User reviews

The Ice House at first appears to be your typical English murder mystery. Gradually some differences emerge:

1. the pace is quite slow, much closer to a real investigation.

2. your sympathies are with the suspects. You can see why they are sick of co-operating with such loutish police asking the same questions over and over, making all manner of accusations. The police are smirking, rude, bullying, homophobic.

3. You don't know for sure if the various murders actually happened, and if so, who was murdered. This multiplies the number of possibilities exponentially.

4. The townspeople are revolting. Based on rumours they are sure who the culprits are and are keen on vigilante justice. They are brutish and stupid, far scarier than any murderer.

5. Daniel Craig (of later James Bond fame) plays the second in charge inspector. He is an alcoholic. He undisciplined. He is even handsomer than he was as Bond, and somewhat scary in his volatility. The chief inspector is a despicable character who ignores evidence and abuses his power.

It is quite a subtle film, except for the final scene when Craig gives the townspeople a dressing down they will never forget. This movie requires patience and lots of thinking. It about characters, not plot.

The Ice House is a 1997 British mystery starring Daniel Craig, Corin Redgrave, Kitty Aldridge, Frances Barber, and Penny Downie. Three women living together and hated by the town come under suspicion when a body is found in their ice house. Ten years earlier, the husband of one of them, Phoebe (Downie) had disappeared, and at that time, she had been suspected of killing him by DCI Walsh (Redgrave). The other two women, Anne (Aldridge) and Diana (Barber) are lesbians. The town disapproves of them.

Daniel Craig plays DS Andy McLoughlin, who is also working on the investigation of identifying the man in the ice house. His boss is convinced it's the husband. But there is more to the case and to the home situation, as Andy learns; all the while, he's falling for Anne.

Very good mystery that really keeps you guessing. The lonely house provides a great atmosphere, and the characters are all well defined and well-acted. Daniel Craig is always good, and after seeing him on stage, I'm even more impressed with him. As a man with a troubled marriage, coming up against his boss, and getting personally involved with the case, he does a wonderful job. He and Kitty Aldridge have excellent chemistry.

Highly recommended.

'The Ice House' is a truly remarkable venture, both in terms of plot and of characterization. As far as the slowly unfolding plot is concerned, the film is second to hardly any of the British (TV) mysteries of recent years such as Inspector Morse etc. The main characters are portrayed in a convincing yet cinematically appropriate way. Right from the very beginning the film psychologically probes the dark sides of human nature keeping the viewer in tight suspense right to the very end. Worth seeing !

The cover photo on the box has changed: it's now Daniel Craig, solo, to capitalize on his success as James Bond. And he is the one who makes this long--three hours--show work. I've rarely seen a man play a drinker better than Craig does here. At one point, he drops to the floor in exhaustion--he hasn't eaten all day--and Aldridge has to make him eat a candy bar to get his strength up. Truly, Sgt. McLaughlin needs some caring soul to look after him.

The story sometimes lags a bit; three hours is a lot of time to devote to a fairly simple story after all. But the acting is generally excellent. Kitty Aldridge is very good as the one-time Communist newspaper reporter who has a lot of secrets to keep from the police. Penny Downie, whom I last saw playing Gertrude to David Tennant's Hamlet, is really moving at times; she is playing a mother of adult children whose father abused them. Corin Redgrave will make you shudder at times: he's playing the lead officer in the investigation who has harassed some of the characters in the past. The supporting cast is generally good, save for the young woman who has to yell 'Lezzies' too many times for my liking. All in all, a good evening's entertainment.

This is perhaps the best mystery I've seen on PBS Mystery! Interesting characters, suspenseful plot development, and flawless acting make this TV version of Minette Walter's mystery novel better than the book - and I've never said that about a movie vs. book before.

The gardener Fred Phillips finds a discomposed body in the ice house of an estate where Diana Goode, Anne Cattrell and Phoebe Maybury are living. Molly Phillips is the cook. D.C.I. Walsh is investigating with his younger partner D.S. McLoughlin (Daniel Craig). Walsh suspects Maybury right away after investigating her husband's disappearance ten years previously. Goode and Cattrell rent separate wings of the estate. Many in the small town spread rumors of the women's lesbianism.

It's a three hour 2-parter and there is probably enough material for one and half hour. The acting is solid and there is a younger Daniel Craig earning his stripes. The movie needs to be quicker but the long running really gets into the way. The start is pretty good but it slowly runs out of steam. The solid acting struggles to maintain interest.

Would you have cast the Daniel Craig of The Ice House as James Bond? Craig's acting in this British TV mystery is of such a high caliber and the role he plays is so anti-Bond, you would have had to have been a truly gifted casting director with a crystal ball to have envisioned Det.-Sgt. McCloughlin as 007. In The Ice House, Craig is a decidedly unheroic copper who will drink anything with an alcoholic content. He is also a brilliant detective -- not the Sherlock Holmes type -- but an indefatigable bloodhound. The Ice House is definitely not a warm, cozy Midsomer Murders type of mystery. It explores the darkest reaches of the human soul. It chills while it thrills. And yet it is intensely watchable, even enjoyable. (Some of the dialogue is laugh-out funny. And some of it is quite blue.) :Part of its attraction may be the level of the writing. The symbolism of the Ice House becomes apparent early on, but doesn't call attention to itself. Indeed, it adds to the cold passion and frozen emotions that coat each frame of this film like frost on a window in deepest winter. At whatever level you choose to watch The Ice House -- as an intelligent, traditional British murder mystery; as a complex love story; as wry social commentary; or as carefully wrought fiction and acting in a setting as multifaceted as an ice crystal -- keep your eyes on the very cool Mr Craig.

