Review: 'Let It Snow' is an avalanche of missed opportunities

Posted Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 10:38 AM Central
Last updated Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 10:39 AM Central

by John Couture

I'm currently reading Ruth Ware's "One By One" which is a taut thriller about a group becoming stranded in the French Alps after an avalanche cuts them off from civilization. What was intended as a restful getaway soon turns deadly.

Now, this would make a very compelling psychological thriller that Let It Snow hints at, but doesn't quite achieve. There are some great moments in the film and the cinematography is gorgeous, but it just seems like three different movies were blended together and none of them has any sort of lasting impact. It's the type of movie that soon leaves your memory as the credits roll.

Let It Snow follows Max and Mia, a couple on the verge of being engaged looking for danger, and finding it on a free-ride snowboarding vacation. Unfortunately, the danger is more than they can handle as there's a maniacal masked snowmobile rider looking to make them permanent residents on the mountain.

First, I do want to point out that the cinematography is wonderful. The clean, white slopes truly are breath-taking, and the filmmakers leverage this asset beautifully. Being billed as a horror film, the one thing that most horror films rely upon is dark and scary locales.

By contrast, all of the action in Let It Snow takes place during the day against a pristine white surface. It certainly has the potential to work as a contrarian perspective of traditional horror, but I think the film is being unwittingly pegged into a genre that it just doesn't fit into.

At best, it's a psychological thriller with certain horror elements that are basically shoehorned in to make the film a bit more accessible. The problem is that the idea of an ax-wielding snowmobile riding serial killer is compelling, but Let It Snow almost drops the ball with its most interesting angle.

Instead, the film decides to focus on Mia as an almost ultimate survival against the elements movie, but again it falls just short. The movie certainly reaches its crescendo when the killer triggers an avalanche that jumpstarts Mia and her amazing snowboarding skills. This action sequence is about as good as it gets for Let It Snow and that's disappointing.

There is an element of underlying mythology to the events that take place, but the movie only pays it enough lip-service to earn its horror film cred. Had they taken the time to develop it into a better and more complete arc, Let It Snow would have been better off because of it. Instead, it simply adds a predictability to the events that anyone worth their salt in horror lore will see coming a mile away.

Ultimately, the result is a hodge-podge of genre clichés that leaves the audience wondering precisely what sort of movie the filmmakers were trying to create. Had they simply stuck with one track, I think the end result would have been much more pleasing.

As it stands, you have to sit through the entire credits simply to get closure. I'm a bit ambivalent about post-credits stingers. I think they can add to the discourse and enjoyment of a film, but they can also be distracting and loathsome at times. Unfortunately, Let It Snow doesn't earn the right to resolve its narrative after the credits have rolled. And yet, if you're going to watch the film, I have to recommend that you sit there and wait for the scene because at least your sense of disappointment will be lessened by it.

Let It Snow is a film in search of its identity, but sadly, it doesn't ever seem to find it, even after the post-credits stinger. And yet, much like the beautiful scenery in Outback, you are willing to forgive some of its faults to bask in the glory of the film's surroundings.

Let It Snow is now available on DVD.