Arctic Blast

Anchor Bay

R4 DVD

Brian Trenchard-Smith is an Australian cult filmmaker, producer and director who makes large films on miniscule budgets. In the early days he made lots of Aussie genre films and became one of the best representations of Ozploitation. His latest release is an ecothriller called Arctic Blast, set in Tasmania with a strong Australian presence.

Arctic Blast is a real romp; it is return to the early days of B grade disaster films yet with better special effects and an environmental message. I must admit that the plot of this film was a little more interesting than many of a similar ilk.

The earth has weathered many solar eclipses, however, this time global warming has depleted the ozone layer and it cannot protect us from the mesosphere which exists above it. As discussed in the very serious intro the film, the coldest environment on earth is not the poles, but the mesosphere. 50 Km above the earth temperatures are way below freezing.

When a hole is torn in the ozone layer freezing air is drawn down from the mesosphere to earth creating a deadly blast. This weather change is sever, down to 100 degrees below zero and kills everything in its path. Moreover it is triggered a series of other holes which make literally take the earth into an ice age.

Physicist Jack Tate (Michael Shanks) has uncovered proof of this disaster after their oceanographic research ship is found frozen with all dead on-board. He must deal with a boss who won’t take his grim predictions seriously, a wife filing for divorce claiming he is a workaholic and a difficult daughter.

Of course the story is an old one. Maverick scientist says the earth from destruction, wins back his wife and so on and so on. At the same time Trenchard-Smith has always had a way with B grade films and it has all the elements to make it work. A soap opera, disaster storyline (this time with an environmental twist), lots of CGI with frozen cities, buildings and towns and suspense galore.

This is a cheesy old style disaster film and should be enjoyed for what it is, it clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously and it is rather fun to see a film which does not try to be more than it can. Arctic Blast is B grade entertainment and celebrates it.

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