Note: The only truly sane response to any political campaign is terror and bewilderment, and as the 2008 presidential contest rockets to its conclusion, the Video Vault is celebrating by watching genre flicks of a political bent.

the plot: In the Arctic region of Alaska, the North Corporation is making preparations to open the first oil drilling operation in the pristine wilderness. This doesn’t sit well with Hoffman (LeGros), a federal environmental regulator assigned to evaluate the drilling operation. Hoffman’s data suggests the temperatures in the area are rising rapidly and the permafrost is melting. And that’s aside from inexplicable visions, ghostly happenings and other events Hoffman can’t explain. Ed Pollack (Perlman), the team’s leader, doesn’t buy it and thinks Hoffman is trying to derail a project that will bring “energy independence” to America. Caught between Hoffman and Pollack is Abby (Britton), whose loyalty to Pollack is tested by her affair with Hoffman. The team’s youngest member, Maxwell (Gilford), wanders off into the night and dies, leaving only a video recording of his last moments. Hoffman is convinced the melting permafrost has unleashed something—whether a poisonous gas or a supernatural force—and the team must evacuate. But Pollack refuses, and soon the whole team is at risk.

why it’s good: “Drill, baby, drill!” was one of the more inexplicable mass chants invoked during the 2008 Republican National Convention, a plea to open up drilling operations in Alaska and off America’s coastlines in order to lessen dependence on foreign oil. But what if the price of energy independence was the full-scale wrath of a legion of caribou ghosts and the utter destruction of the season of winter itself? “The Last Winter” poses just such a question, and the answer seems to be that, well, maybe OPEC isn’t so bad after all. As a horror flick, “Winter” is mostly OK. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before in Carpenter’s “The Thing” or even “The Shining,” but it’s a good looking film, and Fessenden effectively creates a genuinely creepy atmosphere that delivers a few mild scares. But “Winter” never goes beyond mild, and Fessenden’s reliance on ambiguity to bring the scares just doesn’t work. As a polemic to convince audiences about the reality of global warming—well, the dodgy science and ill-defined supernatural hokum don’t make a very good case. Ron Perlman is his usual gruff, grumpy self here, though instead of being likable, he comes across as nothing more than a neo-con jerk. He loudly proclaims that “God and the American people” want the Arctic Wildlife Refuge open for drilling and refuses to listen to any of Hoffman’s warnings. Pollock is the type of guy who’d still chant “Drill, baby, drill!” even as the moose ghosts ravage him—perhaps the mark of a true conservative.

why you should own it: “The Last Winter” has some good moments, but the few unsettling moments just don’t add up, and the film doesn’t hold together. It’s worth a rental, though, especially if you like “The Thing” and similar ice-bound horror flicks.