Christmas Icetastrophe (2014 TV Movie) User Reviews (27)

A New Low in Stupid

[gavin6942 · 3/10 · 7 December 2015]

A meteorite brings ice and freezing temperatures, which threatens to harm the residents of a small Montana town at Christmas.

It would be nice to be able to say good things about this film, but there really is nothing nice to say. The script is nonsense, the science completely made up (remember when SyFy had heart?) and none of the actors seem anything special. The romantic aspect is garbage, with two overall pale kids pretending to be cold... and not trying very hard, because the girl never even puts her hood up.

Someone thought they were being clever by naming the rival families Ratchet and Crooge, an obvious allusion to "A Christmas Carol". The head of the Crooge family is Ben, clearly a shortening of Ebenezer. But the problem is that the name "Crooge" sounds so forced coming out of the characters' mouths... there had to be a better way.

Left me ice cold on the whole

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 19 August 2015]

Icetastrophe is not a completely unwatchable movie and SyFy have done worse, it is a better movie (if only marginally) than their previous seasonal offering the 12 Disasters of Christmas.

The movie does contain a few things that make it a little better than it could have been. A couple of the death scenes are cool, once you don't mind that they're not particularly inventive, and do have a little fun and suspense. Some of the scenery is reasonably attractive too, looking much more than basement or abandoned allotment quality, and there is the use of some nice seasonal songs that fit well (there should have been more though).

However, apart from the scenery the production values for Icetastrophe are poorly done, it's shot rather drearily, is drably lit and while there are worse special effects in SyFy movies they still look laughably fake (including ones that look like giant penises). The direction mostly ranges from flat to incompetent, only coming to life in some of the deaths. When the seasonal songs are not used, the movie is scored in an unappealingly loud monotonous drone, with muddied sound quality. The script is incredibly poor, with forced humour (mostly unintentional), tedious ham-fisted melodrama that bogs the movie down rather than adding anything and dialogue that often sounds like gibberish.

Very little compelling about the story either, as well as being as thin as ice it takes stupidity to extremes (even for science fiction, the science is as far away from believable as you can possibly go), continuity errors are so sloppy that you could have sworn there wasn't any and it suffers from a large lack of tension, fun or suspense (albeit with the odd moment) as a result of sluggish pacing and the overload of stupidity, my tolerance for silliness and stupidity is high but this was to the extent that it was impossible to take at face value or enjoy. The characters have no development to them and are devoid of personality too, while the acting is the usual messy mix of over-acting and blandness.

Overall, not completely unwatchable but left me ice cold on the whole. 3/10 Bethany Cox

With the thrill and conviction of random employee forced to work at Christmas.

[quincytheodore · 3/10 · 13 October 2015]

Aside for a selective few, like the recent Everest, disaster movies don't really have amazing track record. So, one would already expect what to come from the poster or title here. Christmas Icetastrophe works by incorporating cheap CGI and shots where people stand very still to create the illusion of being frozen. It's as silly as it sounds and even worse when one finds out that the trigger is meteor fall.

As common sense, or countless depictions of Hollywood, would dictate, a meteor usually falls down to Earth in blazing glory. For this movie however, it will create instant ice age to wherever it touches. Scientific reasoning be damned, yet it still tries to convince audience with pseudoscience mumbo-jumbo, which undoubtedly be a great pivotal point for the plot.

Cast is all sort of cliché. You have the heroic father, the one scientist who figures things out, the douchebag who may or may not redeem himself, incompetent authority figure, a few sidekicks for brief comedy and half of the town for death scenes. Everything plays out in dramatically predictable way.

The effect itself is far from convincing, most of them literally a blue filter being applied to create cold effect. There are many scenes where people instantly freeze over in ludicrous fashion. It does tend to repeat this tricks many times over, it becomes stale and not even hammy funny at the end.

Being B-movie doesn't exemplified the lack of quality but for a movie called Christmas Icetastrophe, it delivers what expected of it, with the conviction and thrill of random employee forced to work at holiday.

So Bad

[binthaider-755-822849 · 1/10 · 28 October 2015]

This movie was so bad in so many ways that I wouldn't even know where to begin.

It is 'amazing' how some people can completely freeze to death and then shatter to pieces when the ice type avalanche hits, yet others can survive it countless times.

The acting of MOST of the people in the movie was atrocious! Who in the world wrote the dialogue because that was horrendous!

Two of the kids are 'stranded', survived two avalanches which come straight at them, the ice is meant to be sooooo cold that it freezes you on touch, yet they don't even flinch. The girl just screams annoyingly throughout and the fact that she has no hat and is wearing flimsy clothes (not for that kind of snow) she seems to be fine. Then at one point when the boy makes a fire he says something like "tannen is just over the hill, we can make it" and her response is so pathetic "you promise?". errr... what the heck?

