Chill Factor (film)
| Chill Factor | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hugh Johnson |
| Written by | Drew Gitlin Mike Cheda |
| Produced by | James G. Robinson |
| Starring | Cuba Gooding, Jr. Skeet Ulrich |
| Cinematography | David Gribble |
| Edited by | Pamela Power |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer John Powell |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million |
| Box office | $11,263,966 |
Chill Factor is a 1999 American thriller film directed by Hugh Johnson in his directorial debut, and starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Skeet Ulrich. The film centers on two unwitting civilians who are forced to protect a deadly chemical weapon from the hands of terrorists.
Plot
Ten years after a covert military experiment on a remote Pacific island went wrong and killed eighteen servicemen and his assistant, Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer) is still trying to forget the havoc and death that his experiment caused.
Living in the small town of Jerome, Montana, Long still conducts scientific experiments at the local base, but far more enjoys his time fly-fishing with Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich), who works in the local greasy spoon and has a checkered past.
Long's life changes, and then ends, when he's visited by Colonel Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth), a former military officer who took the blame and served ten years in Leavenworth for Long's experiment.
Now a free man with a score to settle with the government, Brynner has assembled a team of high-tech terrorists, including an icy woman named Vaughn (Hudson Leick), and plans to steal and then sell "Elvis"—Long's highly volatile, blue crystal substance—to the highest international bidder, thus having his revenge against the government for covering up its existence, and making him a scapegoat for their handling of the weapon.
Unfortunately for Brynner, Long has already delivered "Elvis" to Tim, along with the directions that the substance must remain below fifty degrees, or it will detonate, and kill everyone within several hundred miles of it.
After Mason and Arlo (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), a wisecracking ice cream delivery man, have a run-in with Brynner, they set off en route for Fort Magruder, some ninety miles away. The two don't get along with each other—Arlo only agrees to transport the substance in his ice cream truck because Mason held a gun on him—but they find a common bond in trying to avoid Brynner and his team.
With the help of Colonel Leo Vitelli (Daniel Hugh Kelly), Arlo and Mason try to survive Brynner's attacks, avoid the local deputy, Pappas (Jim Grimshaw), who's also hot on their trail, and keep "Elvis" below fifty degrees.
Time is running out, and the temperature is rising, Arlo and Tim must outwit their pursuers and try to find a way to dispose of the weapon before they're both killed.
Cast
- Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Arlo
- Skeet Ulrich as Tim Mason
- Peter Firth as Andrew Brynner
- David Paymer as Dr. Richard Long
- Hudson Leick as Vaughn
- Daniel Hugh Kelly as Leo Vitelli
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Telstar
- Rhoda Griffis as Pregnant Woman
- Jordan Mott as Carl
- Judson Mills as Dennis
Filming
Most of the film was shot in Liberty, South Carolina and parts of Northeastern Utah, in particular the Flaming Gorge Dam.
Reception
The film was generally received poorly by both critics and audiences; it currently holds an 11% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 76 reviews and 4.9/10 on IMDB. Roger Ebert described the film as "cliché" in every sense of the word. Chill Factor was a box office flop, grossing only $11.2 million on a budget of $70 million. Total Film magazine in the UK, however, reviewed the film favourably, awarding it 4 stars out of 5.
