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Anchorage, Alaska, circa 1983, looks and feels like a pioneer town in the Wild West in "The Frozen Ground," Scott Walker's new crime thriller (and first feature). It's a town teeming with strip clubs, drug addiction, prostitution, and runaway girls whom nobody would miss if they went missing. And they do go missing, in droves. Based on the true story of Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen (played here by John Cusack ), and detective Glenn Flothe (named, in the film, Jack Holcombe, and played by Nicolas Cage ) who, in investigating a series of missing persons reports as well as a couple of dead girls dug up by animals out in the wilderness, starts to wonder if all of these events aren't somehow connected.

"The Frozen Ground" trucks in cliche, as most serial killer and police procedural films do, but the strength of the acting (from the leads down to people with only one or two lines) helps ground the film. Filmed in a frenetic style, with gigantic moving frenzied closeups, and an almost total lack of establishing shots, "The Frozen Ground" is best when it lands, and stays, on the faces of the leads: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and Vanessa Hudgens . When we are looking at their faces, we don't need to be reminded of the stakes. They're there in plain view.

It's hard to do something new in the serial killer genre, especially since the field is so over-saturated, from the 24/7 Investigation Discovery channel to "Criminal Minds"'s weekly obsession with how dangerous it is to be a woman because one minute you're walking down the street, minding your own business, the next minute you're chained up in a dungeon. All of those familiar elements are here. Jack Holcombe even has a resentful wife ( Radha Mitchell ), complaining to her husband about how hard he works, before doing an unmotivated about-face in a later scene. Why do movies so rarely know what to do with wives of workaholics? Why are they usually given the role of nag, before coming around in the final hour? 

But "The Frozen Ground" is not trying to re-invent the wheel, and it also isn't trying to imitate " Seven " or "Silence of the Lambs." It is interested in Holcombe's increasingly urgent investigation, and the pushback he receives from higher-ups who don't want to re-open what were considered to be closed cases. There's one shot of Nicolas Cage sitting in a dark office, staring up at a bulletin board, covered with snapshots of missing women. That one shot establishes so much: his feeling of urgency, the sense of how huge this thing could be if anyone could find the missing links, and the loneliness of his quest.

Robert Hansen's name may not be as well-known as Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy, but his murderous spree in 1970s and 1980s Alaska puts him in the Serial Killer Pantheon. Despite a troubled and violent background with tons of red flags, Hansen was able to maneuver undetected in Anchorage for many years, abducting young women, raping them, taking them via private plane out into the inaccessible wilderness surrounding Anchorage and then hunting them like game. He was married, with kids. He worked as a baker. People liked him, but he was quiet and kept to himself. He had a great cover persona, as most of these characters do. Flothe finally got a warrant to search Hansen's house, and found an aviation map covered with X's, to mark the spot of his burial grounds. Many of the victims were never found. We'll never know the number of women he actually killed. Hansen was sentenced to 461 years in prison with no possibility of parole.

Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens) is the teenage prostitute who managed to escape from Hansen's clutches, and went to the police to tell her story. She was not believed, because of her background. This is handled in a manner bordering on vaudeville, with one cop regaling a group of cops with the contemptuous comment, "I mean, how can a prostitute be raped?" They all laugh in agreement. This is not to say that such situations do not happen in police stations all the time, but the scene feels heavy-handed.

The scenes between Nicolas Cage and Vanessa Hudgens are the film's best. Nicolas Cage is so grounded here, so real and simple. The whole film really hinges on Holcombe trying to make Cindy trust him so that she will testify and be a reliable witness, and this is where Cage shines. His entire performance is about two things only: thinking and listening. He has a power of listening that is totally authentic, and he is quite generous to his young co-star. He is not concerned with himself, because Jack Holcombe isn't either. He listens to Cindy talk on a level that could be described as subterranean, with a cop's instinct for what isn't being said.

And Cindy is, to put it mildly, a handful. She has a pimp (played by 50 Cent, who also is one of the producers of the film), but things have gone south in that relationship. She wanders up and down the "Ho Stroll" in Anchorage, and gets a job dancing in a strip club. She does coke and crystal meth. She has nowhere to live, and stands on the sidewalk in the driving snow. (There is a breathtaking scene that has nothing to do with anything else, where Cindy, alone on a deserted side street, comes across a gigantic moose, which has wandered into the city. Moose and Cindy stand for a while, staring at each other. The snow falls. It is a moment that is beyond meaning, beyond plot, reminiscent of the encounter with the deer on the railroad tracks at dawn in "Stand By Me.")

