2007's "Wind Chill" is a mystery/horror film about a college gal (Emily Blunt) sharing a 6-hour ride with a male student (Ashton Holmes) home to Delaware from Pennsylvania. The guy is supposed to be a stranger but it turns out he knows more about her than anticipated. The story takes a tragic ghostly turn when they get stranded on Route 606 in the bitter evening cold.

I should point out right away that "Wind Chill" is inexplicably rated 'R'; there's really nothing in the film that should warrant such a rating -- there's no sex, very little cussing (realistic, not overkill) and hardly any gore. If you want that see "Cabin Fever" or "Friday the 13th." "Wind Chill" shoots for something more profound, haunting and classy, like "The Mothman Prophecies".

The film is what I would call an "isolated environment" movie wherein the main characters are stuck in a confined situation for the better part of the picture, like in "Prey" where a woman and her two stepkids are stuck in a jeep fending off lions or "The Mist" where the characters are barricaded in a supermarket from the onslaught of otherworldly creatures. This scenario tended to work against those films as the confined setting became tedious (although "The Mist" redeems itself with one of the most unforgettable, awe-inspiring climaxes in film history) (and I still think "Prey" is worth catching for nature-runs-amok enthusiasts). By contrast, the confined setting somehow works in "Wind Chill." How so? I would chalk it up to great writing, acting and movie-making.

Think about it, there are essentially only two characters in this entire 91-minute film. For it to work it HAS to have stellar casting, writing and acting. It dawned on me while watching that "Wind Chill" is largely a dialogue-driven picture; the banter between the two protagonists pulled me in and sustained my interest, which isn't easy seeing as how "isolated environment" movies tend to try the viewer's patience & interest by their very nature.

Emily Blunt is easy on the eyes (what an understatement) but comes off a bit witchy and therefore unattractive initially, yet this plays into what the film is really about. Isn't this a mystery/horror flick? Yes, but the ghostly trappings are merely a stage for a tale of redemption. Unfortunately redemption always has a hefty price tag, not to mention love must fit into the mix somewhere. So, at its core, "Wind Chill" is a mystery chiller of love and redemption. Who it is that needs redeemed and why I'll leave to you to figure out, as well as who pays the price.

The score is awe-inspiring, in particular the piece at the beginning and end (and during the credits).

Although the story takes place in the East the film was shot in British Columbia. These are great locations, of course, but I'm starting to weary of the fact that 90% of these types of flicks are shot in B.C. Incidentally, the tale obviously occurs in Eastern Pennsylvania in light of a reference to Harrisburg on the radio and the I-476 highway sign (I-476 runs North-to-South from Scranton to Philadelphia).

I have a couple of cavils: When they're stranded on the country road it never looks nearly as cold as it's supposed to be, and is it believable that any college student, let alone a hot babe, would know about the junction box and phone jack on top of a telephone pole?

CONCLUSION: The average person who has a taste for this type of moody, spooky picture will conclude that "Wind Chill" is a classy chiller, what ushers it into the realm of greatness is its underlying profundities, stellar cast, writing, acting, music, locations and just all-around magical movie-making. For all these reasons "Wind Chill" is a pleasure to behold.

GRADE: Borderline B+ or A-

***ENDING SPOILER*** The climax, as told in Chapter 28, strikes a potent emotional chord as the girl stumbles out of the dark woods after a night of literal hell; she comes across the gas station, which links her to the authorities and salvation. Yet this is a much different woman than at the start of the picture; her life will never be the same as she is changed forever, changed for the good. She realizes this and can't hold back the tears. You can see it on her face; she understands the price that was paid for this new life. Emily Blunt pulls the scene off expertly; in fact, everything about the finale is filmmaking of the finest expertise. Magnificent.

In Christmas, a female college student (Emily Blunt) accepts to share a ride home to Delaware with a stranger (Ashton Holmes). The driver tells her that they study philosophy in the same class, and they briefly discuss the definition of Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence. The girl tells to a friend in her cell phone that the highway was boring and the driver takes a shortcut through a nice and romantic scenic route. They are forced off the road by another car; they have a car accident and get stranded in the lonely road. When the driver is blamed and pressed by the girl, he explains that he is a shy man that had a crush on her, and used the trip to spend some time close to her. Along the night, the temperature gets colder and colder, and they are haunted by ghost of people that have died in the location.

"Wind Chill" is a promising and eerie ghost story, but with a disappointing resolution. I am not familiarized with Nietzsche's theory of eternal recurrence, the theme of the whole plot, and I found in Wikipedia that "Eternal return (also known as "eternal recurrence") is a concept which posits that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur in the exact same self-similar form an incomprehensible and unfathomable number of times. The basic premise is that the universe is limited in extent and contains a finite amount of matter, while time is viewed as being infinite. The universe has no starting or ending state, while the matter comprising it is constantly changing its state. The number of possible changes is finite, and so sooner or later the same state will recur." This philosophical definition explains the existence of ghosts in that deserted road living the same situations of fifty and something years before. However, it is never clear for me when the driver died: is he struggling to survive along the cold night, or did he die immediately after the accident? In the end, his ghost guides the girl back to the gas station and saves her life. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Estrada Maldita" ("Damned Road")

WIND CHILL is a decent little horror film with about a hundred times more verve and originality than the latest GRUDGE sequel. It's an understated ghost story, in essence a two hander about a couple of strangers trapped in a car in the worst possible place: an isolated stretch of road, reputedly haunted and in the depths of a snowy winter where the temperature's due to reach minus thirty.

The supernatural elements of the story are akin to THE SHINING, although of course they take place out of doors rather than in an empty hotel. Most of the film is dialogue-driven, which is fine when the script concentrates on characterisation and creates two well-rounded protagonists, each with their own personality flaws and defects. British actress Emily Blunt, best known for her comic role in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, is great; her character is far from likable but grows on you as the film develops while the unknown-to-me Ashton Holmes is equally good in a sympathetic role.

There are no action scenes, no vivid effects and no great moments of drama. Subtlety abounds. I'll admit that I rarely get scared watching a film these days, and it didn't happen in this one (although there are some genuinely creepy scenes involving the priest characters). Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film from start to finish thanks to the unfamiliar story and the integrity displayed throughout in its refusal to bow to Hollywood convention.