I find it hard to believe that The Ice House was made back in 1997, watching it again I was surprised at just how fresh it feels. Only the cars and hairstyles seem to date it. The book is a great read, there's always a worry that something gets lost in translation when it's made for TV, not the case here, justice was done. It's a deep story, with more going on then meets the eye. At no point does it feel slow or padded, the characters are brilliantly brought to life, Downie, Redgrave and Craig all particularly good, but the surprise package for me was Kitty Aldridge, not an actress I knew a great deal about, but she was fantastic. Each Minette Walters adaptation that the BBC made I enjoyed, if only this kind of show was still being made. 9/10

Diane, Anne and Phoebe live a peaceful life in a glorious house, that bliss is shattered when a body is discovered in the ice House. The Police are called in.

A wonderful two part drama series, it's beautifully acted, produced, but best of all, it's a cracking whodunnit.

A tangled mystery, with plenty of red herrings thrown in, I really so miss the Minette Walters penned dramas, why did they have to stop them, each was excellent.

It takes some time before you learn who it is in the ice house, and how they ended up there, but the journey is well worth it, there is a lot packed in.

Daniel Craig for me is the standout, and that isn't the James Bond fan in me just opting for him. His performance is outstanding, but everyone contributes well in this.

Twenty four years on, and it's genuinely as good as when I first saw it, excellent, 9/10.

What really works here in this mystery is the acting: the three women leads are all exceptional, and Daniel Craig is in fine form as a tough and vulnerable cop caught up in a myraid of false clues and possible murderers. What doesn't work is that, although the UK has given the world some of the best mystery writers of all -- Christie, Sayers, Rendell, James, etc. -- Minette Walters is not close to their level. The plotting is poor, there isn't enough depth to the show to justify its length (and the same could be said about the overlong book); it just doesn't really work the way a crackling good mystery should. Worth it for the acting but don't expect a good story.

First I, even at my age, saw and took REAL notice of Daniel Craig was in "The Ice House". I thought to myself hubba, hubba (showing my age with that expression) and then watched out for him. When I saw "Layer Cake" I had no doubt that Daniel Craig will make as good a James Bond as Sean Connery and I just saw the new Bond film yesterday. He was a great James Bond equalling Sean Connery in my view much better than Pierce Brosnan (who is very good looking but lacks the killer spark) and silly Roger Moore who I don't think could land a punch on anything much less do any of those stuns and just painful to watch. I am actually well over the Bond movies as the computerized stunts irritate me but enjoyed this new film just watching Daniel Craig's lips!

"The Ice House," a British mystery/police procedural just before the era of DNA evidence analysis, held my attention if only for the youthful star quality of Daniel Craig who appears in almost every scene but doesn't get top billing - I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him here assisting in a homicide investigation. He does most of the legwork; his boss is familiar with this address because the man of the house disappeared 10 years before - has his body been found, at long last, in the ice house on the property by the gardener? The ice house is nothing more than a hole dug out of the earth; the gummy remains (without clothing) have severe damage to the chest. What puzzled me most about "The Ice House" is the vague info from the medical examiner over the course of this 3 hour mini-series - he cannot ID the body for sure, the teeth are missing, the cause of death was a gunshot or maybe wild animals chewed on the chest - and the person has only been dead a few months or was it longer? Much longer? The program includes much talk about sexual activities - too much for my taste but overall, I liked this dated mystery and was quite surprised by the ending.

Daniel Craig Scottish accent is absolutely awful. The story is far too long and painfully slow. The cutting is woeful. And what's with the villagers hostility which makes little sense at all. All in all it's total rubbish.

Daniel Craig Scottish accent is absolutely awful. The story is far too long and painfully slow. The cutting is woeful. And what's with the villagers hostility which makesDaniel Craig Scottish accent is absolutely awful. The story is far too long and painfully slow. The cutting is woeful. And what's with the villagers hostility which makes little sense at all. All in all it's total rubbish. Little sense at all. All in all it's total rubbish.

Hi again I'm completely dumbfounded. I have gone into this establishment four times now each time they've offered their kindness and patronage. However, this time around I go and I check in with the head dude at the door and mind you I have a bunch of bags because I travel every week. All I do is I order their hummus Plate and spend 35% on their bartenders and lo and behold I come in today and they told me I'm banned so anybody that goes in solo that traveling in between here and the airport, you preferred to want to keep to yourselves that wanted to order a simple item that orders, hummus......?!? Maybe YOU are the next one to be kicked out of their establishment for unknown reasons such as myself I have been banned it does not make sense. The only thing is yes, I have my baggage. I travel back-and-forth from the airport to Vineyard City , so perhaps they assume something that shouldn't be assumed that has nothing to do with my patronage or service yes be highly aware that this is what's going to happen if you go in here it doesn't matter if you're 35% tipper as I have always been .... Oh goodness they're going to make you regret your giving good nature!

I watch an excessive amount of British crime dramas. They are generally of a much higher standard than US series. This is not one of those. It's a mess from beginning to end. A cast of good actors completely wasted. I'm honestly surprised I got through to the end but I did want to see the resolution. If you watch any if it, skip to the last 4 minutes and 30 seconds, you'll save yourself a lot of time.

The main question I kept asking myself while watching it was "how could this be from the 1990s. It looks and feels like 1963 and not in a good way".

Nothing to see here. It starts bad and stays bad. It seems like it's trying for a point but stays pointless.

Try almost anything else on Britbox and you will be better for it.