The Station

At a remote weather research station in the German Alps, three scientists and a technician monitor and study the climate and the ramifications of rapid weather changes on our world. On the eve of a visit by an important government minister, they discover that a rapidly retreating glacier has begun to leak a strange red liquid. The mysterious compound seems to be affecting local wildlife at a genetic level, and soon it will be up to reclusive technician Janek (Gerhard Liebmann) to defend the group from the biological monstrosities growing just beyond the walls of their tiny outpost.

Marvin Kren broke into the international horror circuit in 2011 with his debut feature Rammbock, a zombie film that surprised audiences by packing in a lot of heart and humanity amid the gore. Now, he returns with a timely thriller full of startling scares and inventive creature designs, along with a chilling message about the dangers of climate change that may lurk in our not-too-distant future.

The Station wastes no time in delivering its monstrous shocks, and the grumpy, balding Janek is a perfect, if unlikely, hero for this terrifying cautionary tale. As was the case in Rammbock, you won't find any nubile teens or sexy co-eds to add to the body count here; Kren's characters are mature, written with enough emotional depth to engage the audience, and cement a vested interest in their upcoming peril at the teeth and claws of nasty genetic mutations.

COLIN GEDDES