My 100 Worst Movies of the 90's - 46 - Jack Frost (1998)

Jack Frost (1998; Warner
Bros. Entertainment)

Jack Frost is a truly terrifying film.  Note that I’m not referring to the horror movie about a killer snowman from 1997, no, this is a family drama about an absent father played by Michael Keaton who is on the road as a musician and he feels bad about not being there for son.  When he dies in a car accident he gets a second chance; as a truly horrifying snowman.

The CGI creature in this film is scarier than any dinosaur from a distant island, and more menacing than any masked slasher.  The dead eyes and emotionless face is just one of the factors as to why this movie is so dark.  There’s also the fact that snowmen melt.  I always wondered what it would be like if the kid had to watch his dad slowly melt as the Spring brought rising temperatures.  Oh wait, we (sort of) get that!  How depressing...

Part of the horror of this movie is that it actually follows a horror movie with the same title and almost the same premise that came out a year earlier.  Except in that one, the father was replaced with a serial killer!  I don’t get why this movie was made except to be a “fresh?” take on the frosty the snowman story.