The meteor has apparently split into 2. one is extremely cold and the other extremely hot. So two heroic figures (surprise surprise) are going to put the meteor back together, LOL!! literally LOL! so one would think that since one side of the meteor is extremely cold the other would be extremely hot, right? WRONG! apparently it can be picked up by a human being wearing a mere heat resistant glove! LOL!

it was just so bad, acting, dialogue, the movie, storyline, etc.

If you are fascinated by things being flash frozen, you will like this movie

[story_by_corey · 2/10 · 26 December 2014]

In a nutshell.....asteroid hits town starting to celebrate Christmas, Santa gets flash frozen, people scream, people flee and good looking lead actor and actress save town just before everyone is flash frozen.

Too bad Mystery Science Theater is not still on TV, because this movie is perfect for it. There is no story line, no character development, no acting of note, no anything other than wall-to-wall things/people being flash frozen. There is not even a point to who is/isn't flash frozen. But trying to find something positive to say, it does have a lot of actors who were in other shows/movies that were much better.

Its just a classically bad sci-fi movie and the kind of movie for people who are into such things.

One Good Scene, Worst Movie I've Ever Seen

[sealace · 2/10 · 3 December 2017]

The *only* good thing about this movie was the science lab scene with a rather holiday-enthused astronomer played by the brilliant Jonathon Young. Otherwise, this was the type of movie you only finish because you've already wasted so much time on it you have to keep watching to see JUST HOW BAD IT WILL GET... The story was ridiculous, the other actors were terrible and the special effects were worse than pathetic. I love a good sci-fi movie, but this was just a cheesy thriller with a crappy plot and nothing remotely convincing.

I am afraid my condition has left me cold to this film

[siderite · 4/10 · 30 April 2015]

It was very close to being so bad that it was fun to watch, but it lacked the necessary tongue in cheek or at least going over the top. In the end it was boring, really boring, while taking itself seriously. For something that doesn't make any sense, the film ran like its makers expected viewers to take it seriously as well.

For me the only notable thing was that the main cast was mostly taken from the Continuum TV show. Other than that everything was really silly, just not silly enough to entertain.

But that's just me. If you believe in meteor(ite)s that can lead to growing ice crystals that suck the heat from an area the size of a small town, while not interfering with the rest of the world climate, then this is the film for you.

Very silly,makes no sense, absolutely entertaining

[okelay · 4/10 · 26 February 2023]

Is it incredibly stupid? Yes, and to its credit it knows it. Though we start in a university, any science accuracy is soon disregarded, for the bettter i think, it wouldnt have been half as fun if it had tried for seriousness or listened to science, no it is sdumb sure but like a knights tale, choosing to run on rule of cool, adding a bit of plot armor to its protagonists as they defy science magic and everything in between.

It also has a familiar cast if you watch canadian-filmed scifi which adds to the enjoyment in mt opinion.

I particularly enjoyed the line 'it isnt magic it is science' when the movie completely ignores science for the other 99.9% of the film.

And i must say i appreciate the lack of forced romance that is so damn common otherwise.

Plot less, nonsensical piece of unrealistic garbage with terrible special effects.

[ticiarosegrant · 1/10 · 22 May 2015]

This movie will honestly leave you wondering why anyone would ever look at this as a finished piece of film.

First of all, lets talk about the title, "Icetastrophe" .....? Is that really the only title a group of adults could come up with? You could have named it "Cold at Christmas" or "The Mysterious Meteor" or literally ANYTHING would have been better than "Icetastrophe".

The plot is very underwhelming with actors who look almost as disappointed to be in this movie, as I looked while watching it. There is pointless and ridiculous flash freezing of random people, who happen to be standing ONLY steps away from other people who are miraculously untouched by the cold. Pieces of meteor keep falling and somehow slicing through cops, which would have been funny, had it not been so sad that the movie was really that level of unrealistic and stupid.

The way in which the plot and dialogue describe the meteors state and behavior is in no way possible... nor is it even likely in reality for a meteor to ever behave that way! It's as though a child with no understanding of physics or astronomy, wrote the entire plot and then, directed the movie, from the point of view of a very small, very male , child like mind.

The entire movie is completely cliché and predictable right down to the little love bird teenagers getting a stupid, yet happy ending.

The one good thing I can say about this movie, and probably the only reason I watched it, is because the protagonist/ lead character actor, was very attractive.

In closing, I honestly think this movie would have made a great parody disaster movie, had the actors been allowed to actually express in their dialogue, how terrible they truly thought the plot was, maybe throwing in a few jokes or some satire. The sad thing is, they actually meant us to take it seriously.

