Mister Frost

For the episode of The West Wing, see Mr. Frost.

Mister Frost is a 1990 supernatural thriller film starring Jeff Goldblum. The film was directed by French filmmaker Philippe Setbon, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Derry Hall, Brad Lynch and Louise Vincent. It co-starred Kathy Baker and Alan Bates.

Synopsis

A police detective named Felix Detweiler visits the palatial French estate of Mister Frost, whose first name is never given, to investigate a report of a dead body. Frost, with very little prompting, cheerfully admits that he has many bodies buried in his yard.

Frost is arrested and ultimately placed in an asylum, not having spoken a word for two years. During this time the police are unable to establish his identity. The detective leaves his job and becomes obsessed with Frost and the 24 corpses dug up from his garden.

Frost's long silence is broken when he encounters Sarah Day, a doctor at the asylum. Frost refuses to speak with anyone but her, then tells Day that he is, in fact, Satan. He reveals that he plans to goad her into murdering him.

Detweiler believes it's true that Frost is "the devil himself" and pleads with the doctor to heed his warnings. Day naturally does not accept this, but strange things begin to happen around her and Frost demonstrates on multiple occasions feats that would be difficult to dismiss as simple sleight of hand.

The turning point for Day comes when her brother, after being confined to a wheelchair for most of his life, suddenly regains use of his legs. Her patients and colleagues also begin to exhibit unnatural changes in themselves. Gradually, Day is convinced that Frost is telling the truth and, to spare others from harm, agrees to kill him.

Just before shooting Frost to death, he tells Day that he now knows he is more powerful that anything or anyone in the world, and he thanks Day for believing in him. As Frost is expounding on the things that he is more powerful than, Day shoots him. She looks blankly at his body, and says in a deep unearthly voice, "Stronger than passing time." As Day is led away by the police, Detweiler arrives, and after seeing the look in her eyes and the fact that she is refusing to speak, he knows that she is now possessed by the Devil, made possible by her murder of Mr. Frost.

Cast

• Jeff Goldblum as Mister Frost
• Kathy Baker as Dr. Sarah Day
• Alan Bates as Felix Detweiler
• Jean-Pierre Cassel as Inspector Carelli
• Roland Giraud as Dr. Reynhardt
• Francois Negret as Christopher

Reception

While not a hit, Mister Frost was generally reviewed well and now enjoys something of a cult following. The film was released on DVD in the United States, and occasionally appears on television. In the Netherlands, the movie has been released on DVD by official distributor Dutch Film Works, albeit in rather poor video quality.

References

This movie was referenced in Dust Devil (1992). Although not a direct reference to Mr. Frost, Crazy as Hell (2002) starring Eriq La Salle seems to share a very similar plot-line. La Salle's character is a patient at a state metal hospital who also claims to be Satan causing an aggressive and overconfident psychiatrist played by Michael Beach to question his own perceptions.

External links

• Mister Frost at IMDb
• Roger Ebert's review
• Dutch Film Works catalogue