''Christmas Icetastrophe'' (also titled ''Icetastrophe'') is a 2014 American

made for television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as ...

directed by Jonathan Winfrey. It first aired on

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

on December 20, 2014.

Victor Webster Victor Webster (born February 7, 1973) is a Canadian actor. He is known for being the second actor to play Nicholas Alamain on the NBC daytime soap ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1999 to 2000, and for his roles as the mutant Brennan Mulwray in '' Mu ...

and

Jennifer Spence Jennifer Spence (born January 22, 1977) is a Canadian actress. Her acting credits include playing Dr. Lisa Park on the ''Stargate Universe'' television series and Betty Robertson on the series ''Continuum''. Career Spence has had principal roles ...

star as survivors of a meteorite strike that causes their town to

flash freeze In physics and chemistry, flash freezing is the process whereby objects are frozen in just a few hours by subjecting them to Cryogenics, cryogenic temperatures, or through direct contact with liquid nitrogen at . It is commonly used in the food i ...

Plot

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

splits and one piece lands on a car in the small town of Lennox; the other piece in the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

outside town. The town begins to progressively

, and the effect spreads outward at an alarming rate. Charlie Ratchet, a local father, teams up with Alex Novak, a graduate student who wants to study the meteorite. Together they set out to counter the effects of the freezing meteorite on their town before everything, and every one, ends up frozen. Meanwhile, Tim Ratchet, Charlie's son, goes out into the storm to find and rescue Marley Crooge, and the two fight to survive the cold to make it back to safety.

Cast

as Charlie Ratchet *

as Alex Novak *

Richard Harmon Richard Scott Harmon is a Canadian actor. His roles on television include John Murphy in The CW's ''The 100'', Jasper Ames in '' The Killing'' and Julian Randol on ''Continuum''. Harmon received critical praise for his role in the movie ''If I H ...

as Tim Ratchet *

Tiera Skovbye Tiera Skovbye (; born May 6, 1995) is a Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress. She is known for starring in television films such as her role playing Elizabeth Berkley in Lifetime's ''The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story ...

as Marley Crooge *

Mike Dopud Mike Dopud ( sr, Majk Dopuđ, ''Мајк Допуђ'') is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and former football player known for his supporting roles on television. His best-known roles include Vic Hadfield in the miniseries ''Canada Russia '72'', Jas ...

as Ben Crooge * Johannah Newmarch as Krystal Crooge *

Andrew Francis Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, ''Hero 108'' as Lin Chung, ''Lam ...

as Scott Crooge *

Ben Cotton Ben Cotton (born July 26, 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor. His most notable roles are on the TV series ''Stargate Atlantis'' playing scientist Dr. Kavanagh, his portrayal of "Leon Bell" in the game Dead Rising 2, Shane Pierce, the ...

as Mayor Gibbons *

Boti Bliss Boti Ann Bliss (born October 23, 1975) is an American film and television actress. Notable roles include her semi-recurring role as Maxine Valera in the television crime drama ''CSI: Miami''. Her other roles include the 2002 film ''Ted Bundy'' ...

as Faye Ratchet *

Jonathon Young Jonathon Young (born May 8, 1973) is a Canadian actor known for his role of Nikola Tesla on the SyFy show ''Sanctuary''. Appearances include ''The Fog'', ''Eureka'', and ''Stargate Atlantis''. Young is a well-respected stage actor. He is the ...

as Neil *

Tyler Johnston Tyler Johnston (born June 14, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Stewart on the comedy series ''Letterkenny'' and Danny Lubbe in ''Less Than Kind''. Career Johnston's credits include appearances in the television se ...

as T.J. *

Alex Zahara Alex Zahara is a Canadian television, film and voice actor. Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, he was involved with theatre while still in school, performing in a stage version of '' MASH''. He later taught the "Acting for Teens" class at the Vanco ...

as Miles * Andrew Dunbar as Corporal Lambert * Lane Edwards as Rob * Jason Burkart as The Man * Toby Levins as Cole * John Stewart as Gary

Release

''Christmas Icetastrophe'' premiered December 20, 2014, on

Reception

Neil Genzlinger Neil Genzlinger is an American playwright, editor, book reviewer, and theatre and television critic who frequently writes for ''The New York Times''. Family Genzlinger is a grandson of the late ''The Philadelphia Bulletin'' columnist Don Rose. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "mindlessly ridiculous" but amusing. Adam Smith of the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' rated it C+ and wrote, "Just like its title, the film is unbelievably hokey, but it's also got campy appeal that sci-fi (and Syfy) fans will find irresistible."

Nancy deWolf Smith ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' wrote that it "sometimes reaches a very satisfying level of scariness". The trailer was nominated for "Trashiest Trailer" by the

Golden Trailer Awards The Golden Trailer Awards are an American annual award show for film trailers founded in 1999. The awards also honor the best work in all areas of film and video game marketing, including posters, television advertisements and other media, in ...

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, christmas_icetastrophe_2014 2014 science fiction films American Christmas films American disaster films American science fiction television films CineTel Films films Disaster television films Films about impact events Syfy original films 2014 television films 2014 films 2010s exploitation films 2010s disaster films 2010s Christmas films American exploitation films Films directed by Jonathan Winfrey 2010s English-language films 2010s American films American science fiction thriller films Science fiction disaster films American science fiction adventure films American adventure thriller films American thriller television films American adventure television films