Awful

[teebear817 · 1/10 · 28 August 2020]

Why dont directors and producers of bad movies care about anything? People are in deep snow, blistering cold wind and frigid air. 2 teens climb out of snow they were buried in. They are on a mountain top forever with swirling cold air and their faces looked pure white the whole time. Not the slightest shade of red from frigid winds. They both looked opaque and almost albino. Ice cold wind would cause a red nose and cheeks and no breath to be seen. You can cgi Cold breath, Last man standing did it. They couldnt care less about having the makeup person put on a little rouge makeup for believability? No body in the entire movie had anything but a white face even in 50 mph frigid wind. They found one person buried in snow...you guessed it....white cheeks. Pitiful. God awful movie

Silly but Fun

[PartialMovieViewer · 8/10 · 26 December 2014]

There is nothing trite about this flick…well…except for everything. Additionally this movie is absolutely original and there is nothing formulaic about it. Why, you ask…because it is all true. Of course if one has seen 'Jaws' and/or 'Dante's Peak', one may be inclined to believe that nothing was original in this movie. To them I say, 'Ha!' – I will not be taken down by such negativity. "Christmas Icetastrophy' is a fun time-killer, well worth some of my attention. The CGI is pretty good except for the icicles jumping out of the ground. I think the cast was perfectly selected. For example, I think Victor Webster, who plays 'Charlie Ratchet', is no dull man-tool. So manly a man, I suspect he might have even shared a socket or two with Jennifer Spence's character, Alex. Dr. Alex Novak, is a professor coming down from the university. What university, you say? Ha! It's THEE University of course. So you know she is very smart and talks smartly as well. Professor Novak had such important lines, allow me to share one, 'Wait, no one's going to believe me.' So many more catch-phrases of wisdom are uttered by The Neuro-Meteorological-Nympho-Astrophysicist from THEE University that I lose count. I will say, that every phrase she gasps is key - so pay close attention. Mayor Gibbons (played by Ben Cotton) enters the story as some arrogant, dumb, man-ape (gibbon – get it.) Lots of bad things happen to him and he ends up as some kind of quasi-hero at the end. 'Post-spoiler alert,' don't read the sentence before this one or else you know he survives. As in other classics (i.e., 'Sharknado'), main characters die all over the place, but that is what makes up any classic icetastrophy. I have seen this once; enjoyed it, but doubt I will see this again. I think it is worth one view at least…and for those who get hooked…buy the DVD. I am not hooked, but I was entertained.

Nice movie but....

[veronicalanderson-37005 · 7/10 · 28 July 2019]

Okay, so I'll say this...the movie was nice but I could have done without all of the lead girl's screaming. She was a little annoying and I did not like her brother at all so I was glad when he was out of the picture. Other than that, I'd say that it's worth the watch. Side note: Her love interest, the young guy with the dark hair reminds me a lot of Edward (Robert P.) from the Twilight series. He's kinda sexy!!!

Seen it all before, and then some

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 3 August 2017]

Christmas Icetastrophe is your usual nonsense disaster movie that played on the SyFy Channel. The story is no different to at least half a dozen others that have already been made and shown on that channel, and it merely consists of characters running away from a fast-moving mess of cold air which freezes anything it touches. A meteorite caused the disaster this time around, somewhat unbelievably. The cast is made up of clichéd characters, the script is monotonous, and the references to A Christmas Carol are completely pointless. Add in your usual round of awful CGI effects and you have all the ingredients. It really is an unrewarding film.

Silly fun....

[coflorida · 5/10 · 9 July 2020]

Ben....the man who planned to put the town out of business....gets to live...

One man yells for his help.. he leaves him to die...

A group yells for him to let them in the boiler room..he locks the door...

An avalanche comes charging down on him he yells.... BRING IT ON...

Ends with him reuniting with family.

There should be negative numbers allowed for films that are worse than a 0

[paulwattriley · 1/10 · 18 October 2019]

Not sure who writes these awful scifi movies, how can the even make money. Not sure why TV channels even show this garbage.

Fair

[mzefabulous · 3/10 · 20 December 2020]

Everybody kept saying they was freezing but didn't bother to pull their hood over their heads. The girl constant screaming was very so annoying. The flash freeze froze some people to ice and skipped the rest as if they wasn't there, just get up and walk away. Wasn't much thought written into this movie.

A big chuck of my life I won't ever get back

[vanhelsing-04374 · 2/10 · 20 September 2015]

This movie has no real story, a total lack of directing talent, bad acting, and mediocre effects. Did I mention the story is pretty bad? This movie is a total waste of time. The people that pirated it should demand the producer refund the cost of the blank DVD. I expect movies of this type to have some degree of unbelievably odd concepts, but this is more of the same genre of those space movies that would be good if not for the lame premise, which is sort of the level of a beginning middle school student. Some of the recent disaster movies have depended quite a bit on CGI, but even that could not save this disaster of a disaster film. Watch it if you want, but don't say I didn't warn ya. Promoted from a 1 because I managed to make it through the thing. There are other disaster films that are not so good and totally science free, but would make for at least a fun evening. 2012, The day after tomorrow, the core, and several other "just fun" movies come to mind. I could see a cult following, but I doubt if it will become that well known.

