By: Addison Wylie

An after hours horror show goes mad in the uneven Late Night Double Feature.  Before the mayhem ensues on the set of Dr, Nasty’s Cavalcade of Horror, the audience is treated to a couple of spooky shorts intercut by commercials and previews.

For the most part, the film is authentically structured like a craggy cable access show, which provides plenty of chuckles.  An ill-placed ad cashing in on the night’s horror theme and a trailer for Encephalopithecus (directed by John Michael Forbes) are where I had my heartiest laughs.

The short films (Dinner for Monsters, Slit) have great production qualities.  Then again, I’ve seen these filmmakers (Zach Ramelan, Torin Langen) at work before, and they know how to deliver on the visceral details.  They still, however, need to learn how to deliver a story without resorting to mountains of overwrought dialogue.  Both films have the villain exhausting themselves.

Navin Rawaswaran holds the feature together with Dr. Nasty’s behind-the-scenes show.  He excels in all areas Langen and Ramelan do, but the flabby pacing hampers the payoff.

With this being a Toronto screening, homegrown horror fans may feel like Late Night Double Feature is one giant in-joke.  I expect howls during the obligatory appearances by Robert Nolan, Rick Cordeiro, and Jason Tannis.

Rawaswaran, Langen, and Ramelan are horror filmmakers with considerable talents.  Their labour of love Late Night Double Feature doesn’t feature them at the top of their game, but I’m still confident they have what it takes to make fantastic movies.

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Late Night Double Feature screens at Toronto’s Canadian Film Festival on Thursday, March 26 at 9:30 pm at The Royal Cinema.

Canadian Film Festival ’15 Coverage:

Review of The Cocksure Lads Movie

Review of Barn Wedding

Review of Ben’s at Home