Indie Reviews
THE TRIAL Blu-ray Review: Criterion Takes on Orson Welles' Masterpiece
Long awaited by cinephiles and Orson Welles fans, it took longer than it should for The Trial to be restored. At last, Welles' favourite of his own films has been given the Criterion treatment. It's often neglected in discussions on...
Fantastic Fest 2023 Review: THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY, Lovely Little Genre Exercise That Grows Too Big
The feature debut of writer/director Francis Galluppi makes the most of its single location setting for most of its runtime, and only falters when it takes steps to leave that place behind. That place is a sizable diner attached to...
IT LIVES INSIDE Review: The Monster Next Door
Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, and Mohana Krishnan star in a horror thriller, directed by Bishal Dutta.
RELAX, I'M FROM THE FUTURE Review: Chaotic Buddy Comedy
Rhys Darby, Gabrielle Graham, Janinie Theriault and Julian Richings star in a time-travel comedy, directed by Luke Higginson, based on his own short film.
Toronto 2023 Review: SLEEP, On the Merits of Insomnia
Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) and Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun) are the sweetest young couple, full of promise and hope. Soo-jin works in business, hoping to make her way to the executive branch. Hyun-su is an actor; while he's only had small roles,...
Toronto 2023 Review: DADDIO, The Art of Good Conversation Is Alive and Kicking
Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn star in a new film by writer/director Christy Hall.
SLOTHERHOUSE Review: A Slowpoke Slasher Slays Sorority Sisters
One would be forgiven for stepping into a film titled Slotherhouse with incredibly low expectations. The title and gimmick of the film – mass murdering sloth takes out an entire sorority – doesn’t exactly conjure visions of the masters, and...
WHAT DOESN'T FLOAT Review: Vignette Moments That Run Deep
It doesn't come up often in films set in New York, its proximity to, and importance of, the ocean and waterways. While many of us have a romantic idea of New York, films can convey the real, living city, showing...
Toronto 2023 Review: LAST SUMMER, Sex and Power in the Heat of the Season
While it's unusual for an auteur like Catherine Breillat to remake another, recent film, it's not a surprise, in this case, given the subject: sex and power. The filmmaker behind daring works (to say the least) such as Anatomy of...
Toronto 2023 Review: RIDDLE OF FIRE, These Three Kids Will Do Anything To Do Nothing All Summer
There’s something ethereal about Weston Razooli’s Toronto Midnight Madness closer, Riddle of Fire. It’s whimsical, but in a rough-hewn sort of way that puts it somewhere in the aesthetic neighborhood of Avalon Fast’s 2022 Slamdance discovery, Honeycomb. Both films exist...
Toronto 2023 Review: THE END WE START FROM, Motherhood at the End of the World
As we begin to see, it feels almost weekly, 'natural' (i.e. created by human activity) disasters happening around the world - floods, fires, you name it - you would be hard-pressed not think about what you would do with you...
Toronto 2023 Review: IN FLAMES, the Supernatural Meets Patriarchal Conditioning
The term 'gaslighting' is now quite ubiquitous, and one which still remains scoffed at by many (usually those who hold power). But if you're a member of a marginalized group, that gaslighting could come not just from one person, but...
SATANIC HISPANICS Review: A Bounty of Bloody Tales From All Across Latin America
What do you get when you bring five of the most talented Hispanic genre filmmakers in the indie space together on a horrorific anthology project? A whole lot of bloody fun, and that’s exactly what Satanic Hispanics delivers. Four very...
Toronto 2023 Review: HELL OF A SUMMER Lacks the Necessary Bite
Long a favoured location for slasher films, summer camp provides plenty of proverbial fodder for a serial killer's cannon: plenty of nubile, horny, often unaware bodies in an isolated place, waiting to be, well, slashed by whatever preferred method. It...
Toronto 2023: THE KING TIDE, Beware Gifts From the Sea
Living in a harsh landscape, somewhat apart and isolated, means you make certain choices about how much assistance you will receive, and how much protection you will offer your community. It also means that legends can grow up around people...
Toronto 2023 Review: NAGA, Drug-Infused Race Against the Clock
Sara is in the middle of the desert, a fair drive from her city of Riyadh. She's been taking drugs. The police raided the event she was at, scattering everyone. She can't find her boyfriend. She doesn't have the keys...
Toronto 2023 Review: LA CHIMERA, Some Precious Things Left to Bury
Arthur (Josh O'Connor) is not having a good day. He's just got out of prison with nothing but the clothes on his back. His former criminal gang is eager to recruit him; the person to whom he plied his trade...
Toronto 2023 Review: HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON, Coming of Age When You Don't Age
Sasha is a bit of a disappointment to her parents. Not only is her body a little slow to catch up to lend the family the survival help they need, she also has no desire to participate in their most...
Toronto 2023 Review: SOLO, Love That Elevates, Love That Binds
How can we know what makes us happy? More importantly, how can we trust the people around us to make us happy, support us in our happiness, provide us with the love and care we deserve? And how can we...
Toronto 2023 Review: DICKS: THE MUSICAL, Beautifully Demented
There are a lot of words you could use to describe Dicks: The Musical, A24's first foray into the musical form. Freaky. Disgusting. Toe-tapping. Queer. Outrageous. Ingenius. Incomprehensible. Queer. Bizarre. Did I mention queer? Because yes, it is, and delightfully...
