Jack Frost 2: The Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman
Okay, fellow tape travelers, let’s talk about a sequel that absolutely nobody asked for, yet somehow, miraculously, materialized on the bottom shelf of the video store's horror section like a frosty fever dream. I'm talking about Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman (2000). The original 1997 Jack Frost was already scraping the bottom of the B-movie barrel with glorious, rubbery abandon. So, when this follow-up appeared, promising more snow-based slaughter but... in the tropics?... you just had to know. Didn't you? I remember spotting that gloriously absurd cover art – Jack, looking slightly more menacing (or perhaps just melted), superimposed over a beach scene. It felt like a dare.
### Snow Way He's Back... In Paradise?
The setup is pure, unadulterated sequel logic. Sheriff Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport, bless his commitment), still understandably twitchy after his first encounter with the genetically mutated serial killer snowman, decides a tropical getaway is just the ticket to soothe his frosty PTSD. He whisks his wife Anne (Eileen Seeley, also returning) off to some idyllic island resort for sun, sand, and absolutely no homicidal snowmen. Of course, thanks to some hilariously contrived lab accident involving antifreeze and Sam's DNA (don't ask), Jack Frost is back, baby! And he somehow manages to reconstitute himself and hitch a ride south. The central joke, the entire raison d'être for this sequel, is the fish-out-of-water (or perhaps snowman-out-of-snow?) concept: a killer snowman wreaking havoc under the Caribbean sun.
### More Meltdowns, More Madness
Writer/director Michael Cooney, pulling double duty just like on the first film, clearly understood the assignment: dial the absurdity up to eleven. If the first movie flirted with camp, this one dives headfirst into a margarita-fueled pool party of ludicrousness. The kills are somehow even more outlandish, embracing the tropical setting with gusto. People get frozen solid mid-conga line, impaled by icicles while sunbathing – you get the picture. It leans heavily into comedy, sometimes landing a genuinely funny sight gag, other times inducing groans that echo across the years from my teenage self watching this on a flickering CRT.
Let's talk effects, because that's half the fun with these things, right? The budget was clearly microscopic – maybe even smaller than the original's estimated $1 million shoestring. Jack himself still looks like a refugee from a particularly grim Christmas parade float, maybe slightly more melted around the edges thanks to the heat. There’s a charmingly awful quality to the practical stuff – the stiff animatronics, the obvious dummies taking fatal plunges. But Jack Frost 2 also dabbles more heavily in early, exceedingly rough CGI. Remember those primitive digital effects from the turn of the millennium? They are here in full, glorious, pixelated force, especially when Jack decides to unleash his secret weapon...
### Attack of the Killer Snowballs!
Yes, the film's big innovation is giving Jack the ability to basically cough up sentient, malevolent snowballs. These little guys, dubbed "Snowgies" by some fans long before Disney tread similar territory, bounce around causing mischief and murder. The effects used to bring them to life are… well, they exist. They’re like angry, animated styrofoam balls rolling around, occasionally sporting crude faces. It’s pure Z-grade creature feature madness, and honestly, it’s probably the most memorable part of the film. Did Michael Cooney know he was pioneering a concept that a certain animated behemoth would later refine? Probably not, but it’s a fun retro factoid to consider. Cooney, interestingly, would later pen the script for the genuinely clever thriller Identity (2003), proving there was definitely more lurking beneath the slush of his killer snowman saga.
Filmed down in Mexico to capture that authentic cheap tropical vibe, the location actually adds to the film's bizarre charm. The contrast between the sunny beaches and the icy terror is the whole point, and while it never looks expensive, it commits to the bit. You can almost feel the humidity battling the styrofoam snow on set.
### So Bad It's... Still Pretty Bad, But Fun?
Look, nobody is mistaking Jack Frost 2 for high art. Christopher Allport does his best to ground the film, playing Sam's returning trauma and exasperation with a straight face that somehow makes the surrounding chaos even funnier. (His subsequent passing in a real-life avalanche in 2008 adds a layer of tragic irony to his involvement in these films, a sad footnote to a career spent largely in dependable character roles). The rest of the cast embraces the B-movie energy, delivering lines with the appropriate level of either earnestness or knowing cheese.
This wasn't a movie destined for critical acclaim or box office glory; it was pure direct-to-video fodder, designed for late-night cable slots and questionable rental choices. And yet, like its predecessor, it's achieved a certain cult infamy. It’s the kind of movie you discover, wide-eyed, and immediately need to show your friends just to prove it exists.
***
Rating: 3/10
Justification: Let's be real: on any technical or artistic level, this movie is a disaster. The effects are cheap, the plot nonsensical, the acting often wooden. However, it earns a few points for sheer audacity, unapologetic camp, and managing to be unintentionally hilarious in its ambition. It fully understands its B-movie roots and leans into the stupidity, offering some genuine laughs for fans of "so bad it's good" cinema. It delivers exactly the kind of low-budget, high-concept absurdity you'd expect from a killer snowman sequel set in the tropics.
Final Thought: Jack Frost 2 is the cinematic equivalent of finding a melted popsicle stuck to the bottom of the freezer – messy, questionable, but strangely nostalgic for a certain kind of rock-bottom rental experience. Approach with caution, low expectations, and perhaps a tropical drink of your own.