Blood in the Snow 2023: ‘My Animal’
My Animal, the feature-length directorial debut from music video cinematographer Jacqueline Castel, is a dramatic horror that offers a unique breath of fresh air to the coming-of-age sub-genre.
Blood in the Snow
Blood in the Snow 2023: ‘ROMI’
ROMI is the artificial intelligence system that assists a fancy-schmancy smart home in Robert Cuffley’s horror-thriller of the same name. Young hit-and-run fugitive Maddie (Alexa Barajas of TV’s Yellowjackets) has been assigned to stay at the exclusive house to maintain her cover while her politician mother runs for election without any controversies. Maddie’s getaway is also assisted by the home owner Hertig (Pavel Kriz of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and programmer extraordinaire Barkley (Juan…
Blood in the Snow 2023: ‘The Hyperborean’
The Hyperborean has been written and directed by filmmakers who have been serving a 10-year sentence in my personal “movie jail” since being responsible for the gross-out body horror Septic Man. After missing their recent collaborations, director Jesse Thomas Cook and screenwriter Tony Burgess have appeared on my radar with their latest sci-fi mashup The Hyperborean and, thankfully, it’s pretty good.
Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Art of Obsession’
By: Trevor Chartrand As a film that explores the creative process, Ryan M. Andrews’ Art of Obsession fails to bring much originality to the table. This slow-paced, predictable little story takes itself too seriously, grasping aimlessly at faux-philosophical musings all along the way. The film is an unfortunate mix of unconvincing plot, passionless performances, and a non-existent visual style. It’s the kind of film I can still enjoy, however with a more ironic appreciation than…
Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Fake Blood’
Collaborating filmmakers Rob Grant and Mike Kovac receive a tape from an alleged fan mimicking a disturbing scene from their crime comedy Mon Ami. Rob and Grant, immediately feeling guilty about inspiring a movie goer in the wrong way, reflect on cinematic violence and compare it to real-life acts of assault. It’s a personal insightful adventure that leads them down an unpredictable rabbit hole.
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.
Blood in the Snow 2017: ‘Kill Order’
By: Trevor Chartrand Kill Order is essentially a Crank film without the charisma or charm. It tries hard to be pulse-pounding and slick, but this punch-a-minute action flick is all fist and no fury. Given the film’s structure, it’s not surprising to learn writer/director James Mark has a lot of stunt department work on his resume, including action-driven films like Jumper and Pacific Rim. Kill Order favours style over substance, desperately stringing a series of…
Blood in the Snow 2016: ‘Streamer’
The strengths in Streamer are very subtle and camouflaged by deliberate monotony.
Blood in the Snow 2016: Short Films
Engineers (DIR. Tyler Williams) In a worn-down warehouse, three individuals tempt an experiment on a corpse. The result may be not exactly what they intended.