'Kids Vs. Aliens' (2023) Movie Review

All the important bits are right there in the name: Kids vs. Aliens. There are kids, there are aliens, and they fight. That’s the gist of director Jason Eisener’s first feature since 2011’s Hobo with a Shotgun. (If you haven’t checked out his excellent docuseries Dark Side of the Ring, do so, even if you’re not a wrestling fan.) Like his previous endeavor, though in decidedly less brutal fashion, what works best here is a total blast, but at times the thesis statement of the title wears a bit thin stretched out to 75 minutes. (And sans credits, it’s more like 68.)

'Slash/Back' (2022) Movie Review

Kids in small towns spend a lot of time wishing for something, anything to happen. In Nyla Innuksuk’s feature directorial debut, the sci-fi horror Slash/Back, a group of friends get their wish in the form of an alien invasion on the longest day of the year. When  extraterrestrial interlopers show up in the remote, barely-sub-arctic Inuit village of Pangnirtung, it’s up to Maika (Tasiana Shirley) and her pals Jesse (Alexis Wolfe), Uki (Nalajoss Ellsworth), and Leena (Chelsea Prusky) to save the day. And the visitors definitely learn that “nobody fucks with the girls from Pang.”

'Night Raiders' (2021) Movie Review

The near-ish future of Night Raiders, writer/director Danis Goulet’s debut feature, sets up a dystopian society where an oppressive government requires children under 18 be placed in the Academy, a kind of militarized boarding school that brainwashes and programs kids. Niska (Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open) lives off the grid in the wilderness, sheltering her daughter, Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart), from such a fate. When Waseese is taken, Niska falls in with a group of Indigenous resistance fighters led by Ida (Gail Maurice, Trickster) and Leo (Alex Tarrant, NCIS: Hawaii) to liberate her and other children.

Fantasia 2021: 'Brain Freeze' Movie Review

Zombie stories often get a bad rap. Sometimes for good reason. There are a ton, and, admittedly, a lot aren’t great. But then there are those that show up, do something new, fun, and different, or at least deliver a strong story and compelling characters within the genre. (Recent ones that spring to mind include #Alone, Black Summer, Train to Busan, and others.) Canadian director Julien Knafo’s Brain Freeze definitely falls into this latter category, presenting a zombie movie with an intriguing set up, a few tweaks to the formula, and a showcase interesting personalities. 

'Akilla's Escape' (2020) Movie Review

One thing movies have taught us is that, once you decide to leave the criminal lifestyle behind, you’re battle is only partially over. Such is the case of the protagonist in Charles Officer’s crime drama Akilla’s Escape, a noir-inspired tale of one man contending with generational cycles of violence, his own past, and a changing world. Not always as developed or fleshed out as it could be, the film is nonetheless gorgeous to look at and narratively captivating.

'Fall Back Down' (2020) Movie Review

Sarah Beth Edwards’ Fall Back Down is the cinematic personification of living in a big punk house with a ton of roommates. It’s fun and chaotic, random and strange, frustrating and complicated, full of wild characters, and leads you into all sorts of off-kilter adventures. You’re going to drink too much, you’re going to write some songs, you’re going to wake to find an impromptu show in your basement, you’re going to make out with some people you shouldn’t. And it’s never going to wind up where you expect. 

'I'll Take Your Dead' (2018) Movie Review

I’ll Take Your Dead starts with a young girl’s ominous voiceover about seeing dead people and the nature of death, straight into a corpse being dismembered, dissolved in a bathtub, and disposed of. This immediately sets the mood for writer/director Chad Archibald’s dark synthesis of gritty underworld crime saga and supernatural ghost horror. 

This 'I'll Take Your Dead Trailer' Is Grim And Ghostly

It looks like Black Fawn Films is up to their old tricks again. The Canadian brain trust behind The Heretic, Bite, Bed of the Dead, and a slew of other horror nasties is back with the first trailer for I’ll Take Your Dead from director Chad Archibald. It’s a bit of a different flavor, but still looks rad. Check it out below.