John Cusack dials the burner down low, a smart choice, giving the character the guy-next-door persona which was so much a part of Hansen's successful M.O. When we see him in the flashbacks, with one of the girls he abducted ( Gia Mantegna , in a gut-wrenching performance), he is calm, almost taciturn, even when he punches her in the head. He's almost kind and supportive with his victims, telling them they are "good girls." Cusack has placed his voice at a very interesting part of his register, making him sound (and seem) benign. It's a voice that almost isn't there. He is a hunter, a predator. He has worked hard at his camouflage.

Mixed in with the super fast hand-held action of the majority of the film are periodic aerial shots (Patrick Murguia is the cinematographer) of the forbidding Alaskan wilderness, mountains, glaciers, frozen rivers. These shots are constant reminders of what a vast field Hansen had to play in, and the impossibility of ever finding the missing.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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The Frozen Ground (2013)

105 minutes

Nicolas Cage as Jack Halcombe

Vanessa Anne Hudgens as Cindy Paulson

John Cusack as Robert Hansen

Dean Norris as Sgt. Lyle Haugsven

Radha Mitchell as Allie Halcombe

50 Cent as Pimp Clate Johnson

• Scott Walker

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The Frozen Ground – review

In this efficient police procedural, an Australian director principally known for commercials reconstructs the story of how Sergeant Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage), an Alaska state trooper, managed to convict devious deviate Robert Hansen (John Cusack) of the sadistic killings of 17 women and the kidnap and rape of at least 30 others.

Winning the confidence of a young prostitute, a key witness to Hansen's crimes, was the turning point. Walker never attempts to make it look like fun, and Anchorage at night resembles an anteroom of hell.

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• Nicolas Cage

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The Frozen Ground (2013)

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The frozen ground: film review.

John Cusack and Nicolas Cage reenact the true story of serial killer Robert Hansen.

By THR Staff

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John Cusack and Nicolas Cage shed their familiar screen personae in The Frozen Ground , portraying real-world serial killer Robert Hansen and a detective on his trail in performances whose lack of affectation surely results from the sobering nature of the story: Hansen is thought to have killed nearly two dozen young women during the late ’70s and early ’80s. Unfortunately, writer-director Scott Walker ‘s film is a muddled and strangely inert one, generating little of the suspense or anguish its subject requires; despite its high-profile cast, the long-delayed film won’t last long in theatrical bookings.

Focusing only on the events leading to Hansen’s capture, the script offers a fictionalized Anchorage cop (Cage’s Jack Halcombe), but uses the real name of the teenaged prostitute, Cindy Paulson ( Vanessa Hudgens ), who escaped from Hansen and whose claims about being raped and imprisoned helped detectives connect him to missing-person cases abandoned years before.

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Closing titles say of Paulson, “This is the first time she has told her story,” which may explain the script’s lopsided emphasis on her character: While it glosses over some key procedural elements with flat expository dialogue (we don’t even see the first encounters between Hansen and police after Paulson accuses him), we witness a great deal of her story — a sad but too-familiar tale of abuse leading to drugs, stripping and prostitution.

Walker’s also not afraid of cliches on the other side: Halcombe is a cop so obsessed with his job he has had to promise his long-suffering wife ( Radha Mitchell ) to give it up; he’s in his last weeks as a badge-holder when he catches the case. Naturally, none of his superiors believe his hunches, prosecutors don’t want to give him search warrants, etcetera. Cage goes through these motions with dignity, a job made harder by Hudgens’ unconvincing performance as the wounded tough girl who alternately begs for help and runs when it’s offered.

On the other side is Cusack, who doesn’t use the playbook employed by most actors in similar roles. Hansen wasn’t a recluse but a family man, troubled but sociable in his community. Cusack’s quiet, matter-of-fact performance is intriguing, and however it may compare to the actual man, one wishes the film found time to show more of it.

Tech values are competent, though Lorne Balfe ‘s overheated score is sometimes distracting in its attempt to generate the emotions Walker’s direction can’t produce.

Production Company: Cheetah Vision Films

Cast: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, Dean Norris, Kevin Dunn, Olga Valentina, Michael McGrady, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Kurt Fuller, Brad William Henke, Katherine LaNasa, Ryan O’Nan, Matt Gerald, Radha Mitchell, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

Director-Screenwriter: Scott Walker

Producers: Mark Ordesky, Jane Fleming, Randall Emmett, Curtis Jackson, Remington Chase, Jeff Rice

Executive producers: George Furla, Stepan Martirosyan, Kevin Frakes, Martin Blencowe, Mark Stewart, Brandt Andersen, Brett Granstaff, Corey Large, Ted Fox, Elisa Salinas, Daniel Wagner, Fredrik Malmberg, Olga Valentina, Barry Brooker, Stan Wertlieb

Director of photography: Patrick Murguia

Production designer: Clark Hunter

Music: Lorne Balfe

Costume designer: Lynn Falconer

Editor: Sarah Boyd

R, 105 minutes

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Movie Review

People as the Big Game in an Alaskan Hunt

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By Stephen Holden

• Aug. 22, 2013

Does that worried look on the face of Nicolas Cage in “The Frozen Ground” signal his realization that he is trapped in a police procedural that is not as good as an average episode of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”? Could be, although the movie, the directorial feature debut of Scott Walker , is at least watchable, unlike recent debacles starring Mr. Cage, including “Stolen,” “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” “Trespass,” “Seeking Justice” and “Season of the Witch.”

