Directed by Lucy Harvey and Danielle Kummer, Alien on Stage is an unexpectedly heartwarming documentary about an amateur theatre group comprised of Dorset bus drivers who set out to produce a stage adaptation of Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi/horror Alien. Though their initial adaptation is serious, they are given the opportunity to take their show to London’s West End as a comedy.
Combining martial arts with survival horror and thrills, Nightshooters may have a few rough patches – but it’s a hell of a good time.
Adapting to a compromised year, the annual Canadian Film Fest has decided to screen select titles from the year’s lineup exclusively on Super Channel. Wylie Writes received a sneak peek of the two documentaries that will close out this year’s run.
A film can sometimes take so many risks, twists, and turns that the movie itself becomes borderline indescribable. Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy falls in this camp, so how do I even begin to discuss it?
The biggest strength of Toronto After Dark is, and always has been, the importance given to short films. Shorts are given their own programs, but they also play before features. Due to genre cinema’s specific limitations, shorts are both useful as a way to make a name for oneself and as a storytelling medium. As such, it’s important to look at what is happening in that world. Let’s take a look at the good, the…
Enhanced (DIR. James Mark) The idea of a low budget superhero film is an undeniably commendable one. Superheroes are incredibly generic, and there is nothing that necessitates the bloated budgets that they tend to cost, so the idea of telling those stories with less waste should be celebrated. Unfortunately, the films that come out of this practice tend to be underwhelming. Case in point: James Mark’s Enhanced.
8 (DIR. Harold Holscher) Horror can be found just about anywhere, however not all horror is equal. This is why films that incorporate real-life horrors must be particularly aware of how they incorporate the various elements. Former TAD presentation Under the Shadow is a great example of how to do this correctly. But, this is why Harold Holscher’s 8 is so conflicting. It doesn’t really have much to say about its source events, creating a final product…
Contracts (DIR. Alex Chung) Critics Jean-Luc Comolli and Paul Narboni once suggested that all films were inherently political because, even when a film lacks an overt political bent, its refusal to question the politics of its world is an acceptance of said politics. This lesson in film theory may sound like it is coming out of nowhere, but it serves a purpose, namely in explaining that Alex Chung’s Contracts—which had its world premiere at Toronto After…
At this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival (which is currently in full swing at the city’s Scotiabank Theatre), you won’t be able to shake Precious Chong’s wild performance in Zach Gayne’s Homewrecker. As Linda, Chong channels mousey and maniacal characteristics after she haphazardly kidnaps a new “friend” Michelle (Starry Eyes’ Alex Essoe). Chong is funny, but she’s careful not to exploit the character; allowing Essoe’s character to show empathy towards Linda under nerve-racking circumstances.
The Furies (DIR. Tony D’Aquino) So, there are these seven women and seven monsters. The women are tasked with staying alive, while the monsters attempt to kill them. This plot could either be attached to a self-aware bit of amazing cinematic trash, or it could take itself too seriously and fail. Tony D’Aquino’s The Furies falls firmly into the latter category.