There is a horror renaissance going on right now that everyone should be excited about. The genre has struggled to keep up with the horrors of the real world and has returned to top form; with many of the best films of the last few years coming from the auteurs of screams. One of these films, a film which made this critic’s top ten list last year, is Julia Ducournau’s Raw, which is finally getting…
Spookers (DIR. Florian Habicht) Spookers focuses on the Watsons, a New Zealand family who has run one of the most successful scare attractions out of an old psychiatric ward.
Currently, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival (April 7 – April 23) is hosting a variety of content; including exclusive film premieres, industry insight, and interactive activities. I was fortunate enough to catch a couple of the premieres at this year’s TIFF Kids, and both films were encouraging examples from future storytellers.
The Toronto International Spring of Horror and Fantasy Film Festival is a weekend dedicated to genre appreciation conceived by filmmakers Lari Teräs and Jon Lewis. The festival returns to the city’s indie hot spot Carlton Cinema on Friday, April 7 and carries through to Sunday, April 9, promising movie goers an eclectic three-day event filled with music videos, short films, and unique movies that are out-of-this-world.
As a film critic, you try your hardest not to be jaded. However, I find myself struggling not to make blasé comments about Black Fawn Films’ latest horror movie The Heretics.
The team behind last year’s efficient horror anthology Minutes Past Midnight return to bring similar chills and thrills with Galaxy of Horrors, another feature-length anthology hand-picked by Torontonian film programmer Justin McConnell. This time, he’s showcasing horror shorts with a sci-fi twist.
Terror of the stars Sweet purring from above A pat on the head Thy vengeance will scratch Death is a cat from mars
It’s no secret that women are all too frequently shut out of the film industry, with few of them being able to make a living or having their work seen. In recent years, there has been a renaissance of genre films made by women, but their work is still a minority in cinemas or at film festivals.
Longtime lovers Dana (Fiona Dourif) and Charles (Kevin Ryan) are in a relationship rut. She wants more, and he thinks life is pretty swell. The mere mention of having kids sends Charles into stammers, while Dana sighs and continues to suppress signs of her newfound pregnancy.
Horror cinema is often limited to its wheelhouse of established fears – ghosts, demons, strangers, monsters, or disturbing details. Horror hounds are always looking for different scares though, and are always welcoming of a filmmaker’s ambition. Failure is still an option, but the best case scenario is that these directorial risks pay off and make lasting provocative impressions – much like Babak Anvari’s Under the Shadow. It’s an incredible horror film that deals with not just the supernatural, but also…