His character, the Alaska state trooper Jack Halcombe, is a fictional stand-in for Glenn Flothe, a dogged investigator who solved the case of a serial killer revealed to have raped and murdered at least 17 young women, most in the sex industry, between 1971 and 1983. The killer, Robert Hansen (John Cusack), kept a map indicating where he had buried the victims in the wilderness after transporting them there in his small plane and hunting them like game.

The story is set in 1983, when Halcombe, who is about to leave his post in Anchorage, is assigned to the case of a woman whose body was dug up by animals. Because of the case’s similarities to earlier unsolved murders, Halcombe believes that the crimes are linked. The discovery coincides with the rape of Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens), an abused child and teenage runaway turned prostitute who says she was kidnapped and tortured by Hansen. She escaped his clutches as he tried to load her onto his plane.

Mr. Cusack underacts the role of Hansen. He camouflages any sense of menace under a pose of a mildly aggrieved Everyman who allows that he has made mistakes in the past but insists that he couldn’t possibly be the monster Halcombe makes him out to be.

Because Hansen appears to be a solid citizen with an alibi, and the accuser is a prostitute, the police — portrayed here as lazy, cynical, misogynistic louts — dismiss her accusations. Even when Halcombe amasses reams of circumstantial evidence against Hansen, the police refuse to act.

The movie’s only fresh element is the wintry setting, which shrouds everything in a mood of weary fatalism. Otherwise, it’s the same old, same old, efficiently discharged and utterly disposable.

“The Frozen Ground” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for violence, sexual situations, nudity and drug use.

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The Frozen Ground Review

19 Jul 2013

105 minutes

Frozen Ground, The

A based-on-fact, Alaskan set drama in the Zodiac vein. When teenage hooker Cindy (Vanessa Hudgens) escapes from a sadistic client, the cops don’t bother to make a case, but State Trooper Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage) — puzzling over several corpses found in the wilderness — believes Cindy is the key to stopping prolific serial killer Bob Hansen (John Cusack). It has a few too many clichés, like the wife (Radha Mitchell) nagging the hero to take a private-sector job as he obsesses on the case and casting Curtis Jackson as a pimp, but the cat-and-mouse second half works up suspense and poignance.

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Movies | 19 07 2013

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The frozen ground, common sense media reviewers.

Bleak, very violent, but compelling serial killer story.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

This is a very pessimistic movie. It takes place i

The main police sergeant is a brave man who's dedi

A serial killer kidnaps, ties up, tortures, rapes,

Some scenes take place inside a strip club, and se

Language is very strong and includes "f--k," "s--t

The teen prostitute is shown smoking lots of cigar

Parents need to know that The Frozen Ground is based on a true story about a man who raped and killed many women in Alaska. Though not everything is shown, the material is very strong and isn't recommended for kids or teens. A young woman (played by High School Musical alum Vanessa Hudgens) is…

Positive Messages

This is a very pessimistic movie. It takes place in a world in which girls can get mistreated by their parents and run away, only to find no other options besides prostitution or stripping, and in which police are hamstrung by the law. Not even catching the bad guy seems to help much, in the grand scheme of things.

Positive Role Models

The main police sergeant is a brave man who's dedicated to helping others and risks his life and job to catch the bad guy and protect the good guys. He truly seems to care. But he's the only positive example here.

Violence & Scariness

A serial killer kidnaps, ties up, tortures, rapes, and murders prostitutes and runaways. All of this is discussed frequently, though only one victim is shown. She gets away, but she's shown being tied up and taunted; her rape is described verbally. She also talks vaguely about being abused as a child, and she's chased, threatened, and terrorized several other times during the movie. Male characters are beaten and shot in the head. A decomposed body is briefly shown. There's some general yelling and tension, and a bloody nose is shown. The movie closes with photographs of many of the killer's real-life victims.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Some scenes take place inside a strip club, and several topless women are shown. One or two naked female bottoms are shown. Prostitutes are shown. The killer's sexual activities are discussed; he explains that he goes to prostitutes because he doesn't like his wife to perform certain oral activities on him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language is very strong and includes "f--k," "s--t," the "N" word," "c--t," "bitch," "whore," "Goddamn," "hell," "Jesus," and more.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

