FEMA has lots of advice on what to do in the event of severe cold weather. Sadly, the disaster experts do not provide any guidance on what to watch while a storm rages.
How about movies that remind you what you are missing while you are snuggled inside with a blaze in the fireplace and a mug of hot chocolate by your side?
Here are eight films about the cold to keep you entertained — as long as the power lasts.
#8. Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead (2014): Snow-Nazis were so much fun in the original (2009) film that it just made perfect sense to bring the dead back for a sequel. Apparently, there is not much to do in Norway other than dream up ridiculous horror comedies featuring trolls, Santa Claus or zombies. In this movie, the sole survivor of an attack by living-dead stormtroopers joins forces with an army of defrosted WWII Russian POWs and a squad of American self-appointed zombie hunters. It turns into a real cold war. Don’t worry — if bad weather comes back, there is talk of Dead Snow 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfRgVbp9gSY
#7. Lilyhammer (2012): Okay, total cheat — this is not a movie, but a Netflix series. Still, it is awesome fun. A mafia hitman decides to spend his witness-protection time in Norway. He saw the 1994 Winter Olympics and loved the look of the “fresh white snow” and the blonde broads. Sadly, the show was cancelled after three seasons. But there is still more than enough mayhem and comedy to get through a snowbound weekend of binge watching.
#6. Jeremiah Johnson (1972): Before there was Leonardo DiCaprio fighting the frozen frontier in The Revenant (2015), there was Robert Redford playing the legendary “liver-eating” mountain man Johnson. Both films are based on books inspired by real-life characters. Remarkably, Redford’s portrayal of a guy wandering around snow-covered mountains was one of the highest grossing films of the year — great precedent for DiCaprio’s Oscar hunt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxKoaIq6DcY
#5. Lost Horizon (1937): Here is the ultimate snowbound weekend. English diplomat Robert Conway is kidnapped and taken to the fabled city of Shangri-La in the most remote reaches of Tibet. Awesome actors and a haunting story where people never get sick or die make the flick well worth watching. Back in the day, the movie didn’t do well at the box office despite being re-edited and re-released several times. The American Film Institute undertook a restoration project in 1973 that tried to restore as much as possible of the original movie. A musical-comedy remake was also released. Turns out, audiences weren’t very interested in a version of Mary Poppins in the Himalayas. That film flopped.
#4. Alive (1993): This is a moving film that tells the true-life story of a rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes Mountains. It is an incredible, engrossing and inspiring tale of faith and survival. If you really get into this, there is also an excellent documentary on the experiences of the survivors.
#3. March of the Penguins (2005): Kids present? Rather than let them watch yet another rerun of Frozen, tie them up and make them see something educational. This documentary about the “Penguin Club Med” in Antarctica is a must see.
#2. Fargo (1996): What is not to love about a black comedy set in North Dakota? Kidnapping, murder, sex, snow storms, all in one movie — what could be funnier? If the snow lingers, check out the series inspired by the movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G7Ju035-8U
#1. The Shining (1980): If you are stranded, isolated, alone and shut off, there is no better film to watch than this tale of a caretaker and his family wintering in a haunted hotel. The celluloid version of horror-writer Stephen King’s best-selling book is really scary. “Here’s Johnny!” That is all I’m saying.
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