Fantastic Fest 2023: The Fall of the House of Usher

Mike Flanagan, creator of two of the all-time greatest Netflix miniseries in The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, dips back into the murky waters of gothic horror in an eerie, atmospheric masterpiece dedicated to Edgar Allen Poe. The aptly-named The Fall of the House of Usher weaves Poe’s prose, themes, and melancholy into … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2023: The Fall of the House of Usher

Fantastic Fest 2023: The Animal Kingdom

★★★★★ A grounded, frequently disturbing sci-fi/fantasy drama, The Animal Kingdom tears into chilling body horror elements and complex commentary about embracing the animal inside. Set in the near future, a “disease” characterized by physical, animalistic transformations has spread across the world. Those infected face intense outward discrimination, not to mention asylum experimentation. Embracing the obvious … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2023: The Animal Kingdom

Interview: Actress Amrit Kaur

Putting the Toronto International Film Festival in our rearview, Allison sat down to chat over Zoom with The Queen of My Dreams actress Amrit Kaur about her cultural and cinematic influences, the complicated nature of arranged marriage, and using film to inspire conversation. In this unique film, when Azra’s mother, Mariam (Nimra Buch, Polite Society), discovers … Continue reading Interview: Actress Amrit Kaur

TIFF 2023: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

★★★★ In the most uniquely-titled movie of the entire festival, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person delivers a modern coming-of-age vampiric dramedy with a subtle and elegant flair. This unique film marks the directorial debut of Ariane Louis-Seize, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christine Doyon. Together, the duo craft a genre-blending feature spilling over with … Continue reading TIFF 2023: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

TIFF 2023: Dumb Money

★★★ (Written by Allison Brown) Following the onslaught of thrilling corporate biopics over the past year, ranging from Blackberry to Tetris, I was highly anticipating Sony’s take with Dumb Money. Since r/wallstreetbets became public knowledge for analysis, nearly every major festival seems to have selected a documentary detailing the rise and fall of retail traders, … Continue reading TIFF 2023: Dumb Money