By: Addison Wylie Eli Roth exploded onto the scene with Cabin Fever, a subversive backwoods horror that took a flesh-eating disease and made it as terrifying as any nightmarish creature. It was a bizarre film with nasty visuals and a peculiar sense of humour, but everything about it was addictive. I haven’t seen Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. I just haven’t got around to it. Maybe some day, but director Ti West’s distain towards his…
By: Addison Wylie I, Frankenstein is almost popcorn entertainment. Almost. It feels as if every time a movie comes out that fits this throwaway action mould, everybody hates it and I’m forgiving towards it. My rule is: as long as there’s camp and you can hold my attention, these corn fests have a chance to squeak by. How about that schlocky movie Season of the Witch? The majority of movie goers wanted to burn the…
Just as other festivals offer a “Midnight Madness” selection, Hot Docs hopes to bring in the same crowd with its Nightvision screenings. These documentaries feature brazen topics and massive cult followings; films that are certainly unlike any other. An added bonus is the discounted price of films screening after 11:00 p.m. For a cool $7, treat yourself to some of these neat docs. If you’re into horror, you should give Alexandre Philippe’s doc a shot. Doc of the Dead (DIR. Alexandre Philippe)…
By: Addison Wylie Jeremy Gardner’s slow burn horror The Battery has earned crowds of cheers reaching back to its early film festival days from genre movie goers. Even though I wasn’t sold on this flabby flick, that’s great news for the filmmaker. It’s a zombie movie that hardly shows you any of the walking dead. That’s a tough sell! You see limited amounts of zombies because Gardner wants to set his sights more on the…
By: Addison Wylie Mike Flanagan’s off-shoot elaboration of his short film Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan turns into a movie where things happen. Things that aren’t really interesting or thrilling. Just a lot of stuff that may or may not be real. This is because Oculus is a horror film with no tension. Oculus is a movie that makes me appreciate Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. It’s a sequel that…
By: Addison Wylie Afflicted isn’t a found footage film, but rather a mockumentary documenting Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s year long trip around the world. The film does, however, use the same techniques we’ve seen in previous found footage horrors. Luckily, the filmmakers in charge of this creature feature know what they’re doing. In fact, there are a lot of things filmmakers/co-stars Lee and Prowse do brilliantly in Afflicted. Firstly, the duo cover their asses extremely…
By: Addison Wylie In Fear marks the first time in a while where a film has really scared me using traditional minimalist tactics. We’re paired with Tom and Lucy – a complicated couple played by Iain De Caestecker and Alice Englert – as they head towards a secluded hotel via their tiny vehicle. The search for the hotel brings them deeper into the woods and directional signs send them on a wild goose chase as the…
By: Addison Wylie Now that we’ve recognized the bad movies that were slingshot at audiences last year, it’s time to move on and engulf ourselves in the cream of the crop. 2013 introduced a wide variety of great films to audiences. I feel like I say that every year, but as I scour my selected picks, the only thing these movies share are the odd genre they’re grouped in. Take documentaries, for example. Audiences were…
By: Addison Wylie Solo starts out on an “A” game, but ends up finishing with a generous “C” grade. Isaac Cravit’s independent thriller is a straight-up campfire story – and, the filmmaker knows it. Gillian (played by former Degrassi: The Next Generation co-star Annie Clark) needs to prove herself to be a capable camp counsellor in order to obtain a summer job. The newbie needs to pull a “solo”, a two-night experience on a secluded…
By: Addison Wylie I don’t know what possession is more crucial and harmful: the ones that occur in Here Comes the Devil within the Tijuana cliffs or the wrestling match between mature horror and fanboy immaturity that litters the film’s screenplay. Adrián García Bogliano’s horror is one of those movies where audiences can tell there are heavy influences driving the film. It’s also one of those movies where these homages don’t simply stay on the filmmaker’s…