The teen prostitute is shown smoking lots of cigarettes. She's given some crystal meth before going onstage and stripping for the first time. She also snorts some cocaine and overdoses, but she survives. The hero drinks a whisky at home after work.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Frozen Ground is based on a true story about a man who raped and killed many women in Alaska. Though not everything is shown, the material is very strong and isn't recommended for kids or teens. A young woman (played by High School Musical alum Vanessa Hudgens ) is kidnapped, tied up, and taunted. She later describes being raped, though it's not shown. Male characters are beat up and shot in the head. Scenes take place in a strip club, and several topless women are shown; sex acts are described. Language is very strong, with uses of "f--k," "s--t," "c--t," the "N" word, and more. The teen character is shown smoking many cigarettes, trying crystal meth for the first time, and overdosing (non-fatally) on cocaine. The movie closes with photographs of many of the killer's real-life victims. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (7)
• Kids say (5)

Based on 7 parent reviews

James Maslow

James maslow 18+, what's the story.

In 1983, young women keep disappearing from the Anchorage, Alaska, area. Sgt. Jack Holcombe ( Nicolas Cage ) is about to be transferred when another body turns up. At the same time, prostitute/stripper Cindy Paulson ( Vanessa Hudgens ) has just escaped the clutches of potential rapist/murderer Robert Hansen ( John Cusack ) and has given her report to the police. For Holcombe, it's open and shut, but he must deal with a noncommittal police department that refuses to issue warrants, as well as a skittish witness who doesn't want to get involved. Yet each time Cindy goes into public, her life is in danger. There's only so much time to catch Hansen before another victim loses her life.

Is It Any Good?

As written and directed by Scott Walker, THE FROZEN GROUND isn't great, but it's surprisingly effective, thanks to its no-frills approach and its care with the actors and characters. Walker keeps his restless camera constantly roving, which is fine when something is happening, but headache-inducing during static conversation scenes. Also, Walker is clearly intending reverence toward the real-life victims, gives the movie an underlying dreariness. Yet at some point, it starts to work. The characters have an inner life, and the performances are strong, especially a steely-eyed Cage, who here has his best part in some time. As the killer, Cusack is soft spoken but also repellent. He's not an object of fascination, which is a unique and refreshing approach. The movie takes a few silly shortcuts here and there -- and a pimp played by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson seems to be the center for most of them -- but overall this is a decent effort.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about The Frozen Ground 's violence . How much is shown and not shown? Which has more impact, and why?

Is it shocking to see former Disney starlet Hudgens in such a dark role? Is she too young for this kind of character?

How does the portrayal of the serial killer in this movie differ from other movie serial killers, like, say, Hannibal Lecter?

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 23, 2013
• On DVD or streaming : October 1, 2013
• Cast : John Cusack , Nicolas Cage , Vanessa Hudgens
• Director : Scott Walker
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Asian actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Thriller
• Run time : 105 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : violent content, sexuality/nudity, language and drug use
• Last updated : April 2, 2023

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Flickering Myth

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Movie Review – The Frozen Ground (2013)

September 17, 2013 by admin

The Frozen Ground , 2013.

Written and Directed by Scott Walker. Starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens, Katherine LaNasa, Radha Mitchell, and 50 Cent.

An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice.

In a recent Guardian Guide, the synopsis of The Frozen Ground was briefly summarised as “Nicolas Cage thinks John Cusack is a serial killer”. Amusing, yes, but the presence of these two big-name actors is telling to how the ‘true story’ of one cop’s dogged pursuit of a serial killer is fated to play out, subservient to the camera’s longing for its stars. John Cusack, playing real-life murderer Robert Hansen – a man responsible for the deaths of between 17 and 21 women in the early 1980s around Anchorage, Alaska – is given as much screen-time as Cage’s committed cop: real-life hero Glenn Flothe, renamed the far more heroic title of Sgt Jack Halcombe for this incarnation. This double-billing between cop and robber sets up a potentially thrilling chase that could try to approach the twin psychologies of Michael Mann’s 1995 crime thriller Heat ; alas, Scott Walker is no Mann, and he’s far from capable of exploring the possibilities of digital photography in the same way.

The early reveal of Cusack as the notorious killer is understandable given the reality of the story, though the time spent with Hansen uncovers little engagement with the mental process behind his actions. It’s a good excuse for Cusack to bust his psycho-acting chops, no more, no less; to sink his teeth into a wildly erratic free-for-all of a role. Cage’s do-good cop – “just two weeks from retirement” – is hardly fleshed out himself. He has a wife, yes, who is quite clearly a prop and, more often than not, an objector to his whims. Then there’s the slight matter of his dead sister, a casual aside of a backstory that’s drudged up once or twice for the sole purpose of allowing Vanessa Hudgens’ aggrieved prostitute Cindy Paulson to fill the void left behind. Conversely, Jack emerges as the father figure Cindy never had. Whether any of this Million Dollar Baby tomfoolery was drawn from the actual events is a very good question.

