Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Ice Road Terror’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Have you ever wanted a second job? Perhaps driving trucks for a couple of months of the year? I must admit that after watching a season of Ice Road Truckers, this might just be a great opportunity for my winter months, because seeing what these drivers have to endure on a daily basis, along with the competitiveness that each driver shows for each other makes me feel as if this would be the right fit. But not knowing what the Alaska tundra could really have in store for me has left me sitting on the sideline for many years now.

But in the Syfy creature feature Ice Road Terror, you find out what the real terror is on the ice roads in Alaska as you follow two buddy truck drivers trying to win the coveted trophy for running the most hauls in a season. Jack Simmons, who is the winner of this trophy for the past five years acts like he is not interested in retaining his title of the most trips each season, that is until his friend Neil Conroy offers to take the last shipment of the season. Jack gives in and joins the convoy to get the last run of explosives up to a local mining site. Thinking that the warming temperatures are all they will have to battle on their trip, the men are met with an unexpected hitchhiker, Rachel Harris, who just needs a lift to make sure that the mine is in compliance with the up to date standards put in place by the government.

Even though the temperature is nearing 34 degrees, the men both take the job for triple their normal rate, because money is money. Watching as the ice road starts to crumble around them on their drive up, the trucks could not be prepared for what they find once they arrive at the mining site. Body parts and blood are scattered everywhere, and as Jack and Neil investigate the scene, they are able to locate two survivors, along with an ancient beast. A dinosaur known as a Wynook is scavenging around the mine site, looking for its next meal. The Wynook is a legendary beast that Intuit parents have discussed with their children for many moons and it is a creature that moves below the ground, and is always looking for its next victim (that is really all they tell you).

Ice Road Terror takes you on a slippery ride up and back down the ice roads of Alaska as three people try to escape the clutches of the Wynook. Once this beast lays eyes on you, it will never give up its pursuit until it eats you, or until you figure out a way to defeat it. The buddy truckers know how to survive to a point in the still cold outskirts of the great North West, but do not have the weapons or energy to take down the legendary monster. Knowing little, and their surveyor Rachel knowing even less, the three take up shelter in the only coffee house along the three-hundred-mile route. 

Now what are your takeaways from this movie? First, teamwork makes the dream work, you always need it in a crisis. Second, never pick up any survivors from an animal attack disaster, they are just not right. And finally, third, always make sure you hold up somewhere with a lot of wood and power tools, but that should be a given at any time. Well, with winter just around the corner again, the hope is that we drive safely on the ice, keep off the frozen lakes and don’t awaken legendary beasts. Stay Warm and Scared. 

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