A shockingly solid serial killer thriller throws a pair of slumming stars into a streaming showdown

Let’s face it, a genre film releasing in the 2010s that boasts Nicolas Cage and John Cusack as its two main attractions isn’t going to build up a ton of hype based on the slumming stars and their penchant for bargain basement VOD shenanigans, which made The Frozen Ground such a pleasant and entirely unexpected surprise.

While the aforementioned duo absolutely jobbed their way through a slew of turgidly terrible films for the majority of the decade, writer and director Scott Walker’s serial killer story wasn’t one of them. In fact, it easily ranks among either actor’s finest efforts during their respective wilderness years, even if that isn’t really saying much at the end of the day.

Cage’s state trooper has been operating under the impression that Cusack’s Robert Hansen is a prolific murderer who abducts, tortures, and then kills young girls, but there’s not enough of that pesky evidence to prove his deductions correct. However, Vanessa Hudgens endures as a potential victim that survived, but soon finds out she’s a drug addict with trust issues, complicating matters further.

The narrative gradually builds towards the Cage vs. Cusack showdown we’ve all been waiting for; something that would have made the marquee at your local multiplex in the middle of the 1990s, but didn’t quite have the same drawing power at the time. Nonetheless, the remarkably competent and decidedly above average film has gathered renewed momentum on streaming, with FlixPatrol revealing The Frozen Ground to be one of Prime Video’s most-watched titles so far this week.