By: Mark Barber Chris Trebilcock’s The Dark Stranger understands that the power of horror is derived in part not from its tonal seriousness but from its ability to confront the issues in ways that are creatively charged. Taking on the issue of depression, The Dark Stranger might take some flak for what at times feels like a facile exploration of depression. However, Trebilcock deserves praise for creatively literalizing the demons we face as a means…
By: Addison Wylie Fed-up filmmaker Crystal, her procedural producer Dawn, and her colourful actresses travel to different theatres to screen their new film in Ryan M. Andrews’ Save Yourself. Any festival goer will familiarize with the film’s first act taking place in a packed theatre as drama unfolds behind-the-scenes. Those same patrons will also start eagerly guessing where Save Yourself is headed once the characters hit the road.
By: Shannon Page Canadian filmmaking veteran Larry Kent’s She Who Must Burn, which was directed by Kent and co-written with Shane Twerdun, follows a nurse for planned-parenthood (Sarah Smyth) who refuses to leave her clinic even after it is shut down by the state. Her persistence puts her at odds with the town’s fanatic, evangelical residents who believe that her commitment to a woman’s right to choose is a sin.
By: Mark Barber Andrew Cymek’s Night Cries is the product of a variety of recycled ideas and premises from other movies. Taking cues from The Matrix, Twelve Monkeys, Mad Max and dozens of other sci-fi/action films, Cymek’s film is too self-serious and rarely entertaining. Cymek (who also wrote, produced, and edited the film) plays Joseph, a man who searches for his wife in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by weird creatures and a gang of people…
By: Addison Wylie When the Unspecters – a team of bush-league paranormal investigators – are told to up their ante in order to score a television show pilot, they apprehensively set their sights on Farhope Tower. The high-rise has a history of undistinguished suicides, and its been uninhabited for years. The Unspecters are used to spelunking for spirits in caves and dark crevices, but they muster forward into their next challenge. April Mullen’s Farhope Tower is…
By: Shahbaz Khayambashi The Blood in the Snow Film Festival has returned to offer us a respite from the cold. Unfortunately, this year’s short film picks are disheartening – viewers may be better off wandering the streets and suffering from frostbite. I appreciate this festival for its attention to Canadian cinema, I really do, but this year’s batch of short films feature the sort of films that make Canadians badmouth their own cinema. The majority of these films…
By: Shannon Page Andrew Moxham’s White Raven follows four friends (Andrew Dunbar, Steve Bradley, Aaron Brooks, and Shane Twerdun) as they head out for a weekend of male-bonding in the remote wilderness. When one of the friends (Bradley) slowly begins to lose touch with reality, the others find themselves fighting for their lives. There is a lot going on beneath White Raven’s by-the-books survivalist horror surface. At its core, the film makes a serious attempt to…
By: Addison Wylie Secret Santa has been made to entertain, and entertain it does. Mikey McMurran’s horror throwback pays homage to an era where slasher films ruled exploitation cinema. There was an unlimited supply of blood, actors camped it up, and synthesizer stings sliced through any scene with a hooded figure. If you’re looking for visual and audio cues in a surface-deep tribute, you’ll be satisfied by the Cambridge native’s low budget lark. Secret Santa…