The Frozen Ground : Anchorage's own Hollywood movie

Years ago when I was working in downtown Anchorage, most days after my lunch I used to take a walk from downtown to the water's edge (Cook Inlet.) The year was 2011 and I remember it was not summer. Every other season in Anchorage kind of felt the same - cold and grey, it had to be one of those indeterminable seasons. 

3rd Ave leading to Hilton was closed to traffic on that particular day. There were a lot of old and vintage cars parked curbside. We knew there was a Hollywood movie being shot in our city. This was the first time I was this up close and personal to a Hollywood movie location. Along with my friend who was with me on that afternoon we skirted around block and tried to get a better view from another side. Unfortunately we didn't catch any glimpse of Nicholas Cage or any other actors who were purported to be in the movie. Yet we were excited, a Hollywood movie in our city, that was a first. The movie is The Frozen Ground. I happened upon it on Netflix yesterday and watched it in one go.

 In the background of the title is the hazy urban sprawl of Anchorage

Ever since reality TV series took off, Alaska has been a reality TV hot-spot. The only true last frontier state remaining in the United States has provided ample fodder for the escapist lifestyle fantasies promoted by reality TV. From series like Alaska State Troopers and Ice Road Truckers to Palin clan's reality series (Sarah Palin's Alaska, Bristol Palin: Life's A Tripp) to homesteading families in Alaskan Bush People and many more, there has been no dearth of reality TV material from Alaska. 

But it is a different reality when it comes to feature films. Most of the Hollywood films with stories based in Alaska are shot in Canada, mainly in British Columbia. Thanks to Film Incentive BC Tax Credit. Why can't Alaska institute something like this, you know you can't always rely on oil.(Oh just found that there is one , and The Frozen Ground utilized it) These so-called Alaskan feature films will have few aerial shots of the real Alaska and maybe a few scenes filmed at landmark locations, other than that they are all Canada. I am  looking at you, Insomnia. The Hollywood remake of the famous Norwegian movie of the same name supposedly takes place in small town Alaska and starred Hilary Swank, Robin Williams and Al Pacino. It was entirely shot in BC except for a few frames shot at Bridal Veil Falls in Valdez,AK.

The other Hollywood movie, based in Alaska and shot in Alaska that I can think of is Into The Wild. Adapted from Jon Krakeur's book of the same name documenting the real life story of Alexander McCandless who hiked across N.America and finally found a home in an abandoned school bus in the wilderness outside Fairbanks,AK, Into The Wild's Alaskan parts were shot in Cantwell, about 50 miles south of Fairbanks. Oh yes, there was also Big Miracle - the Drew Barrymore movie about a whale rescue in Point Barrow. For this movie Anchorage and Seward stood in for small towns on the North Slope. It was imminently forgettable.

Back to The Frozen Ground. It tells the story of the real life serial killer, Bob Hansen (played by John Cusack), who terrorized the ladies of the night, walking the streets of Anchorage from the 1970s to the early eighties. I had a colleague who worked in my team who used to frequent Hansen's bakery for donuts (in 1970s.) She said the man gave off no signs of being a serial killer and was just another ordinary looking guy. 

A faraway shot of the Anchorage skyline, a bit more close and you would see it is 2010s Anchorage and not the 1980s.

Despite its 300K+ population, Anchorage is still very much a small town. Anchorage operates at a maximum of about 2 degrees of separation, six degrees is too much when half of the State's population lives in the city and its suburbs. Even serial killers can be just an acquaintance of an acquaintance like you can see in the example above. Some people even claim to be able to see foreign shores like Russia from their backyard.

Alaska Public Lands Building on 4th Ave serves as the APD HQ in the movie, which is less than half a block East of the current APD headquarters in the LIO building.

 

 A considerable amount of shooting took place on the 4th and 5th Ave, west of the Sheraton building. The shot below is at the intersection of Barrow St and 4th Ave looking east, where Bob Hansen is seen picking up one of his victims in the movie.

The film crew converted the store fronts on 5th Ave into strip clubs and other night-life enterprises. A lot of action in the movie happens on a couple of blocks on 5th Ave. In most of these scenes, the sidewalk outside seemed more crowded with people than you would expect on a night-out in Anchorage. But I am not complaining.

The Frozen Ground : Shooting Location on 5th Ave

I am immensely grateful that the makers of The Frozen Ground decided to shoot the movie on location, remaining truthful to the places and people, especially all the victims like Eklutna Annie whose remains are shown to recover from the sandy banks of Eklutna river, near the Knik Arm. This was the same place her remains were recovered in 1980.

          Aerial shot of Hansen (John Cusack) on Knik River bridge , Old Glenn Highway

Nic Cage plays Jack Halcombe the Alaska State trooper in charge of the investigation. His character is modeled on the real life investigator,Glenn Flothe. The movie also has Vanessa Hudgens, 50 Cent (he is one of the producers) and Dean Morris (aka Hank Schrader from Breaking Bad)

Hansen is an avid outdoors man and a pilot, which is not uncommon for Alaskans. Alaska probably has the most pilots per capita for any U.S state. He is often seen in the movie taking off from Merrill Field in his little bush plane, sometimes taking his victims along, probably before letting them escape in the wilderness and hunting them down with his gun like game.

All the actors have given solid performances. It is not your typical Hollywood movie, maybe reflecting the director Scott Walker's New Zealand roots. The script (also by Walker) and the movie are taut. There are no frills or cheap thrills which is probably why it failed at the box office recovering only $5.6 million of the $20 million production cost. It reminds me a lot of the Icelandic and Norwegian police procedural series like Trapped or The Valhalla Murders, set in a similar snowy grey landscape.

The film is dedicated to all the victims of Robert Hansen - he had attacked and raped 30+ women in Anchorage and killed at least 17 of them. At under two hours, it is a quick watch. Give it a try, just the amazing performances by all the actors will be worth your time. If you are from Alaska or have ever lived in Anchorage, you should watch it, no excuses.