Dead of Winter stars Emma Thompson and Judy Greer. That was the inducement. A good script would have been a better inducement, but I had to watch it to discover that.

Dead of Winter begins with Barb (Emma Thompson) heading off in a pickup truck in the middle of winter. The truck has no snow tires and no chains although the roads are caked with snow–and she’s lived in Minnesota her entire life.

She drives to a remote location looking for a particular lake. She gets a little turned around and spots a lone cabin. She heads there to ask directions. A man in a camo jacket (Marc Menchaca) gives her directions, but something is fishy there.

Barb sees blood on the snow and a pistol with a scope on the dash of the man’s car. Definitely not the kind of gun someone would need for sport or hunting in a Minnesota winter.

She leaves, but she sneaks back to the cabin on foot. A young woman (Laurel Marsden) is trapped in the basement. Then a woman in purple (Judy Greer) shows up. Purple Lady is clearly the reason for whatever is going on in the cabin. Camo Jacket turns out to be her husband. He’s reluctant to be involved in what’s happening.

Saving a kidnapped woman in the middle of a Minnesota winter when a deranged woman in a purple jacket uses her rifle to shoot anything that gets in her way isn’t easy.

Barb isn’t the kind to give up. She’s resourceful and she’s resilient. She’s willing to sacrifice to do the right thing. The dangers and thrills involved in her efforts to save the kidnapped woman form the bulk of the action.

There were so many things that took me out of the story in this film. Emma Thompson’s Minnesota accent lasted about two sentences. She loses her gloves and then magically is wearing them again. She gets shot in the arm and can’t use it, but then she can use it. She gets stuck in the ice driving her pickup up a small incline and doesn’t know enough about driving in the snow to get the truck moving again (the truck with no chains and no snow tires).

The rescue and the fight for survival were tense, but overall the movie was barely average. A big disappointment when someone like Emma Thompson is the lead character.

One big plus in the film was Judy Greer. She makes a fantastic villain. The snow covered scenery was gorgeous, so that’s a second plus.

Dead of Winter is streaming on Hulu, if you want to take a look for yourself.