Alien at the Movies

When the first snow falls in Norway, people go missing; only to be found later in some grizzly ritualistic dismemberment fashion. New police recruit Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson) starts making connections to some cold cases & veteran detective Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) with a drinking problem joins in the hunt for this mysterious serial killer with a snowman trademark who taunts the police with his messages. J.K. Simmons & Val Kilmer are also in director Tomas Alfredson's cast. Sounds intriguing? What could go wrong with this cast, director, & premise? And the trailer looked great too. Well, some characters are not that likable, some have no more than extended cameo roles, & one may disappear too soon. Mystery fans may find the motive here was set up too apparent & would have liked more of a challenge. Action adrenaline junkies may feel the pace felt like trudging through a snow drift. Has Harry's hangover haze carried over into the film? Would the director's excuse about 10-15% of the script being unshot have made any difference? Was the film's climatic scene too transparent like thin ice? There aren't any warm hopes of box office success for this frozen fiasco but only chilling reviews.

Alien gives it 1½ "do you want to make a snowman" stars out of 4.