Val Kilmer plays Dr. David Kruipen, a world-renowned expert in climate change. Dr. Kruipen and his students discover the thawing carcass of a woolly mammoth, but alas, their joy suddenly turns to fear. The thawing carcass releases a terrible parasite upon the research group, and begins picking off the team one by one.

Eventually, the students realize what they need to do: quarantine themselves, which means killing anyone who gets too close and protecting each other from their fellow research buddies. This is a classic isolationist horror directed by Mark A. Lewis and even though it pulls a bit from The Thing, I like the idea of a bunch of smarty pants kids killing each other off to protect the world.

There is still no release date for The Thaw.

Director Mark Lewis tells Dread Central that the parasitic monster was inspired by bed bugs and how vulnerable we all really are to Mother Nature. Although this an eco-thriller Lewis warns it won't get preachy at all.

Lewis also shares a little detail about the hairless monsters and how much CGI will be used.

Fortunately the aforementioned parasite doesn't have any hair, and we've partnered with a terrific VFX company. The tests have been amazing. I've never seen anything like it. It's going to be very creepy to say the least.

Shooting is starting this spring, I look forward to the mammoth thawing, but can it possibly be as great as the alien-possessed undead mammoth from the Sci Fi Channel movie? [The Province and Dread Central]