Look close enough and you see a slight parallel between Cage and Cusack’s characters, as two completists compelled to plug an empty space in their routine. Cusack’s desperation at snatching back Cindy is perplexing considering the high number of strippers and sex workers in the area, and it’s this tic – amongst many others – that would have perhaps benefited from more thoughtful consideration. Instead, ample screen time is devoted to the peripheral 50 Cent as Cindy’s pimp, sporting a hysterical wig and slurring his lines so as to render them utterly inaudible – with the notable exception of “Let’s get in with the bitches!”

The end credits pay dubious tribute to all the real-life victims, displaying each of their photographs scored with cheesy US hard rock. It’s not totally unlike a WWE video montage of a wrestler’s retirement; more than that, it’s incredibly offensive, a bold-headed assumption that the preceding film – indulging in Cusack’s torture of women as it does – is a morally corrective piece of art. It’s anything but.

Maybe Walker’s biggest crime is in having Nicolas Cage, one of the most bankable and consistently entertaining action stars around, come across as such an unrelenting dullard. But we should also recognise in this film the aesthetic decline of the thriller in the digital age. Once again, we hear an arbitrary ambient score slapped across the film, readymade to fit any given scene; we have shaky two-shots, each frame half-obscured by the back of one actor’s head. The opening shot, of a helicopter slowly swooping over the chilly Alaskan landscape, holds a credible darkness under its wings, and thusly holds some promise. Then the film zones in on the frozen ground and all its characters, and the sights turn ugly. As the sergeant by the chalk lines would say, “There’s nothing to see here, folks.”

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★

Ed Doyle – Follow me on Twitter.

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Watching The Frozen Ground on Netflix? Robert Hansen Was a Real Killer — Here's What Happened

Updated on 9/5/2020 at 9:40 AM

The 2013 crime thriller The Frozen Ground has been seeing something of a resurgence since its debut on Netflix , and if you're wondering about the true story behind the movie, we've got you covered. Based on the crimes of real-life serial killer Robert Hansen, The Frozen Ground covers most of the unsettling true story, but there have been developments since the movie's release. If you're considering checking out the movie or you just finished and are looking for more info, here's what you should know:

What Were Robert Hansen's Crimes?

A decade before his more violent crimes began, Hansen (played by John Cusack in the film) gave an indication of his disturbed state. As reported in the New York Daily News , in 1960, a 21-year-old Hansen burned down a school bus garage in his hometown, Pocahontas, Iowa. It was reportedly revenge for his unpopularity and frustrations over being unable to get dates during high school. Hansen was sentenced to three years in prison but only served 20 months. While in prison, he was diagnosed with several mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, an "infantile" personality, and possible schizophrenic episodes, along with an obsession with revenge on perceived slights.

That was just the beginning of his crime spree, though. Following his release, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and, after a few years, old habits returned. The New York Times notes that he was arrested three times in twelve years — twice on charges of abduction and rape. The third charge was larceny, after being caught stealing from a department store. Starting in the early 1970s, the NYT reported, Hansen began abducting, raping, and murdering many women, mostly sex workers, apparently preying on women he felt were "inferior" to get revenge for feeling rejected by women all his life.

How Was Robert Hansen Caught?

In June 1983, 17-year-old prostitute Cindy Paulson (played by Vanessa Hudgens in The Frozen Ground ), was kidnapped and assaulted by Hansen. According to the New York Daily News , however, she managed to escape and reported the crimes to police, naming Hansen as the perpetrator. Hansen, however, convinced police that he was the victim of an extortion attempt, and he was let go without suspicion.

The story of Paulson and Hansen didn't quite add up to Detective Glenn Flothe, though, and Flothe began investigating further. (Filmmakers must not have liked that name, because Nicolas Cage's movie protagonist is Sgt. Jack Halcombe.) A series of disappearances and violent murders against women had been on his radar for some time, and, with the help of a criminal profiler, Flothe was able to narrow down potential suspects and eventually put Hansen back in the spotlight. The Daily News reported that police eventually searched Hansen's property and found incriminating evidence, including jewelry that belonged to several women who had gone missing in the area, as well as a map marking locations that turned out to be gravesites.

When questioned by prosecutors, he confessed to raping around 30 women and murdering 21 or more. He described his preferred manner of "stalking" them as they tried to escape, and eventually even led police to the gravesites of around a dozen of his victims.

Where Is Robert Hansen Now?

Hansen was charged with a slew of crimes, although he was only charged with four murders in the cases where the evidence was the most clear. According to the NYT , he pled guilty and was sentenced in 1984 to 461 years in prison plus a life sentence. He spent the first part of his sentence in a high-security federal prison in Pennsylvania, before being moved back to Alaska, where he remained in prison until his death. He died in 2014 in an Anchorage hospital.

