Grave Intentions
In general, the horror anthology is a devastatingly underrated genre. Brian and Jocelyn Rish’s Grave Intentions is a great example of how entertaining this format can be when done right.
Horror
Death Drop Gorgeous
Camp is notoriously tricky to pin down, and even tricker to execute. As Susan Sontag notes in her 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp’”, “[o]ne must distinguish between naïve and deliberate Camp. Pure camp is always naïve. Camp which knows itself to be Camp (“camping”) is usually less satisfying”. Sontag suggests that the best, most satisfying examples of camp are those that are trying to be serious. When something tries to be camp, it usually fails….
Candyman
As the urban legend goes, if you repeat the word “Candyman” in the mirror five times, an ominous presence will unapologetically seal your fate. If repeating “Candyman” is a representation of evil, perhaps a representation of good will would be repeating Nia DaCosta’s name in a mirror five times. Maybe if we all did, we could encourage her to keep making great movies like Candyman.
Demonic
By: Trevor Chartrand Demonic is the most recent directorial effort from District 9’s Neill Blomkamp, and it’s a film that takes a fresh look at an otherwise tired and stale genre – the exorcism movie. Set in a contemporary world, Demonic would seamlessly fit into the Black Mirror series as an ominous cautionary tale of technology and its potential terrors. Rather than robotic military dogs or contact lens cameras though, the dangerous tech in this film…
The Final Ride
Mikey McMurran’s long-awaited sophomore effort The Final Ride reunites the filmmaker with headliners from his former horror flick Secret Santa. Watching this reunion made me nostalgic for Secret Santa; the humble “lil’ slasher that could” catching on through word-of-mouth and becoming a hot commodity at 2015’s Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival – midnight screenings were either sold-out or close to selling out. The Final Ride has that same Midnight Madness appeal, but it’s a…
Werewolves Within
By: Jolie Featherstone A good ol’ monster movie meets dimy-lit-wood-panelled whodunnit, Josh Ruben’s Werewolves Within offers a modern take on the creature feature that is equal parts quirky and charming.
Censor
Is a movie still a success if it didn’t come through on its initial promise, yet still left an effective impression? I had a similar reaction earlier this year to Saint Maud, and here I am again with Censor, a horror from writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond that moved me even though I was never truly scared.
The Retreat
Actor-turned-filmmaker Pat Mills has made some great comedies (Guidance, Don’t Talk to Irene), and he’s currently challenging himself by branching out to different genres (CBC Gem’s short-form series Queens dabbles with mystery, for instance). The Retreat is Mills’ shot at making a straightforward horror-thriller, and it doesn’t go as straightforward as his previous endeavours.
Willy’s Wonderland
Nicolas Cage’s cult appeal becomes rusty in Willy’s Wonderland, a tongue-in-cheek horror-thriller featuring the actor squaring off against animatronic creeps in an abandoned children’s play place.