See No Evil, Hear No Evil… Where’s The Wisdom The Mouths Have To Speak Anyway?

Takashi Shimizu’s The Mouths transforms a cemetery legend into a nightmare involving a cursed tree, cicadas, and a ghoul? Spoiler Alert. You have been warned:

The Mouths Movie Poster
Played on July 26, 2026 at Fantasia Film Festival at the Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU

If you’re a fan of Ju-on or any of Takashi Shimizu‘s works, The Mouths (口に関するアンケート) will certainly scare you! That’s because once the synopsis revealed there’s a suicide tree, I half expected this film to be about Aokigahara Forest rather than a random hunk of wood located in a dilapidated cemetery. When the legend of the said park overshadows any other urban legend, what’s presented feels like a partial set of short stories, each tied to why four young adults have come here to find the spirit reputed to haunt this tree!

In what begins as a simple truth or dare, it ends up being a challenge of the human spirit against nature. In this case, it’s to see if the curse attached to the said tree is true! And when none of the individuals invited it home, there’s cause for concern! Should this entity not follow its victim(s), it would never feed.

Continue reading “See No Evil, Hear No Evil… Where’s The Wisdom The Mouths Have To Speak Anyway?”

So What’s Hot or Should That Be Shot in Vancouver? A Prediction on What Adventures in Hollywood North Will Be Recounted.

The upcoming book Shot in Vancouver may not be comprehensive, but it will feature nearly every film and television production that decided to make the Greater Mainland home for many years while that story was being filmed.

Shot in Vancouver book cover
Available to pre-order on Amazon USA.

Release Date: October 6, 2026

When film aficionados and television professionals talk about the work they’ve done in the upcoming book Shot in Vancouver, published by Arsenal Pulp Press, it’s safe to say the entertainment industry is booming. Over time, even viewers have learned to recognize certain city landmarks, the backdrop of the Rockies and the foundations supporting the SkyTrain.

That’s because similar architecture is used throughout the world to keep those rails moving. Technically, there are more than just these telltale signs when one starts exploring the region. Whether filming takes place near Steveston in Richmond, Surrey or even Abbotsford, the diversity is enormous. That’s why filming in the Lower Mainland is not only lucrative, but also tells a story of its own.

Continue reading “So What’s Hot or Should That Be Shot in Vancouver? A Prediction on What Adventures in Hollywood North Will Be Recounted.”

When Ancestral Beasts Come A Wanting…. Things Are Certainly Cold in the Forest

Ancestral Beasts turns a remote family home into a breeding ground for trauma, giant insects and buried secrets. Morgan Holmstrom anchors this unsettling Indigenous horror story about isolation and inherited pain.

Ancestral Beasts Movie Poster
Screening at Fantasia Film Festival 2026 on July 28, 2026 at the Salle J.A. De Sève

In the movie Ancestral Beasts, either Auntie (Gail Maurice) must have been a shaman for the Red River Métis tribe, or Elyse Poitras’ demons (Morgan Holmstrom) have found the means to literally manifest. She has Indigenous roots, and after telling her sister Nikki (Darla Contois) that she needs her own space, the decision to “go home” comes easily. However, her trepidation grows when folks living nearby try to help. As for her cousins, they try to rekindle what was lost when the two sisters decided life elsewhere was better. Apparently, it wasn’t.

When their family home exists off the beaten path, I knew what came next would basically be a terror-haunting-the-cabin-in-the-woods scenario. As for what exists there, it’s almost easy to tell! No, what’s in the basement isn’t a Deadite, but that was my first thought. Instead, what’s presented is more like an ancient covenant, along with something else involving giant insects!

Continue reading “When Ancestral Beasts Come A Wanting…. Things Are Certainly Cold in the Forest”

Hail Sailor! When There’s No Rest for the Wicked After Navigating the Hoary Seas, What’s Next?

Set on the Faroe Islands in 1862, No Rest for the Wicked blends forbidden romance, Norse folklore and slow-burning Gothic horror. Its haunting atmosphere works better than its confused vampire mythology.

No Rest for the Wicked Movie Poster
Screened at Fantasia Film Festival on July 25, 2026 at the Salle J.A. De Sève

No Rest for the Wicked is a great title for a movie. With early marketing and reviews from the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival describing it as a queer love story wrapped inside a Gothic vampire drama, perhaps Lestat has a new rival. If we’re judging who wears the crown for best-looking vampire, Helge (Pilou Asbæk), the Danish whaler, wins hands down.

There’s also something to be said for stripping away the Gothic excess that vampire stories from this period embraced. Set in 1862 on the Faroe Islands, this tale exists on the edge of civilization, where survival comes before superstition and every stranger is met with suspicion. Young Baldur (Egor Venned) doesn’t have much to do, and he’s like every other kid from a small village: bored.

Continue reading “Hail Sailor! When There’s No Rest for the Wicked After Navigating the Hoary Seas, What’s Next?”

Say Hello and Not Goodbye Monster When Luke Burnett Entertains the Dickens Out of Curiosity Seekers of this Short

In Goodbye Monster, a teenager’s imaginary friend decides it’s time to move on. Luke Barnett’s funny and thoughtful short film gives its coming-of-age premise a wonderfully monstrous twist.

Goodbye, Monster PosterWilson (Kue Lawrence) doesn’t want to grow up. In this hilarious coming-of-age story about a teen with a goblin for an imaginary friend, the creature is ready to pack his bags and move on. After a certain age, most kids are ready for that transition: dating, partying and, well, girls. Fans seeing Goodbye Monster in the Are You Afraid of Fantasia short-film block will laugh and root for Luke Barnett, who steals the show as the goofball monster under the bed. He thinks walking out of the bedroom and into freedom will be easy.

As for the now-teenage Wilson, he’s puzzled. Just when he thinks life will continue to be rough, Monster recounts something that foreshadows even more trouble to come. Honestly, I think Barnett has created a great proof of concept that could turn this short into a feature film. I want to know more about its mythology, and I’d love to see more from this multitalented actor turned writer and director.

Continue reading “Say Hello and Not Goodbye Monster When Luke Burnett Entertains the Dickens Out of Curiosity Seekers of this Short”

Is It Doxxing or Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki? When Depression and Imagination Run Wild

Takeru Shinozuka’s Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki explores creative burnout through an animator who may be haunted, or protected, by a playful fox spirit. It’s a thoughtful animated short about depression, criticism and rediscovering the spark to create.

Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki animated short film poster
Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki played as part of the Anime no Bento 2026 shorts program on July 18, 2026.

Although the title of Takeru Shinozuka’s animated short, Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki, seems deceptive, that’s because this creature can be deceptively sinister or be a true trickster at heart. But that depends on which cultural lens this member of the canine family is viewed from. For this animator turned first-time director, the story he tells about life at an animation studio looks authentic; from being told what to do despite objection to having creative burnout, these pressures are real!

That’s what this work really focuses on. By the time Shinano (Wataya Miho) comes home, she can’t do anything without repeating sensei’s wax-on, wax-off training. The muscle memory is there, but not the spark. Koyami (uncredited online) is the trickster spirit who keeps saying, “Draw me instead. I need more expression.” But for this woman, she’s ready to call it quits! And her story about thinking she’s been possessed by a fox spirit is not traditionally recognized. Continue reading “Is It Doxxing or Foxing Kitsuné-Tsuki? When Depression and Imagination Run Wild”