Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 2, 2022

Note: This evidently is a censored version and our Forum is reporting that a replacement disc may be forthcoming. I've reached out to MVD and will post an update here as I hear details.

Update 1/4/2022: This is a statement MVD has released: MVD is committed to releasing the best possible product. In regards to "Jack Frost 2", we are waiting to hear back from our licensor regarding gaining access to the unedited HD master of the film. Should MVD be given access to those materials, MVD will take the proper course of action to correct this unintended mistake. Until that time, we politely ask our fans to exercise patience and we will put out an official announcement once we have more information.

A bit of "meta" humor informs writer and director Michael Cooney's commentary, included on this disc as a supplemental feature, when he mentions early on that audiences attending Jack Frost weren't quite sure if things were being played intentionally for laughs or not. While, yes, scenes like one of a giant mutant snowman sexually assaulting an admittedly nasty girl in the first film may strike some as being more objectionable than funny, the mere presentational aspects of that scene (and many others) probably can't help but evoke at least snickers, due to the almost non-existent budget Cooney was faced with when attempting to make that film and fashion the "special effects" (quote marks there for a definite reason). While this was still an ultra low budget affair, as Cooney also gets into in this commentary, he was able to utilize more state of the art effects, which ostensibly makes some of the snowman (actually snowmen) material in this film more "realistic", but this is just another huge goof of a movie that has to be accepted on its own gonzo terms, for better or worse.

Adding to the patent lunacy of the first film's already preposterous setup is the fact that lawman Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport) is suffering even worse post traumatic stress disorder than he was in the first film, which leads to a recommendation of a vacation far, far away from any potential freezing weather. Of course in the meantime, Jack (voiced once again by Scott MacDonald) has managed another miraculous resurrection, due at least in part to the dunderheaded "idiot" character who is a kind of "where's Waldo" element in the first film. In this particular instance, however, due to the fracas that supposedly led to Jack's demise in the first film, some of Sam's DNA has now been mixed into the stew (so to speak), so that Sam and Jack are more linked than ever. Suffice it to say that Jack's putative "main" form as a snowman doesn't keep him from journeying to an exotic tropical location where Sam and other characters from the first film have aggregated.

Of course a number of murders ensues, and ultimately a whole slew of little Jack mini-me's is set loose, with some goofy but reasonable looking special effects (at least when compared to the first film). Still, there's something just not quite as funny about this sequel, despite Cooney's attempts to make the humor more obvious (and maybe that's why, come to think of it). Things are obviously structured for yet another follow up, though Christopher Allport's sad passing would mean Jack would need to find a new nemesis.

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Rewind Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080 transfer in 1.78:1. Both the back cover of this release and PowerDVD claim this is a progressive presentation, but BD Info defines it as interlaced, and it certainly looked more like an interlaced presentation to me for a number of reasons. This is an uncharacteristically wonky looking presentation from MVD, though I am wondering if at least some of the anomalies on tap are part of a relatively early use of digital cameras, which Michael Cooney gets into in his commentary. I frankly haven't seen anything quite like one weirdness on display since I reviewed One From the Heart years ago and got an almost immediate phone response from folks working for Mr. Coppola since it was such an obvious issue (though I don't think the disc was ever recalled). If you read my review of that lesser remembered musical effort from Coppola, you'll see I mentioned a very weird, scrim like series of vertical lines that is almost permanently affixed to the imagery, and that's once again the case here. If you look at virtually all of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review in full resolution, you can spot it, but a few standout examples are screenshot 2 on the woman's face and body, screenshot 4 on the man's forehead in particular, and perhaps most notably the sky in screenshot 18. Adding to this odd aspect are a number of other deficits, including copious amounts of noise in a number of darker scenes, and near pixellation in others. Additionally, the opening couple of minutes are both in a wider aspect ratio and yet look slightly anamorphically squeezed for some reason (see screenshot 16). While Cooney addresses some brief use of stock footage, which looked to me like it was culled from an interlaced source (see screenshot 19), there are other moments that certainly look to me like they have interlacing artifacts (see screenshot 15). On the plus side, the palette is very nicely suffused, and despite the anomalies detail levels can actually be quite good.

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman features a spry sounding LPCM 2.0 track. The film has its share of goofy sound effects, which reverberate with sufficient impact, and the film's jaunty score is also well represented. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout and I noticed no issues whatsoever with regard to damage, distortion or dropouts. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Director Michael Cooney (SD; 4:58) might rely on a few too many inside jokes.


• Full Empire Promotions' Dominic Mancini Interview with Scott MacDonald: Part 2 (HD; 30:56) continues (pretty much mid-sentence) the Zoom like conversation between the two begun on Jack Frost as a supplement on that disc.


• Behind the Scenes Featurette (SD; 12:03)


• Music Video Spoof (SD; 1:57)


• Audio Commentary with Michael Cooney can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Hack the Movies Commentary can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Trailers includes Jack Frost 2 (SD; 1:47), as well as Jack Frost (SD; 1:31) and other releases from MVD.

Additionally a fold out mini poster is housed in the keepcase, and packaging features a slipcover.

Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Based on the supplements included on both this disc and Jack Frost, it seems like Michael Cooney is appropriately a very, well, cool dude, as perhaps exemplified by the fact that he cast his Dad as the looney Colonel Hickering in this film (see screenshot 5). But the road to whatever the arctic version of hell is is of course paved with good intentions, and this probably unnecessary sequel just never quite gels. This disc has some appealing supplements, but the video presentation has some issues, for those who may be considering making a purchase.