Frank Marshall’s (ALIVE, CONGO) EIGHT BELOW captures a rugged world
of ice, snow, and threatening weather that few will ever experience
in person. As a guide for a National Science Foundation Research
Base in Antarctica, Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is perfectly
content to spend his time exploring the wilderness with his sled
dogs and goofing around with his best buddy, cartographer Charlie
Cooper (Jason Biggs). Then UCLA geologist Davis McLaren (Bruce
Greenwood) arrives at the camp with plans for a risky expedition:
treacherous ice fields make his target destination accessible only
by dog sled so late in the season. Soon Shepard, McLaren and the
sled dogs--Maya, Max, Old Jack, Buck, Shorty, Dewey, Shadow, and
Truman--are on their way in search of McLaren’s prize: a meteorite
from Mercury.
Unfortunately, an approaching storm forces Shepard and McLaren to
return to base early. The return trip proves life-threatening, but
the dogs pull through, saving both Shepard and McLaren from certain
death. The storm also forces the scientists to leave the research
center earlier than planned, and there’s no room on board bush
pilot Katie’s (Moon Bloodgood) plane for the dogs. With the promise
that someone will return for them immediately, Shepard leaves his
beloved dogs behind. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that the
weather has made a return trip impossible.
Can the dogs survive in the Antarctic wilderness on their own, or
will Shepard get back in time to save them?
