HELL IS A TEENAGE GIRL: Canadian Short Makes Its Canadian Debut at Fantasia

(Every Halloween in the) small town of Springboro... its resident Slasher comes out of hiding to target sinful teenagers that break ‘The Rules of Horror’—don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and don’t have sex. At the center of it all is Parker Campbell (Skylar Radizon), the Slasher’s estranged biological daughter. In an attempt to clear her name and make things right with the town, she sets out on a life-or-death mission in hopes of ending his reign of terror once and for all

Vancouver Filmmaker’s Award-Winning Short Film, Hell is a Teenage Girl, Starring Riverdale’s Skylar Radzion, to Make Its Canadian Debut at 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival

 

The film recently scooped the Gold Remi Award at the 57th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival

 

Vancouver-based filmmaker Stephen Sawchuk’s award-winning short film, Hell is a Teenage Girl, starring Skylar Radizon (Riverdale, Brand New Cherry Flavor), will make its Canadian debut this month at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival on Sunday, July 21 at 6:30 p.m at the Henry F. Hall Building in Montreal, Quebec. 

 

Shot in Vancouver, B.C over the course of three days, the film is set in the fictional small town of Springboro where, every Halloween, its resident Slasher comes out of hiding to target sinful teenagers that break ‘The Rules of Horror’—don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and don’t have sex. At the center of it all is Parker Campbell (Skylar Radizon), the Slasher’s estranged biological daughter. In an attempt to clear her name and make things right with the town, she sets out on a life-or-death mission in hopes of ending his reign of terror once and for all. Hell is a Teenage Girl playfully blends horror with comedy and pays homage to the cult classics Scream and Halloween.

 

The film features an all-Canadian cast and crew, with Skylar Radizon starring alongside Zenia Marshall (It’s A Wonderful Knife, One of Us is Lying), Kevin Osea (Totally Killer, Davey & Jonesie’s Locker), Jill Morrison (Mean Girls, When Calls the Heart), Faly Mevamanana, and Mar Andersons. Hell is a Teenage Girl is written and directed by Stephen Sawchuk (History’s Most Haunted, Haunted Gold Rush). Elysia Rotaru serves as producer under Sawchuk Productions Inc. With the short already receiving tremendous acclaim, a full-length feature film adaptation is now in development. 

 

“Our goal during the festival circuit is to show some of the studios and investors what we’re capable of achieving with a short, proving it has legs to become a feature-length film,” says Sawchuk. “As an emerging filmmaker in this genre, you really need to bet on yourself and plunk all of your resources into creating a calling card or a proof of concept – and we hope audiences have as much fun watching it as we did making it!”

 

“We had an absolute blast making this film, and I think that really shines through on screen,” says Elysia Rotaru. “Vancouver may be small, but it's buzzing with talent. Working with some of the best local talent, both in front of and behind the camera, has been a true privilege. The response to the film has been fantastic, and we're over the moon to be part of North America’s largest genre film festival."

 

The film has already picked up a handful of awards, including the Gold Remi Award at the 57th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for Best Horror Short, wins for Best Director and Best Horror at the 2024 Cannes Indie International Film Festival, Best Actress for Skylar Radzion at the 2024 Luxembourg Indie International Film Fest, and four nominations at the 2024 Mammoth Film Festival for Directing, Writing, Cinematography and Acting.