One of the peculiar quirks of Netflix is its ability to give a second life to largely forgotten movies. Whether it’s action films, comedies, or anything in-between, there have been a lot of titles that have received renewed attention courtesy of the streamer. The latest of these is the Nicolas Cage-starring The Frozen Ground, which has been dominating the platform for roughly a week now and continues to do so today, currently sitting as the third most-watched movie on the streaming site.
For those not aware, The Frozen Ground is the directorial debut of Scott Walker, who also provided the screenplay. Cage plays Jack Halcombe, an Alaskan State Trooper hunting down serial killer Robert Hansen, portrayed here in a rare villainous turn from John Cusack. Over the course of the picture, Halcombe attempts to keep sex worker and Hansen survivor Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens) from harm, while working with her to take the killer down.
Although The Frozen Ground had a mixed critical response, most viewers were in agreement that Cage delivered one of his best performances in some time in the pic. Unfortunately, though, not many people had the chance to catch it through a dual limited theatrical distribution and VOD launch back in August 2013, but it now appears that Netflix subscribers have warmed to the release, which since being added last week has performed unusually well, even briefly becoming the service’s most popular film for a bit.
To date, it seems that Walker hasn’t been able to get a new project off the ground since The Frozen Ground, so hopefully this new exposure on Netflix will gain him some traction. For Cage, his role in the production was one of many in the 2010s, and he’s racked up dozens of parts since, including similarly memorable turns in the likes of Mandy and Color Out of Space, to name just a few. There’s also no sign of the actor slowing down, with eight upcoming projects on IMDb and reports linking him to everything from The Flash to another National Treasure sequel.
