COLD MEAT. A survival thriller and folk horror in one

Cold Meat is a well-executed B-movie that, despite some flaws, really works.

David, an unassuming man in his thirties, is driving through the mountainous regions of Colorado during a powerful snowstorm and record-low temperatures. By evening, he stops at a roadside diner and strikes up a conversation with a young waitress named Ana. Suddenly, Ana’s drunk and aggressive ex-husband, Vincent, appears in the diner. David steps in to defend her, convincing the assailant to leave under threat of legal consequences. He then continues on his journey, but Vincent begins to follow him in his truck. The ex-husband forces David into a high-speed escape that ends in a skid, a crash, and his car getting stuck in a snowdrift on a remote road surrounded by dense forest.

But in Cold Meat, nothing is as it seems: someone else is in David’s car, and outside, a dangerous creature—believed to be the mythical Wendigo—is lurking.

Sébastien Drouin started his career at BUF Compagnie, a French collective specializing in visual effects. His portfolio includes work on Batman & Robin (1997) by Joel Schumacher, Heaven (2002) by Tom Tykwer, Alexander (2004) by Oliver Stone, and Babylon A.D. (2008) by Mathieu Kassovitz. The French filmmaker has also directed short films such as La place du mort (2000) and Pièces détachées (2006) and co-created the series Fearless (2017). Cold Meat marks Drouin’s feature-length directorial debut.

The British-French-Canadian co-production was filmed over two weeks in Canada, with Allen Leech (David) and Nina Bergman (Ana) in the lead roles. Despite being a low-budget film with relatively unknown actors, it made a splash at film festivals like Fantasporto and FrightFest before becoming a hit on streaming platforms.

Cold Meat is a film best watched without knowing too much in advance, as its plot is filled with unexpected twists and turns. Drouin plays with the conventions of the survival movie, blending it with psychological thriller elements and folk horror—though the latter seems to serve mostly as a justification for the film’s deus ex machina ending.

The central dynamic of the film, which takes place largely in a single location, revolves around the shifting relationship between the two main characters. Despite an initial spark of camaraderie between David and Ana, they soon become mortal enemies—for a good reason. Ironically, though, they must work together to survive. Leech and Bergman bring psychological depth to their characters, making Cold Meat a compelling watch from start to finish.

The film is far from perfect; viewers will need to suspend their disbelief more than once and accept some rather implausible plot points (for instance, the idea that someone could survive several hours in an unheated car trunk when temperatures are well below freezing). However, these flaws pale in comparison to the film’s thick atmosphere, mounting tension, and unpredictable developments.

Drouin achieves a lot with limited resources, and while Cold Meat is technically a B-movie in both content and form, it doesn’t feel like one—aside from the surprisingly strong acting. Like many great B-movies, it delivers plenty of thrills and chills, which, in the end, is exactly what horror and thriller fans are looking for.