while you're crying" title.

Yes, there are the obligatory idiots, but you know they're idiots, as does the minister. As well as the minister there are three other capable characters. Sadly, the hunky body guard gets it in the chest before he has a chance to take his shirt off (boo),but the technician and his ex at least realise the danger they're in and don't stand around screaming, carelessly leaving doors open, or walking straight into the jaws of some nightmare creature.

At one point a young woman appears being chased by a creature and she seems to then fill the role of screaming bint and incubation chamber. There seems to be no point to this character, and the role of incubator could easily have been given to banana-eating woman.

The ending is a bit flat. There's the inevitable scene where we know that the crisis is only just beginning, there's the jump scare at the end, but you can spot it coming if you're paying attention, and everybody left alive makes it off the mountain. But there's no great feeling of achievement at the end. One of the survivors telephones for a helicopter, just like phoning for a taxi, and off home everybody goes.

This is a competent film that stays well within its intended milieu and delivers a solid experience that many will appreciate, if not enjoy. I liked the film, but a little more attention to the plot, and a bit more slapping from the minister would have raised this film to an 8.