2026 Update. Casey Walker Interview: Home Bodies, Ithaqua and Worlds Beyond the Door.

In this Casey Walker interview, the filmmaker talks about expanding Home Bodies beyond its original script, working with Ian and Emma Ho, and finally bringing Ithaqua to audiences after 14 years.

Casey Walker InterviewIn this Casey Walker interview. we get to talk to him about more than what’s changed for him after a decade of producing and getting back to the director’s chair. This filmmaker reflects on why he never stopped producing genre flicks in between regular work for television. That’s because that’s what he loves. Ever since his debut film, A Little Bit Zombie, he’s carved out a niche that is uniquely his.

When asked about how does he do it, his answer is simply, “I just focus on making something that I’m going to be really happy with because I never know when I’m not going to be able to ever do it again.”

It shows in works he’s executive produced too, like The Void, where he helped shape someone else’s vision. He’ll support and guide when needed, but when he’s in the captain’s chair, there’s a lot more to be aware of.

When comparing his past work in television and independent film to what he’s making now, he noted, “There’s definitely a bit of horror in everything I do. As for comedy, I think they’re very interlinked. I love the levity that comes with it, so it’s like the scary stuff and the relief through the humour has always attracted me to the things I’ve made. So yeah, they’re kind of synonymous.” Continue reading “2026 Update. Casey Walker Interview: Home Bodies, Ithaqua and Worlds Beyond the Door.”

How Far Can Insidious Out of the Further Go? Sequelitis Is Hard to Shake

Insidious Out of the Further takes another trip into its shadowy pocket dimension, but recycled scares and a stubborn case of sequelitis keep its strongest ideas from breaking free.

Insidious Out of the Further PosterSpoiler Alert

One can call me a sucker for what Leigh Whannell created with the Insidious franchise. He had some great ideas concerning where one can go when either asleep or when someone has died, and has unresolved issues. Also, it’s hard to avoid making a play on words with the latest release, Insidious Out of the Further. The real question is how can this IP stay fresh six films in?

The Further is a pocket dimension which feels less like purgatory and more like a waystation to a better life. Those souls who get stuck there must have died in the worst possible ways and therefore, can’t move on. That’s either because of what they did or there’s a demon forcing them to stay. When there are other souls like Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) choosing to remain here to help guilde the deserving out of there, I believe she’s like an Angel. The fact she’s chosen to remain behind to do this work since her death from the first film to now says everything. And when she said there’s somewhere better waiting on the other side, surely Heaven must exist.

Well, that’s my occult theory.

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The Last Jiangshi Short Film Breathes New Life Into an Undead Legend

The Last Jiangshi pairs an ancient member of the living dead with a modern grad student for an unusual comedic adventure. This affectionate Mr. Vampire homage finds humour, melancholy and sympathy within its supernatural mythology.

The Last Jiangshi Short Film PosterI had to save reviewing Yu Chih Chieh’s comedic short film, The Last Jiangshi, for Ghost Month rather than earlier, because it’s appropriate. Just what this work explores is the clash of beliefs, and if this member of the living dead is to survive to today, Lao Li (Benyu Zhang) may no longer have blood to feast on. Instead, it’s whether he and Jie (Alex Zhong), a grad student, can survive as the ultimate odd couple!

There’s even a taoist priest waiting to pounce on the unlikely partnership, and banish the nightstalker to the other side! In what’s amusing is the sympathy that’s quickly generated. Li doesn’t like what he’s become. He just wants to live and understand this world.

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Transformers! Understanding The Cybertronic Spree and Me

Prom Night can be made extra special for those who love their nostalgia. The Cybertronic Spree offers the right mix of classics, hard rock and performance theatre to make Transformers fans wanting scream for more!

The Cybertronic Spree Next Show
Next show in Toronto!

August 22, 2026
Capital Ballroom, Victoria, BC
Spoiler Alert

When I had the good fortune to be invited to see The Cybertronic Spree for free, I knew I was in for an awesome night of nostalgia and heavy metal, backed by animated sequences celebrating anime, video games and The Transformers: The Movie. For newcomers, they’re a Toronto rock band whose sentai-style costumes, hard-rock covers, original songs and glam-rock theatrics make their stage personas larger than life. I’d seen their YouTube videos and followed their rise as a pop-culture band. Once I learned their latest P.R.O.M. tour, short for Programmable Read-Only Memories, used a playful rock-opera narrative to stitch the concert together, I knew it was time to see them live.

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At Anime NYC, Part of Manga Mavericks 2027 Release Schedule Get Announced!

Part of the Manga Mavericks 2027 release schedule was announced during Anime NYC’s opening night.

Manga Mavericks 2027 releasesDuring Anime NYC’s opening night, Manga Mavericks 2027 release schedule got announced. While two titles may seem like a modest lineup, perhaps the publisher has bigger plans to reveal later. For fans of small-press works, these genre-defying releases look promising. Preorders are now live through the official website, and without further ado, here they are:

Midnight Robot, Volume One

Midnight Robot, Volume One

Created by Yohei Sajita, the series follows Fumiko Daidouji, whose seemingly ordinary life is turned upside down when her estranged father suddenly returns with a rather unusual gift: a screw embedded in her skull. According to her father, the screw is necessary to protect Fumiko from a mysterious organization. Unfortunately for her, the organization actually exists, and it has a very specific reason for wanting that screw. It can be used to summon a giant robot.

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Aachi and Ssipak Turns 20! Host a Streaming Watch Party?

Aachi and Ssipak is a gloriously collision of dystopian science fiction, black comedy and manic animation. Its crisp 2K restoration gives this bizarre South Korean cult film another chance to find its audience.

Aachi and Ssipak Title CardAvailable to stream on Darkroom

Aachi and Ssipak is one of those strange, animated works that needs to be seen to be believed. If it’s even remotely possible to say this movie is a product born from visual tropes popularized by other works, like Ren and Stimpy meets South Park, then that’s this bizarre South Korean work in a nutshell. It won’t be for everyone either, due to its very adult content; but it’s available to screen on Darkroom, a streaming platform that’s building a solid reputation as a place for the bizarre and underappreciated.

For a film that’s totally whacked out, the concept is actually quite novel. Whether there’s any truth to turning methane into fuel has been the subject of speculation for some time. What’s explored here is less about the science and more about how dystopian things can become if governments and private industries get their way. In a localized part of the world where human excrement is the city’s only source of energy, the keepers reward citizens with addictive “Hard” popsicles for keeping the supply flowing.

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