By: Addison Wylie

Director Gabriel Carrer’s screenplay of The Demolisher is practically speechless until 18-minutes into the film.  However, the audience is so acquainted with the heart-aching leads by then, that Carrer’s film could’ve gotten away with completely being a silent film.

If film critic-turned-filmmaker Chris Alexander is carrying out a similar yet more minimalist approach with the horror genre, Carrer could’ve done the same with this crime thriller.  Nonetheless, The Demolisher is really good.  And just as you do with Chris Alexander’s work, The Demolisher is the type of movie that works best when you’re trapped inside the theatre with nowhere to go.  Although, for as often as the filmmaker concludes scenes by fading to black, you get the feeling that Carrer is leaving space for a TV-edit to throw in commercials.

The Demolisher superbly captures transitional periods while using atmosphere and ominous instrumental tracks to a full extent.  As the sun sets in Toronto, movie goers witness the scum rising to the surface.  This also includes Bruce, a dangerously furious individual looking to get even.  When his loving wife Samantha (Clean Break’s Tianna Nori) suffers a critical injury, she’s given no choice but to view life wheelchair bound.  This pushes Bruce to create a nightly vigilante alter ego, and set out onto the streets to wipe out the gang that washed away Samantha’s hopes and dreams.

The Demolisher is a hypnotic fever dream that will have the audience debating where the line is drawn between passion and derangement.  We watch Bruce’s fury turn into a bloodlust as he loses touch of his original intentions.  You can never take your eyes off of Ry Barrett’s unsettling performance as he violently dishes out revenge, and Nori is a standout as she quietly suffers with the cards Samantha has been dealt.

Catch the world premiere of The Demolisher at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival on:

Monday, July 27 at 7:15 p.m. @ J.A. De Seve Theatre

**********

Click here for more festival details and to buy tickets.

Do You Tweet? Follow These Tweeple:

Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie