The Thaw Could Melt Our Cynical Hearts

Fans of eco-apocalyptic movies will be happy right now. After a gap following 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow, where the Vice President’s climate skepticism caused freezing mega-hurricanes to descend on the world, killing everyone until thwarted by a closed library door, there has been a veritable bonanza recently.

The past few months have seen The Happening, where trees decide to release their revenge on humanity, driving mass suicides, and The Day The Earth Stood Still, where highly advanced, super-intelligent aliens plan to annihilate humanity for its environmental crimes (rather than, say, tell them how to operate renewable power economically – perhaps they can’t!).

Yet all of these could be beaten by the forthcoming The Thaw, where a leading climate scientist unwittingly unleashes an ancient alien parasite. As one well-informed CEI staffer commented, “If anything this is an argument for global warming. Parasitic aliens start killing off holier-than-thou sycophants = awesome. The only way this movie could be better is if Wilfred Brimley is the alien who ends up killing everyone.”

And who could argue with that? I’ve got my popcorn ready.