14th Aug2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Dead Shack’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Cameron Andres, Lizzie Boys, Hannah Rochelle Burr, Lauren Holly, Gabriel LaBelle, Matthew Nelson-Mahood, Taylor St. Pierre, Donavon Stinson, Valerie Tian | Written by Phil Ivanusic, Davila LeBlanc, Peter Ricq | Directed by Peter Ricq Never underestimate a trio of curious teens…. Tough girl Summer, her smartmouth younger brother Colin and his pushover best friend […]

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07th Aug2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Tilt’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Joseph Cross, Alexia Rasmussen, Kelvin Yu, Jessy Hodges, CS Lee | Written by Kasra Farahani, Jason O’Leary | Directed by Kasra Farahani All seems normal with Joseph and Joanne. Joanne is pregnant with their first child. Life in their little urban house is cozy and familiar. But something is off about Joseph. He doesn’t […]

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04th Aug2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘M.F.A.’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Francesca Eastwood, Clifton Collins Jr., Leah McKendrick, Peter Vack, Michael Welch, Andrew Caldwell, David Sullivan, Mike C. Manning, Adam Lazarre-White | Written by Leah McKendrick | Directed by Natalia Leite Noelle is a shy and inhibited university student, reservedly working through a fine arts degree without much notice. In an effort to come out […]

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04th Aug2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Tragedy Girls’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp, Kevin Durand, Josh Hutcherson, Nicky Whelan, Austin Abrams, Craig Robinson, Rosalind Chao, Timothy V. Murphy | Written by Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre | Directed by Tyler MacIntyre A small, midwestern town is terrorized in the grip of a serial killer (Kevin Durand). We first meet Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) as […]

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01st Aug2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Assholes’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Peter Vack, Betsey Brown, Jack Dunphy, Eileen Dietz, Jane Brown, Ron Brown, Richard Mark Jordan, Patrick Labella, James Augustus Lee, Catherine Bo-Eun Song | Written and Directed by Peter Vack Seemingly inspired by mumblecore filmmaking, Assholes actually plays out more like Troma’s take on the Brian Yuzna film Society, and under their auspices would […]

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31st Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Indiana’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Gabe Fazio, Bradford West, Stuart Rudin, Noah McCarty-Slaughter, Sophie Auster, Suzanne DiDonna, Kadah Binkley | Written by Toni Comas, Charlie Williams | Directed by Toni Comas Deep inside the heart of middle America lie many different beliefs; beliefs in God, in country, in justice, and in America itself. Some of those beliefs extend beyond […]

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24th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Poor Agnes’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Lora Burke, Robert Notman, Will Conlon | Written by J. Gordon Ross | Directed by Navin Ramaswaran Sometimes, just sometimes, you sit down to watch a horror film and you wonder whether the people behind the film are as twisted as the film they’ve created. Poor Agnes is a perfect example of that. How […]

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18th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Sequence Break’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Chase Williamson, Lyle Kanouse, Fabianne Therese, Audrey Wasilewski, Johnny Dinan | Written and Directed by Graham Skipper Oz (Williamson) is an antisocial loner who only finds solace in his love for ’80s arcade games, refurbishing and restoring them to their former glory. That is, until he meets Tess (Therese). The two quickly become romantically […]

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18th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Replace’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Rebecca Forsythe, Barbara Crampton, Lucie Aron, Sean Knopp, Adnan Maral, J. David Hinze | Written by Norbert Keil, Richard Stanley | Directed by Norbert Keil Following in the footsteps of the likes of David Cronenberg, German filmmaker Norbert Keil unleashes his own brand of body-horror on unsuspecting audiences with Replace – a Bathoryesque tale of a […]

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18th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Bushwick’ Preview

by Phil Wheat

Hot off their classroom-zombie opus Cooties, directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott conceived Bushwick and turned scripting duties over to a couple of New York indie-filmmaking fixtures: Nick Damici (Stake Land) and Graham Reznick. Their combined forces resulted in a thriller that almost never stops moving, with Brittany Snow ably conveying Lucy’s discovery of her […]

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17th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Savage Dog’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Juju Chan, Cung Le, Keith David, Vladimir Kulich, Matthew Marsden, Charles Fathy | Written and Directed by Jesse V. Johnson OK, let’s all just say it together. Scott Adkins is the saviour of DTV action movies. Charismatic, skilled and just a downright badass (and likeable) actor, whatever Adkins seemingly touches […]

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17th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘Game of Death’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Erniel Baez D, Victoria Diamond, Sam Earle, Emelia Hellman, Catherine Saindon, Nick Serino, Thomas Vallieres | Written by Edouard Bond, Philip Kalin-Hajdu, Sebastien Landry, Laurence Baz Morais | Directed by Sebastien Landry, Laurence Baz Morais A hard-partying pack of teens come across a mysterious vintage game and can’t resist giving it a try. They […]

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17th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017: ‘The Honor Farm’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Olivia Applegate, Katie Folger, Dora Madison, Will Brittain, Louis Hunter, Jonny Mars, Liam Aiken, Mackenzie Astin, Josephine McAdam, Christina Parrish, Michael Eric Reid | Written by Karen Skloss, Jasmine Skloss Harrison, Jay Tonne, Jr. | Directed by Karen Skloss The gown, the hairstyling, the limousine, the prom date – all the familiar details that […]

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12th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017 Preview: ‘Tilt’

by Phil Wheat

Directed Kasra Farahani (The Good Neighbour), Tilt is a prescient and chilling character study with added components of social relevance, described as “aimed towards the uncomfortable “new normal” of white male rage and entitlement”. The film had its World Premiere in the Midnight section of the Tribeca Film Festival last April; and this week it’s […]

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12th Jul2017

Fantasia 2017 Preview: Trent Haaga’s ’68 Kill’

by Phil Wheat

Based on the Bryan Smith novel of the same name, 68 Kill is written and directed by Trent Haaga (Citizen Toxie, Chop, Deadgirl) and stars Matthew Gray Gubler, AnnaLynne McCord, Sheila Vand, Alisha Boe, Sam Eidson and Lucy Faust. Trailer-dwelling, sewage-pumping Chip (Matthew Gray Gubler) may not lead the most glamorous life, but he’s got […]

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