Festivals: Calgary Underground
Friday One Sheet: IN A VIOLENT NATURE
This gritty poster for Chris Nash's original and disturbing slasher film was designed by The Boland Design Company, and unironically features the word "gnarly" in the top pull quote. When designing a poster for a slasher (or for that matter,...
Calgary Underground 2024 Review: CUCKOO, Delightfully Analog Sensory Overload
Two characters, having barely survived a traumatic and violent ordeal at a hospital, try to leave, only to find the doors locked. But wait, it is one of those situations where one door is locked but the other one works...
Friday One Sheet: THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY
This cream-coloured, coffee focused, exercise in minimalism and symbolism is for the tight, one location 'bag of money' suspense thriller The Last Stop in Yuma County. I have no idea why, but i wish more designers would put the title...
Calgary Underground 2024 Review: HUMANE, The Family That Slays Together Stays Together
Apocalypses in Canadian cinema tend to occur in slow motion, and have a subversive touch of quiet absurdity. The two undisputed classics of the genre are Don McKellar’s Last Night, and Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool. Caitlin Cronenberg aims for that lofty...
Calgary Underground 2024: Curtain Raiser
The Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) opens its 21st edition today, and runs until April 28th. Western Canada's largest showcase of genre film, offbeat documentaries, and industry events is housed in the two-screen (stacked on top of one another) Globe Cinema in the...
(Good) Friday One Sheet: HUMANE
Curious timing on the Christian calendar for today’s column. We are not at the resurrection yet on Good Friday, only the sacrifice, and the death-heavy poster for Humane shows that. Perfect ordered body bags, in an neutral grey setting, suggest...
Calgary Underground Film Festival: Films and Events Announced
The Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) is Western Canada’s largest genre film festival which showcases everything from horror and sci-fi to indie comedies and music and fan docs. The 21st Edition of CUFF runs from April 18-28 and will open...
SATAN WANTS YOU Interview: Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams Talk Moral Panics
Moral panics have been with us as a species since time immemorial. From the persecution of European pagans at the end of the Roman empire in the Fourth Century, to the Salem witch trials in New England in the 17th...
Calgary Underground 2023 Review: CASH COW, Educational Deadpan with a Dash of Self Absorption
Is there such a thing as charming narcissism? Inclusive self-absorption? Apparently, yes, it can be a thing. Matt Barats’ one-man-show pandemic documentary, where he draws parallels between his situation to the prophet of Mormonism, is a black swan. The film...
Calgary Underground 2023 Review: DAD & STEP-DAD Barbeques The Male Ego To A Crisp
Not since wandering into Kevin Smith’s Clerks in an Oshawa multiplex in 1994 have I immediately glommed on to a micro-budget comedy as something that can be watched over and over again. Tynan DeLong’s Dad & Step-Dad is a small,...
Calgary Underground 2023: BLACKBERRY Review
In the wild west days of nascent “smart phone” technology, the phrase convergence was tossed around a lot, where your computer, your phone and your personal digital assistant, would merge into one device. A small company, whose building was located...
Calgary Underground 2023: MISTER ORGAN Review
David Farrier does not like bullies. He cannot abide liars. And I dare guess that he is not a fan of litigious revenge either. The New Zealand journalist turned filmmaker has a particular knack for sussing out the strange people...
Calgary Underground 2023: ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS Review
There are many flavours of hubris. An over inflated or confident self image we attempt to project out to the world. What we think we know or what we think we deserve deserve. The faith we place in our idols,...
Calgary Underground 2023: Curtain Raiser
With the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) getting underway today, and continuing until April 30, we are pleased to offer a sampling of the more sumptuous genre, documentary and live event offerings over the next 11 days. The festival...
Calgary Underground 2023: Festival Lineup Announced
Over the past two decades, the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) has quietly become western Canada's largest showcase of genre programming. Operating out of the upstairs/downstairs Globe repertory Cinema in the heart of Calgary, the festival fills a sweet spot in...
Interview: FLUX GOURMET Director Peter Strickland Talks Noise-Bands, Gastrointestinal Distress, Ego, Witchcraft, Hats
“I do wonder sometimes if you are perpetuating an archetype of epicurean toxicity with all this culinary hysteria.” That arch line of dialogue can, and perhaps should, act as a litmus test on where you might, or might not, find...
Calgary Underground 2022 Short Film Short Review: CORNERS, A Bespoke Deadpan
Rory is a thorough man in a lackadaisical world. In the near future, Canada, and possibly the world has implemented a thorough set of guidelines for inspection and health of the corners of public buildings. Rory takes his job...
Calgary Underground 2022 Review: WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY, Authentic Feel-Good Experience
The Metaverse is coming. But before we get to that future dystopia, be it Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash or Zuck’s cringey-what-have-you, there is this charming little cafe-stop along the way. Joe Hunting’s We Met In Virtual Reality is a surprisingly...
Calgary Underground 2022 Review: THE RIGHTEOUS Offers A Stark Portrait of Guilt
The Righteous opens with the funeral of a young girl. Her mourning adopted parents, an ex-priest and his wife, still maintain active ties with the biological mother. There is an awkward visit in the family living room, adorned with many...
Calgary Underground Film Festival Reveals Full Line-Up
The wonderful, nerdy, and casually fun Calgary Underground Film Festival, CUFF, returns to the Globe Theatre for a fully in-person festival -- Amen! -- taking place from April 21-28. But fret not if you are located in Canada's Texas (aka...
