The Irish-German star is taking a break from the blockbuster antics of Alien and X-Men, playing a detective in a Norwegian murder mystery.
The synopsis read: “For Detective Harry Hole, the death of a young woman during the first snowfall of winter feels like anything but a routine homicide. His investigation leads him to The Snowman Killer an elusive sociopath who continuously taunts Hole with cat-and-mouse games.
“As the vicious murders continue, Harry teams up with a brilliant recruit to try and lure the madman out of the shadows before he can strike again.”
So far The Snowman has received a frosty reception from the critics, with just 20% positive on Rotten Tomatoes – made up of mainly 1 and 2 star reviews.
EMPIRE
A case of a missed opportunity. It references all the right films, but The Snowman comes off as a pale imitation.
Total Film
This intro to a new big-screen detective never quite gels, despite Fassbender’s best efforts. Too unremarkable to leave you anything but cold.
Daily Telegraph
The Snowman goes wrong quickly, permanently, and in a spiral, turning into a nonsensical nightmare of Scandi-noir howlers from which you sometimes feel you may never awaken.
Hollywood Reporter
For all its high-caliber talent mix, The Snowman is a largely pedestrian affair, turgid and humourless in tone.
Variety
A production that seems to have been second-, third- and fourth-guessed at every turn, and bears the manifold scars and stitches of on-the-fly rethinking.
THE WORST HORROR MOVIE SERIAL KILLERS EVER: WHICH ONE MADE AUDIENCES VOMIT?
Screen International
It eventually melts into an exhausted puddle.
Little White Lies
A film that feels as butchered as its serial killer’s victims. Ludicrous, but fascinatingly so.
However not every review was so icy, with a couple of outlets rewarding The Snowman three stars.
The Guardian
A serviceable, watchable thriller.
Otroscines
[The Snowman is] entangled, tense and ominous like the snowy winter landscapes in which it passes, but in its resolution hides a twist that flirts dangerously with manipulation.
The Snowman is released in UK cinemas on October 13, 2017.