Der Dämon des Himalaya: Cold toes and shaky legends

Is it worth your time?

If you like movies where people just stare intensely at clouds and frozen rocks, maybe. If you are looking for an actual monster movie, skip it. This is for the folks who get a kick out of old-school mountain climbing footage and people in heavy wool coats arguing about oxygen levels. If you hate slow burns or movies that treat a mountain like a main character, you'll probably fall asleep ten minutes in. 🏔️

The whole thing feels like a weird, damp fever dream. You spend half the time watching people struggle with ropes and the other half listening to them worry about a ghost. It’s not really about the demon, is it? It’s about how much cold a person can take before they start hallucinating.

There is this one shot of a climbing boot hitting the snow that goes on for an eternity. I think they wanted to show the weight of the climb, but it mostly just made me want to go put on a pair of socks. It is oddly grounded, even when the script tries to get all mystical.

Compared to something like Den starkaste, there is a total lack of that gritty, ocean-sprayed desperation. This film is much stiffer. The actors seem like they were actually freezing, which helps, but the pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like an endurance test for the viewer, too.

Some notes from the couch:

• The wind noise is constant. It kind of gets under your skin after a while.
• The "demon" is barely there. Maybe it’s just the altitude?
• The facial expressions are intense. Like, 'I haven't slept in a week' intense.
• I spent way too long wondering how they kept their gear from freezing solid.

I can’t help but compare the vibe to The River's End, mostly because both movies feel like they’re fighting against their own settings. But here, the mountain is definitely winning. It feels like the director was more interested in the ice than the plot, which is an odd choice but kinda works in a weird, lopsided way.

There are moments where the film just stops. It doesn't move forward, it just sits there with the snow. It’s a bit frustrating if you want a story, but it’s kind of nice if you just want to feel cold for an hour. Don't go in expecting a thriller. It’s more of a very long, very chilly walk.