• The Thing (dir. John Carpenter, 1982)

While it is now hailed as one of the finest horror films of all time, The Thing was a critical and commercial flop on release. The reason for this was likely because Spielberg’s ET: The Extra-Terrestrial was released the same year, both dealing with aliens arriving on Earth and interacting with humans. The Thing tells the story of a 12-man research team in the Antarctic, who discover the decimated remains of a Norwegian science compound, and the existence of a creature that can assimilate the shapes of any living organism it comes into contact with. Kurt Russell (a frequent Carpenter collaborator) and Keith David (who would later star in Carpenter’s They Live) star as Macready and Childs, the pilot and mechanic of the team. The film features some of the best gore effects in cinematic history (not for the squeamish) and a great score by Ennio Morricone. It’s more ideal viewing around the Halloween season, but it creates an unearthly sense of isolation with its Antarctic setting, similar to how some of us may feel now. Highly recommended. 

• The Hateful Eight (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2015) 

The eighth film by the acclaimed writer-director tells the story of a group of mysterious men (and a murderous woman in tow) taking shelter in a Haberdashery to evade an incoming blizzard, a few years after the Civil War. It’s no secret that Tarantino borrowed several beats from The Thing, telling a story about paranoia, trust, and looming violence set against a backdrop of an isolated location in the snow. It features an ensemble cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell (once again, inspired by The Thing), Walton Goggins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Channing Tatum. Tarantino sought to invoke the feeling of a bottle episode of a Western TV show, stretching it out into a full-length story. In addition to Ennio Morricone’s Oscar-winning score and mesmerizing cinematography by Robert Richardson, it tells a timely tale of simmering racial tensions, between former Union soldiers, former Confederate soldiers, and those in the middle, giving new meaning to the term ‘white hell’. Perhaps one of QT’s more underrated efforts, it is a potent film that could rank amongst his best over time. 

• Fargo (dir. Joel Coen, 1996) 

The late nineties brought on a slew of Pulp Fiction imitations; slick, violent, darkly comedic crime pictures with a meta edge. However, the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, were filmmakers that had their style figured out by that time, with several successful indie films throughout the eighties and nineties. Fargo was one of their first big films, gaining awards nominations from just about every film and critics group across the country. Taking place in both Fargo, North Dakota and various cities in Minnesota, the film tells the stories of a man hiring to criminals for a petty extortion plot; the criminals messing up the job resulting in several deaths; Brainerd police chief Marge Gunderson, who follows on the heels of the criminals; and the breadth of insanity that follows these events. Photographed by the master Roger Deakins, the frame is often filled with expansive snow-capped landscapes and frozen lakes; these images alone could make Fargo the definitive film to watch in a snowy January. It’s pretty funny, too. Once you get past the kidnapping and murder side of things. 

• The Revenant (dir. Alejandro G. Inarritu, 2015)

A far cry from the dark humor of Fargo, The Revenant is a film that many people would need to be in a specific mood to enjoy. Telling the fictionalized-true story of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who survived a vicious bear attack, the film is a grueling survival tale set in the frigid, “untamed” frontier of the American northwest. The film is lackadaisical in its pacing, steeping the audience in the same sense of isolation and ever-present danger that Leonardo DiCaprio’s Glass feels throughout the runtime. His performance is very grounded, very human, displaying the inevitable pain and sickness that will befall a man being held together by mere strips of flesh (quite literally) yet he is able to get back up and stay alive for another day. Featuring a great villainous performance by Tom Hardy, and an ever-moving camera operated by Emmanuel Lubezki, the film tells a story that is nothing new, but is a masterclass in execution. It may not be something everyone will want to experience over and over, but its imagery will stick with you. 

• Cliffhanger (dir. Renny Harlin, 1993)

…or Die Hard on a Mountain, starring Sylvester Stallone as a rescue ranger who faces off with a group of criminals attempting to escape with $100 million in hard cash. Perhaps not on the same cinematic level as the other films on this list, it is still a very entertaining and suspenseful actioner that makes the most of its premise. Containing some great climbing sequences, on par with the finale of Blade Runner and the opening of Mission: Impossible 2, and what is probably your least expected way of offing a terrorist (impaling him on a stalactite), Cliffhanger is good, cold fun.