Here’s a first for Eric’s Bad Movies at Film.com: a movie that has the same title as another Bad Movie I already wrote about. The title is “Jack Frost.” Last year we covered the one from 1998, with Michael Keaton as a father reincarnated as a snowman; today we cover the one from 1996 (or so), where a serial killer’s soul is transported to a snowman. There’s a third “Jack Frost,” too, a Russian-Finnish production from the ’60s that was handled by “Mystery Science Theater.” Apparently the title “Jack Frost” is cursed. Do not call your movie “Jack Frost”!
There is some question of when this “Jack Frost,” the killer-snowman one, was released. Internet Movie Database just says 1996, no specific date, and I can’t find any evidence that it actually showed in theaters (no box office data, no reviews even from Variety or the New York Times, which generally review everything). IMDb says it was released on video Sept. 22, 1998; some review sites have the year of release as 1997; basically, it’s a mystery. If anyone connected to the film happens to read this and would like to clarify the timetable, I’d be grateful. I do like to have my facts straight.
Also at Film.com is my What’s the Big Deal? column, this week focusing on Federico Fellini’s “8 1/2” (1963). It’s timely, too, because “8 1/2” was the basis for the Broadway musical “Nine,” of which a film version is being released this week. I am on top of things!
