Most of what Yoav and Doron Paz offer movie goers in their horror film JeruZalem feels re-gifted. We’ve seen this sort of panicked science fiction in films before – from tent-pole thrillers like Cloverfield to foreign imports like [REC]. While that may sound like the “jaded critic” side transforming me as one of the film’s demons would, I feel like I have a legitimate argument.
The Orange Man is voluntarily uneven. After presenting itself as slasher horror, the film has a change of heart and decides to be a break-up comedy for bros, and then flip-flops some more. It’s a shame since the slasher bits are the most fun.
Update (11/27/16): Addison Wylie’s original review of The Sublet was posted on 12/09/15 for the film’s SuperChannel premiere. However, due to the film’s Toronto premiere at this year’s Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival, the screening information located at the bottom of this article has been updated. John Ainslie’s The Sublet is pretty creepy, but it’s also a testament to how gifted of an actress Tianna Nori really is.
By: Mark Barber Chris Trebilcock’s The Dark Stranger understands that the power of horror is derived in part not from its tonal seriousness but from its ability to confront the issues in ways that are creatively charged. Taking on the issue of depression, The Dark Stranger might take some flak for what at times feels like a facile exploration of depression. However, Trebilcock deserves praise for creatively literalizing the demons we face as a means…
By: Addison Wylie Fed-up filmmaker Crystal, her procedural producer Dawn, and her colourful actresses travel to different theatres to screen their new film in Ryan M. Andrews’ Save Yourself. Any festival goer will familiarize with the film’s first act taking place in a packed theatre as drama unfolds behind-the-scenes. Those same patrons will also start eagerly guessing where Save Yourself is headed once the characters hit the road.
By: Mark Barber Andrew Cymek’s Night Cries is the product of a variety of recycled ideas and premises from other movies. Taking cues from The Matrix, Twelve Monkeys, Mad Max and dozens of other sci-fi/action films, Cymek’s film is too self-serious and rarely entertaining. Cymek (who also wrote, produced, and edited the film) plays Joseph, a man who searches for his wife in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by weird creatures and a gang of people…
By: Addison Wylie When the Unspecters – a team of bush-league paranormal investigators – are told to up their ante in order to score a television show pilot, they apprehensively set their sights on Farhope Tower. The high-rise has a history of undistinguished suicides, and its been uninhabited for years. The Unspecters are used to spelunking for spirits in caves and dark crevices, but they muster forward into their next challenge. April Mullen’s Farhope Tower is…
By: Shannon Page Andrew Moxham’s White Raven follows four friends (Andrew Dunbar, Steve Bradley, Aaron Brooks, and Shane Twerdun) as they head out for a weekend of male-bonding in the remote wilderness. When one of the friends (Bradley) slowly begins to lose touch with reality, the others find themselves fighting for their lives. There is a lot going on beneath White Raven’s by-the-books survivalist horror surface. At its core, the film makes a serious attempt to…
By: Addison Wylie Secret Santa has been made to entertain, and entertain it does. Mikey McMurran’s horror throwback pays homage to an era where slasher films ruled exploitation cinema. There was an unlimited supply of blood, actors camped it up, and synthesizer stings sliced through any scene with a hooded figure. If you’re looking for visual and audio cues in a surface-deep tribute, you’ll be satisfied by the Cambridge native’s low budget lark. Secret Santa…
By: Addison Wylie Adam Massey’s broiling small-scale thriller Man Vs. follows reality television show host Doug Woods (a Les Stroud clone played by The Three Stooges’ Chris Diamantopoulos) on his latest survival adventure. Woods gears up for a five-day retreat in Northern Ontario while his production crew camps out far enough away for Doug to fully seclude himself in nature. As these wilderness shows often hammer in, fire and shelter is critical – Doug builds both using the…