Maybe it's because I like interactive seasonal toys...
Or maybe it's because this was the first time I understood a Far Side cartoon:
Or maybe, just maybe, it's that they're really cool.
No matter the reason, any genre film that involves evil/haunted/possessed/
Quick Plot: Welcome to Normal, Alaska, where it's not only not snowing in December, but is also warm enough for a light jacket. We're used to such details in a Hallmark film, but in the case of Snowmageddon, it might have some deeper meaning.
Nuclear family the Millers are having a quiet evening setting up for Christmas when they discover an unmarked present under their tree. Young Rudy opens it and is delighted to find a detailed snow globe that matches his small town. Nothing unusual in that, but moments later, an earthquake causes some rifts in the ground...of both the real world and the floor of...THE SNOW GLOBE.
What follows is an efficiently competent Christmas disaster film.
Such a statement can be read as positive or disappointing, I know.
As someone who grew up in a very Mystery Science Theater 3000 era of joyfully discovering the fun inherent in incompetent cinema, "bad" movies remain enjoyable only when they're trying to reach some level of good. Some dozen or so years ago, The SyFy Channel learned to perfect their packaging of low effort genre films that were clearly manufactured to SEEM like a "so bad it's good" experience. For me, it's inauthentic and made for a different audience.
Snowmageddon, despite being a low budget straight-to-who-knows-where-
So sure: it's therefore a little dull. Those expecting Shark Attack 3: Megalodon levels of buffoonery will walk away feeling a bit shortchanged. There's nothing overtly stupid about this movie, even if, as I really can't say enough, the story is about a magical snow globe that causes natural disasters.
High Points
Enough can't be said about the cast (including The Faculty's Laura Harris), all of whom clearly approached the material knowing the best way to make it work was to play it straight
Low Points
How can you possibly make a movie about a powerful world-ending snow globe and never, you know, address the reason for why this angry piece of winter decoration is trying to end the world?
Breathe Easy
Mo, the beautiful malamute who first warns the family that their snowglobe is a tool of evil, emerges unscathed
Lessons Learned:
Being professional means no ogling or drooling
Everyone knows that Santa only brings gifts down the chimney (said with sass by a teenager)
When in doubt, just wait for an active volcano to reveal itself and solve your geological problems
Rent/Bury/Buy
It's hard to know what kind of viewer would get the most out of Snowmageddon. The movie isn't campy enough to be that much fun, nor is it, well, good enough to be actually good. We're grading on a very particular SyFy Channel curve here. The movie is far more competent than its premise and pedigree would lead you to expect, but it never quite rises to be anything overly memorable. Still, if you, like me, see "An Alaskan family receives a mysterious snowglobe that causes a global catastrophe" as the premise of a film and think, "obviously, I'm watching," you can find it on Amazon Prime.
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