• True Stories
• The Frozen Ground

THE FROZEN GROUND

"redeeming lost women".

What You Need To Know:

(BB, C, LLL, VV, SS, NN, A, DD, M) Strong moral worldview with light Christian, redemptive elements about catching a real-life serial killer includes police detective hero is a loving father and husband, good eventually defeats evil, movie quotes Matthew 10:16 onscreen, and dignity/worth is given to lost women involved in prostitution; at least 35 obscenities and profanities (including some “f” words and strong profanities); strong violence includes men beaten and shot, discussion of sexual and brutal violence crimes against women, images of a decomposed murder victim, brief images of kidnapping and violence against one woman victim; strong sexual content includes scenes set in strip clubs, and prostitution details and sexual violence toward women and murder victims are discussed and alluded to in the dialogue; upper and rear female nudity in strip clubs; some alcohol use; smoking and a person facilitates use of an illicit drug and two people use the drug; and, kidnapping.

More Detail:

THE FROZEN GROUND gives a chilling look at the hunt for the notorious real-life serial predator, Robert Hansen (John Cusack), who preyed upon women in the 1970s and 80s in Alaska.

Set in 1983, the story follows loving father and husband Sgt. Jack Holcombe (played by Nicolas Cage). Jack pours over case files, leads his fellow officers and combs the streets to track down Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens). As the sole surviving victim who’s escaped the serial predator’s clutches, Cindy’s testimony is crucial to put away a killer who’s slipped past police hands too many times.

Though not a Christian movie per se, THE FROZEN GROUND begins by displaying Matthew 10:16 on-screen: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves,” while ominous music floats overhead. Then, it plunges viewers into a post-crime sequence in the city of Anchorage, Alaska.

As the movie progresses, Sgt. Holcombe and his partners comb the gritty streets where prostitutes work, doggedly searching for Cindy. The officers also question people in strip clubs, all in the name of finding her and tracking the serial killer’s victims.

THE FROZEN GROUND is a well constructed, absorbing crime thriller. However, the police visits to strip clubs to find the serial killer’s one surviving victim and to track the killer’s movements contains blatant scenes of female nudity in lewd, sexually-objectifying bars.

That said, the script treats the subject of murder and the vulnerability of the women’s welfare seriously, however. For instance, the dancers’ nakedness reveals their sad, dehumanized state. The movie doesn’t paint their workplaces as attractive, but as places that debase women and the men who frequent such places. The level and amount of nudity necessitates the most extreme caution, even though it realistically shows how women are debased in such horrid environments. Such degrading places reflects the ugly tone that surrounds real women in these environments night after night across the U.S. and the rest of the world, in cities and rural areas alike.

Much of THE FROZEN GROUND surrounds the heartfelt search by Holcomb and his fellow officers. However, a couple brief scenes contain CSI-type gore, visually depicting a decrepit body.

Also, MOVIEGUIDE® issues a strong caution regarding a few detailed conversations about sexual situations and about rape. These acts aren’t shown, but the alarmingly graphic specifics keep THE FROZEN GROUND from being family friendly.

After sifting out the chaff, THE FROZEN GROUND tells a strong story of a policeman who works to find Cindy and shelter her with the sincere care and attention of a father. In one argument with a close relative who scoffs at the lengths he goes to in order to save the girl, Cage’s character responds with a line that reflects powerful, Christ-like love. Also, Cindy’s statements and questions about her own family background pointedly speak to the importance of making sure all children have a responsible, protective mother and father.

Cage’s portrayal of Sgt. Holcombe believably shows a determined officer and tender family man. His deep respect for human life fuels him to dig through the frozen ground of old cases new and old in order to stop Hansen in his tracks.

A poignant, nearly silent, scene where Cindy encounters a wild animal stands in stark contrast to the ugliness of the world she lives in and the situations with Hansen she and others have undergone. Writer/director Scott Walker makes a wonderful, creative decision to incorporate this method of showing such a comparison between the complex sin man creates and the simple, natural beauty of God’s creation.

Perhaps similar to SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, THE FROZEN GROUND contains a very good story, but also very explicit content – though the content here is sparsely dotted through the movie.

MOVIEGUIDE® recommends viewing other selections and websites for less salacious and more informative information on prostitution and sex trafficking issues. See our reviews of the narrative movie TRADE OF INNOCENTS and the documentary NEFARIOUS. Like pornography, sex trafficking is a scourge in society that preys on the weak and the young.

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• DVD & Streaming

The Frozen Ground

• Crime , Drama , Mystery/Suspense

Content Caution

In Theaters

• August 23, 2013
• Nicolas Cage as Sgt. Jack Halcombe; Vanessa Hudgens as Cindy Paulson; John Cusack as Robert Hansen; Dean Norris as Sgt. Lyle Haugsven; Gia Mantegna as Debbie Peters; Robert Forgit as Sgt. Wayne Von Clasen

Home Release Date

• October 1, 2013
• Scott Walker

Distributor

Movie review.

