TIFF 2023: ‘I Don’t Know Who You Are’
M.H. Murray’s I Don’t Know Who You Are is a well-meaning dramatic thriller that raises awareness about systemic abandonment felt by sexual abuse survivors.
Thriller
It Lives Inside
Horror movies often have an allegorical thread within them and, currently, it’s hard to spot a story in one of these spooky flicks that doesn’t also double for another, deeper meaning. While the efforts are usually appreciated when filmmakers try to push themselves, sometimes their movies are simply too good at fulfilling the broader strokes. Such is the case for Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside.
Don’t Look Away
Moving in and out of theatres faster than a killer sloth, fun and freaky flick Don’t Look Away offers audiences an ominous and haunting villain – a motiveless, murderous mannequin.
The Channel
By: Trevor Chartrand The Channel, directed and co-written by William Kaufman, is a sub-par action-thriller that lacks charisma and crowd-pleasing charm. A typical B-Movie in almost every way, the film feels completely unoriginal and uninspired, borrowing many tropes and concepts from much more successful films.
Cascade
By: Trevor Chartrand Cascade does some adequate genre-blending; plucking tropes in such a way that it feels like the film would be right at home if it were released in the 80s. Essentially, the indie boils down to a combination of teenage dramas like The Breakfast Club and a watered-down Rambo.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
There’s a purposeful lack of characterization in How to Blow Up a Pipeline because the story is built off of shared passion and mutual frustration between a team of amateur environmental activists/eco-terrorists who are tired of waiting for a difference to be made. They’ve been pushed to their limits after being promised that a change is approaching. How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a very angry movie, and it’s also one of the best…
Simulant
Simulant is a good recommendation for those looking for a solid sci-fi action/thriller and in-the-moment entertainment. The film doesn’t have much resonance after the credits roll, but I thoroughly enjoyed being in this futuristic story that’s executed well enough by director April Mullen (88, Farhope Tower, Badsville) and adequately written by screenwriter Ryan Christopher Churchill.