A woman, travelling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl’s only hope.

Liam Neeson started a trend of ageing actors turning into action heroes back in 2008 with ‘Taken’ and where he lead, many others have followed in the years since. The latest to try their hand is his ‘Love Actually’ co-star Emma Thompson, who headlines this action thriller from Brian Kirk in her 66^th year, called ‘Dead of Winter’. She plays Barb, a woman who has travelled to northern Minnesota to scatter her husband’s ashes in Lake Hilda, only to discover a kidnapped woman in a nearby cabin where she stops for directions. All of a sudden, her husband’s ashes become secondary to her new mission.

‘Dead of Winter’ doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and you won’t find many surprises here, but it is a mostly well made thriller and Thompson is solid in the leading role if you can get past her awful accent – clearly she watched too much of Frances McDormand’s performance in ‘Fargo’ in prep! I found the narrative a little too convoluted for its own good, and it does play fast and loose with reality, particularly in the number of times Barb and the antagonists seem to be able to pass each other unnoticed between the lake and the cabin. I did like that it had a heart and the flashbacks, while a bit of a blunt tool, did draw some emotion from me as Barb reflected back on happier times with her husband, adding a bit more gravitas to what is otherwise a by-the-numbers thriller.

Judy Greer and Marc Menchaca play the main antagonists and they are also good, and the film has some nice, nasty brutality as they face off against Barb, with the kidnapped woman in the middle (Laurel Marsden). ‘Dead of Winter’ doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but this is solidly enjoyable thriller that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Brian Kirk

Starring: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca and Laurel Marsden

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7574556/