Robert Hansen was a family man. Happily married with two children and the owner of a local bakery, Hansen had a meek, mild demeanor that usually kept him above reproach and in good standing with those in town.

But he had secrets. Dark, evil secrets.

See, he wasn’t much liked in high school. A gawky kid, Hansen could never seem to attract the attention of the pretty girls. And instead of working through his anger, he suppressed it for years. But you can only suppress your feelings for so long.

One night, Hansen offered 17-year-old Cindy Paulson money in exchange for sexual favors. But Cindy never got her money. Instead, she was raped and tortured. And just before Hansen had a chance to kill her, Cindy took off, running for her life.

When she got to the police station, most officers didn’t believe her. After all, who would believe a prostitute over a humble baker with an alibi?

But Sgt. Halcombe sees through Robert Hansen’s lies. He knows something is wrong. The only problem is that in order to convict Hansen of torture and rape, he’ll need to dig into cases already closed by the Anchorage Police Department.

Up for the challenge, Halcombe dives in headfirst. But what he finds is more than just a single crime: It’s a twisted web of heinous crimes against multiple innocent women. And if Halcombe has any hope of putting Hansen behind bars, he’ll need Cindy’s help to show the world what a serial killer really looks like.

Positive Elements

Sgt. Halcombe works tirelessly to save Cindy when others give up on her. He makes sure that she is safe and goes to great lengths to encourage her and to help her realize her worth.

Cindy, for her part, does not trust easily. Slowly, she begins to realize her worth and, as the story goes, ends up marrying and having a family (this is told to the audience in writing at the end).

Halcombe’s wife encourages him to track down the killer and to defend Cindy.

Spiritual Elements

A detective notes that Robert Hansen’s wife is deeply religious. A statue of Mary sits atop a dresser.

Sexual Content

Cindy tells Halcombe that she was sexually abused as a child by her mother’s uncle. She also describes other sexual abuse that took place throughout her childhood. In one scenario, she tells officers that she was offered money for sexual favors. Cindy is forced to work on the corner by her pimp.

An older stripper gives Cindy drugs and helps to take off her clothes (we see Cindy in a bra and thong) and put on heels. She initially prepares Cindy to dance on a pole; and the two share a sexually intimate moment as the woman comments on Cindy’s beauty, strokes her hair and gets very close to her face.

Women are often seen topless, dancing on poles and sitting on men’s laps. Some women are seen completely naked from the side and rear while dancing and walking through strip clubs, while others are seen only in thongs. A scene depicting oral sex is shown at a distance. (Movements are visible, but not body parts.) A man crudely discusses the different levels of sexual prowess among women of various ethnicities.

Violent Content

Serial killer and rapist Robert Hansen is shown stalking women, chaining them up, dragging them to the wilderness and then letting them run as he shoots them to the ground, killing them; like a hunter and his prey.

One scene in particular is extremely gruesome as a young woman is chained to a post, hit and threatened. Eventually, she is shot and killed. Cindy recounts a similar situation where her neck was chained, and she was left for dead (although she escaped).

Multiple autopsies reveal that Robert Hansen tortured his victims, burning, gouging and mutilating them. Many victims are found dead in the forest, buried underneath the frozen ground. A few are shown in the morgue in their mutilated, bloodied state. Although we do not see all the victims, they are all mentioned, as is their cause of death.   

Officers, detectives and women describe, in graphic, gruesome detail, various rape scenarios. A detective crudely asks Cindy about when she was raped. Cindy graphically describes a sexual assault. 

Sgt. Halcombe shares that his sister died tragically, and he sat with her in the hospital holding her hand until she passed. Men and women are shot at point blank range. (We see this from afar and hear the shots.)

Crude or Profane Language

Jesus’ name is misused three times; God’s name is misused once, paired with “d–mit.” The f-word is used more than 50 times, the c-word is heard once and the s-word nearly 20 times. Other profanities include multiple utterances each of “b–ch,” “h—,” “a–,” “d–n,” “d–mit,” “p-ssy” and “p-ssed.”

Women are often referred to as “b–ches,” “whores” and “hoes.” And Cindy calls a former pimp a “n-gga.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

To cope with trauma and escape from her reality, Cindy smokes and snorts crystal meth, as well as smoking cigarettes. She does this once and nearly overdoses. Other women and men consume drugs as well.

A bottle of prescription medication sits atop a nightstand. Men and women drink beer and hard liquor.

Other Negative Elements

Cindy confesses that she was ignored and unwanted as a child. She continually feels rejected by those in her life and though she seeks affirmation and love, she does not receive it until later in her life.

