Another WolfCop
Another WolfCop is a fury of fun, and this is coming from someone who hated the first movie. Talk about a switcheroo.
Horror
Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Darken’
In 2014, at the Blood in the Snow Film Festival, I had rather exciting things to say about director Audrey Cummings. The film she screened was her feature film debut, Berkshire County, and while it treaded common ground, she at least showed enough awareness to spin clichés into something new.
Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Once Upon a Time at Christmas’
By: Trevor Chartrand While the concept of a homicidal Santa Claus has certainly been explored in slasher films like Santa’s Slay and Silent Night, Deadly Night, director Paul Tanter has found a surprisingly fresh approach to the ‘Killer Claus’ trope in Once Upon a Time at Christmas. This fun and festive Canadian B-movie will give viewers a reason to keep the Christmas lights on overnight.
Libera Nos (Deliver Us)
Libera Nos (Deliver Us), a documentary chronicling numerous exorcisms, rides an innovative line between being a commentary on the distractions of devout faith and a real-life horror movie. It shook me up like no other film has in years.
Toronto After Dark 2017: ‘Cold Hell’, ‘Eat Locals’, ‘The Endless’, and ‘Lowlife’
Cold Hell (DIR. Stefan Ruzowitzky) Cold Hell is a dark and gritty crime thriller written by Martin Ambrosch and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky. The film has been deservedly compared to other serial-killer thrillers like David Fincher’s Se7en; though it doesn’t revolutionize the genre, Cold Hell’s adrenaline-fuelled brutality prove that following the usual formula isn’t always a bad thing.
Toronto After Dark 2017: ‘Tragedy Girls’
Two teenage girls come-of-age in a small town. They use “teen speak”, spend all their time on social media, and find themselves consumed by their various hobbies. What makes Tragedy Girls different from a plethora of similar films is that one of these girls’ hobbies is murder.
Toronto After Dark 2017: ‘Dead Shack’ and ‘Rabbit’
Dead Shack (DIR. Peter Ricq) Audiences that like their zombies with a healthy side of laughs shouldn’t miss Dead Shack, director Peter Ricq’s dark comedy about three teenagers whose week-long vacation at a cabin in the woods takes a nightmarish turn when they learn that their neighbour in the cabin next-door is feeding unsuspecting young locals to her undead family.
The Limehouse Golem
The tagline for The Limehouse Golem boasts that its fictional Victorian London serial killer precedes the infamous Jack the Ripper. We have yet to see a compelling cinematic take on the Ripper murders (including the Hughes Brothers’ tragically underwhelming Johnny Depp vehicle From Hell). Though it merely draws inspiration from the Ripper, The Limehouse Golem suggests that we may have to wait a bit longer.
It Stains the Sands Red
Las Vegas entertainer Molly (Brittany Allen) encounters a stray member of the undead in Nevada’s desert (aka. the Valley of Fire) while a zombie apocalypse breaks out. The blood-thirsty brute terrorizes Molly by stalking her through the desolate outskirts, which is an incredible challenge since Molly has seen how ravenous and relentless her enemy is. Knowing safety is 36 miles away is added distress for Molly since maintaining energy and will is a personal struggle for…