Ah, yes, the old "who needs a ride?" trick to spend some quality time with a hot co-ed -- why didn't I think of that when I was in college? You get your chance to wow and impress the girl, and she gets the ride home she needs without having to worry about riding a bus -- everyone's happy, right? Not in this case -- and that's putting it mildly. It makes for one terrific movie, though.

I know some people won't embrace this story, but I loved it. Sure, it has a few rough edges, but it's a surprisingly intelligent, atmospheric, gripping little gem of a film. And, while it's more of a psychological thriller than a horror film per se, Wind Chill has its creepy moments. I don't know if I was just off my guard or tired or what, but this thing even elicited a small cry of surprise from my throat at one point -- and that almost never, ever happens.

The best thing about Wind Chill -- well, actually the best thing about it is Emily Blunt -- but the next best thing is the film's ability to move in different directions at just the right time. Just when you think you have it all figured out, the story squirts right out of your arms like a greased pig. This makes the film a little more convoluted than some viewers might like, resulting in some confusion -- despite the fact that I believe it spoon feeds you almost too much in the end. We're so used to the almost complete lack of creative ideas coming out Hollywood that your first instinct is to compare what you are seeing with other movies. The filmmakers in this case actually use that to the film's advantage, however. When you're wondering whether this is another Wrong Turn, The Hitcher, Jeepers Creepers, The Hills Have Eyes, etc., you're wonderfully vulnerable to this film's different transitions -- and, in the end, I think Wind Chill manages to carve a nice little cozy niche for itself.

The main characters are not given names, so I'll be referring to them as Girl and Guy. Girl (Blunt) is planning to take a bus home to Delaware over Christmas break, then follows up on someone's suggestion to check the message boards for a possible ride. That's how she ends up riding home with Guy (Ashton Holmes), and it is not an easy trip. For starters, she treats him rather shabbily, as she's in full ice queen mode; she can hardly be bothered to even talk to him. She also senses, right from the start, that something just isn't right about Guy; her sense of foreboding only increases when she learns that Guy knows things about her that he really shouldn't know. When Guy decides to suddenly leave the highway in favor of a "shortcut" in the form of a snow-covered country road, she reaches her breaking point and starts demanding answers from this fellow she now sees as a threat.

Then everything changes in a heartbeat, as an accident leaves the pair stranded by the side of the exceedingly lonely road. The intensity of the film slowly builds to a feverish pitch from this point on. I won't go into any of the details, but it is clear that very strange doings are going on in the woods beside the road.

I was happily surprised by the level of intensity this film managed to generate and retain throughout. I really had no idea how the story would play out in the end until the film's final moments, and for that I have to give the director, writers and actors all kinds of credit. Wind Chill simply refuses to ever let you get comfortable in your role as a viewer, and that makes it quite a rare commodity in today's horror market. It's also the only film I can think of that utilizes the philosophy of Nietzsche as an integral part of the story. This is truly one of those "we need more like this" horror films.