Robert Hansen, although previously convicted, was often let off on lesser sentences. He was diagnosed as schizophrenic and manic depressive.

A detective crudely questions Cindy and then ignores her claims, dismissing her as a “whore.” A woman urinates on herself out of fear while chained to a post.

Based on real events, The Frozen Ground tells the story of how a seemingly humble man tortured, raped and killed at least 17 women.

Eventually, Robert Hansen, also known as The Butcher Baker, confessed to his crimes and lived the rest of his life behind bars. But his sentence never brought back the innocent women he slaughtered. And that’s where this movie lives. 

Nicholas Cage gives a compelling performance as Sgt. Halcombe, John Cusack as Robert Hansen and Vanessa Hudgens as Cindy. And while the acting is certainly impressive, the film itself is difficult to watch.

Women are chained up and tortured, rape is described in vivid, graphic detail, men and women alike are shot at point blank range and dead bodies, whether on the ground or in the morgue, frequently come across the screen. Not to mention the use of drugs and the multiple scenes of topless women dancing in strip clubs.

This is a true story. (And despite being released seven years ago, this film is currently among the most watched titles streaming on Netflix right now.) But just because this crime thriller is based on a true story doesn’t mean it’s easy to stomach. 

Kristin Smith

Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).

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‘Common Ground’ Review: Well-Intentioned Doc About Regenerative Farming Offers Limited Insights Into an American Environmental Crisis

Joshua and Rebecca Harrell Tickell challenge the country’s unethical farming practices through experts and celebrity advocates in a naive film that nonetheless inspires change.

By Tomris Laffly

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Popular on Variety

This won’t be news to anyone who’s watched some food-centric documentaries before. From “Food, Inc.” to “Fed Up,” and even the recent “Food, Inc. 2” (delivering a much tougher and more thorough point-of-view than “Common Ground”), various nonfiction offerings have shouted this message loud and clear. Still, it’s one that bears repeating when destructive conglomerates show no signs of retiring methods that willingly destroy the land and the health of those who rely on it.

Still, there are some flashy infographics to take in; popular needle drops, like Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” to swing to; some pretty nature shots; and an impressive group of experts that ask the right questions about the reliability of the food we eat. Some of them are the very specialists that once dared to question Monsanto, a biotechnology corporation that invented a harmful glyphosate-based herbicide in the ’70s and went defunct in 2018 after dissenters drew attention to its harmful products.

Most impressively, “Common Ground” (like the previously mentioned “Food, Inc. 2”) questions whether the new “plant-based” movement in creating over-processed meat-like products is really good for the environment and human health. (Hint: the fake term “plant-based” shouldn’t automatically signal “good” or “healthy.”) As “Common Ground” clearly displays, there is enough evidence to prove that our goal shouldn’t be eliminating meat altogether, but safeguarding a sustainable production model that doesn’t abuse the animals or lands.

As the title of the documentary suggests, the Tickells assume — perhaps a bit naively — that this is a bipartisan value supported both by Democrats and Republicans. To that end, an upright, activism-minded Indiana farmer who says he’s a registered Republican makes an admirably unassailable case for regenerative agriculture, a method he proudly sticks with and advances. But the politics of who and what enables capitalistic corporations today is of course a far more complex issue than “Common Ground” suggests.

Elsewhere, the film holds the everyday consumer frustratingly (and perhaps unintentionally) accountable through a series of deficient calls to action, such as making more educated decisions while buying our groceries. It feels like a big part of the food ecosystem is missing from the Tickells’ parting message when the prohibitive costs of organic, ethically farmed and raised products in supermarkets (and who exactly can afford them) go unaddressed. Still, there is something moving about the earth’s regenerative power that we witness in the film, as well as the Tickells’ naiveté, in the old-timey suggestion that if we could set our differences aside, we could achieve things that can benefit us all. Dare to dream.

Reviewed online, April 11, 2024. In Tribeca, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara film festivals. Running time: 101 MIN.

• Production: (Documentary) An Area 23a release of a Big Picture Ranch, Benenson Productions production. Producers: Rebecca Tickell, Josh Tickell, Eric Dillon. Executive producers: Bill and Laurie Benenson, Jan Ellison Baszucki, John Paul DeJoria, Pamela Green, George and Gloriana Gund, Julian Lennon, Melony and Adam Lewis, Christopher Lindstrom, Annie Roney, Regina K. Scully, Ian Somerhalder.
• Crew: Directors: Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell. Writers: Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell, Johnny O’Hara. Camera: Simon Balderas, Joaquim Pujol. Editors: Anthony Ellison, Ryan A. Nichols. Music: Jim Fairchild, Jacob Snider.
• With: Laura Dern, Jason Momoa, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, Donald Glover.

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