Apocolyptically bad

[pudt-41281 · 1/10 · 1 October 2020]

How is it possible to make a film so bad as this. Everything about it is terrible, in particular the script, the erm 'acting', the erm 'special effects'. I see no reason why the film master is not incinerated so nobody ever has to endure to watch this film. I can only imagine the budget to make the movie was £10,000 but then that was slashed to just £5000.

So Bad it's Good

[JayVanEs · 4/10 · 26 September 2019]

Plot's bad, characters are bad, but I'd be lying if the bad acting, script writing and "special" effects didn't have me in stitches. There's a scene where some guy trips over a dead man's hand, and the hand shutters and wobbles because it's a rubber hand. It was hilarious.

Still a terrible film though, the only reason I rated it a 4 stars was because of the tear-filled laughter I got out of it.

A Mediocre Disaster Movie

[loveablejohn-46629 · 5/10 · 31 March 2019]

This movie was entertaining to watch if you can overlook a poorly written script with a ridiculous plot especially the ending along with special effects that were mostly badly done. However the actors did a good job considering what they had to work with and the cinematography was good with spectacular scenery despite some mistakes.

Break out the popcorn, kick back and have some scenic, icey FUN!

[stevepat99 · 8/10 · 19 October 2019]

I am thinking back to the hokie disaster films of the 70's, 80's, 90's and have to say this was as good or better then some of those more claustrophobic (caught in a building by flames or earthquake) films. The lead actor was 'manly' and did a fine job. The student 'scientist' was okay when she was not risking her life to get proof that would give her professional 'fame.' Scenery was one of the major highlights of the film. The relentless 'ice' onslaught had me drinking several hot chocolates. Action and body count was as good as many other, more highly rated films. Someone correctly compared the film to Dantes peak, a much more highly rated film, whereas this film had a similar location but much more unique space born disaster theme. There was the teen girl ranting "I'm freeezing" all the while failing to wear the beautiful furry hood on her jacket. No other issues once I suspended all notions of science. So, popcorn in one hand, hot chocolate in the other and I totally enjoyed this low budget disaster flick!

I liked the movie.

[tedknudson · 6/10 · 14 May 2015]

The science made no sense but the special effects were a lot better then I expected.

The plot was interesting, not the typical fair. The idea of a meteor splitting in two, one half cold and one half hot was a little far fetched.

I liked the action in the movie, the boat scene and the snowmobile were the best. Out running the ice storms was a little over the top.

This movie did not spare the bodies. A lot of good people died in this movie.

One part that did not make a lot of sense to me was that every once in a while there was a gigantic ice crystal popping up out of the ground that could destroy a car or helicopter and would cause the cold to dissipate in all directions freezing every thing in its path.

If you like bad production, this is for you

[Marynewcomb2013 · 2/10 · 5 February 2020]

The story would be a decent one if it was in the right hands & the right writers!!! The production of this TV movie is just laughable. This is supposed to be around Christmas time, so I guess there is a new thing on trees called December green leaves!! You can tell this was filmed in the summer time with the cheapest CGI affects you can get!!! I have two stars for a couple of cast members that did the best acting they could with this joke film but it really deserves a -10 out of 10 stars!!

I WOULDN'T GO THERE.

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 14 February 2019]

A meteor breaks up when it enters the atmosphere with part of it landing in Lennox, located 80 miles NE of Olympia. Rather than burn up the town, it freezes it. People freeze and break. Ice stalagmites come out of the ground at random and knock down helicopters. Then they shoot ice bullets. An expert tells us this is "not your garden variety meteor" shortly after she corrects our hero for calling it a meteor and not a meteorite.

In one scene our hero asks the authorities, if the have "experience with this type of thing" as if he did.

The characters weren't great. The disaster wasn't realistic. I would recommend "Snowmageddon" instead for humor and cheese.

Guide: No F-bombs, sex. or nudity.

Cute Blondes...hate Christmas

[PlasticActor · 1/10 · 24 December 2023]

So tired of these movies that us Christmas as the do to convenience for their hate crime. If I made a movie where people are killed, tortured, freeze-died - - whatever, and used any other religious holiday as my backdrop I'd be in prison for racism, career over, time to leave down and serve Chicken McNuggets...but this is Hollywood. I'm glad computer graphics have killed Hollywood. Even cute screaming blonds and intelligent college grads leave you cold. This is a whole new kind of meteor... MERRY Christmas. Sorry honey wrong kind of movie for those screams - - Scott's a bit frozen. No blue pills under the tree this year.