If you like your slashers iced, Nate Logan has a killer winter flick to redden your snow. And if you’ve never heard of this horror on the slopes from 1988, you’re in good company! Let’s queue up for this week’s Friday Feature, Iced. Published February 28, 2025.

Iced (1988)

When Degausser Video (via Vinegar Syndrome) announced earlier this year that the direct-to-video “classic” Iced was being released, I was intrigued. This was a movie I’d never heard about, nor do I remember seeing it on the shelf at the video store. I was further surprised when I saw these comments on various message boards:

“Holy SHIT! We were told the elements were lost & it would never get a release, this movies [sic] a blast”

“What can be said about this classic slasher flick. Finally.”

“I expected this to sell out in 5 mins, given its annoying fanbase (not me)”

The plot follows a group of friends that reunite for a ski weekend some years after one of their own, Jeff (Dan Smith), skied off a ramp at night, landed on a small boulder, broke his chest bone and died. While none of the characters are particularly charming, they aren’t stereotypes either. There are hints at the inner lives of some of them, notably Jeanette (Lisa Loring, The Addams Family) and pharmaceutical salesman/drug addict Carl (Ron Kologie), which add gravitas to the story. A palpable horniness throughout goes toe-to-toe with any entry in the Friday the 13th series. And the snowy setting evokes a coziness absent in many slashers of this era.

While there’s a little more skiing at the reunion, it’s just that: a little more. Most of the runtime sees the characters hanging out in a rustic chalet and going through the melodramatic motions. There aren’t as many ski-related deaths as one might expect. But we do get broken ski goggle vision, a convoluted double bear trap death, and the most awkward carrot cutting scene committed to celluloid. And like many horror films of the ʼ80s, the ending doesn’t make sense. Surprise!

Is this a forgotten gem? I don’t know that I’d go that far. Iced does have some memorable moments, but there are many stretches where nothing much happens. Perhaps if the production had gone according to plan,* it would be a classic. As is, this is a fine, winter-themed slasher that doesn’t involve Christmas or Santa-as-killer, so at least there’s that. 3.5 out of 5 sacs of blood.

*According to one of the actors, Iced was supposed to be shot on 35mm film over the course of three weeks. Instead, it was shot on 16mm film over eight days.

—Nate Logan