Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival Conjures a Killer First Wave for 2026

Celebrating Halloween with the Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival can’t look any better with Michael Dougherty in attendance!

Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival
Runs Oct 14–18 at the Cineplex Cinemas International Village and The Rio. Photographer Credit Emmett Race

The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival returns for its ninth year, and its first wave has a fine Halloween-season hook: a 19th anniversary screening of Trick ’r Treat with writer-director Michael Dougherty in attendance. The presentation also includes a new 4K restoration of Season’s Greetings, the animated short that first introduced Sam before he became one of modern horror’s best-known little monsters.

Four features have been announced so far. Hammer Films brings Ithaqua to B.C. audiences, with Luke Hemsworth starring in a frozen 19th-century Canadian outpost besieged by hunger, cold and an ancient flesh-eating evil. It marks Hammer’s first original monster in 60 years. You can read our review here, as we got an early look during London’s Fright Fest. An interview with director Casey Walker can be read here.

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With The End of Oak Street, Can New Beginnings Take Place?

For this movie that’s more about family drama, the only thing one can find at The End of Oak Street is how a random event can change things for the better for an aspiring author, who is the heroine of this tale.

The End of Oak Street Movie PosterI have to ask: do audiences really want to watch another dinosaur movie? Most likely, yes, as long as the plot brings something new to the concept. That’s where The End of Oak Street teeters on failure. This is one of those movies that needs a back-end explanation instead of playing out as another too-predictable tale. The trailers give too much away: a stretch of neighbourhood has been teleported away, and the folks caught in the zone have to either become the next Stone Age family or find a way back.

As for how much of Flowervale was sent back, all we know is that a significant chunk is probably Disneyland-sized. The wide shot says it all, and instead of a tight-knit group, we have pockets of confused humans wondering why dinosaurs are lurking in their backyards! As for a plot, all we know is that the Platt family is in dire straits, and they are kind to some neighbours but not others. Denise (Anne Hathaway) and Greg’s (Ewan McGregor) marriage is falling apart, and the kids, after overhearing the problem, are desperate to see their parents work things out.

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Top 10 Nerdy Picks of Vancouver Fringe Festival 2026

From an improvised musical inspired by local headlines to supernatural grief stories, smart-home thrillers and a black cat’s final CAT Talk, these are 10 Vancouver Fringe Festival shows worth finding between September 10 and 20, 2026.

Vancouver Fringe Festival Generic
Runs Sept 10 to 20, 2026 at various venues around Granville Island and beyond.

After the Victoria Fringe Festival, I’m debating if I want more compact shows to see. As for my favourite performers, usually there is a lot of overlap. With only Solovela: An Improvised Solo Telenovela being the only overlap between events, I can either stay home or do a day trip over for a show or two before heading home. But with Fringe, that is never a good idea. Vancouver Fringe Festival has a lot to offer

And as I build my list for this year’s neard’s gjuide, here are my top picks for locals and tourists who happen to be in Terminal City from September 10 to 20, 2026.

Canon Fire:
The Improvised Musical
Arts Umbrella (Theatre)

Why travel abroad when Vancouver already has a Broadway AND a West End? Watch six improvisors and two musicians create a brand-new musical right before your eyes with no script, no pre-written music, and no safety net, solely inspired by audience suggestions and the stories you may have missed from your very own hometown newspaper. From local jaywalking scandals to bizarre community board disputes, no local story is too small to be given the grand, show-stopping musical treatment.

Canon Fire

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Expectations. Believe it or Not. Superhero Percussion: All the Hits! at Victoria Fringe Festival 2026

Sticks and Stone turn rock favourites into lively marimba arrangements in a warm, playful Fringe set, though its superhero percussion concept could use a few more familiar themes.

Superhero Percussion: All the Hits!Some acts need to be seen live, and when Sticks and Stone is billed as talented percussionists with a purpose, I had to check them out. They have been performing since 2017, and I had certain expectations when I saw Superhero Percussion: All the Hits! was coming to the Victoria Fringe Festival and they are playing at the CCPA Performance Hall. This group has a solid reputation for drawing crowds, but showrunner Stephen Stone was hoping some children would attend the 8 p.m. show. Unless you are a parent, there is a reason no one under eight was there.

The long weekend also offered plenty of reasons for people to be outdoors. Turning a busking spirit into a seated Fringe experience takes an ability to read the room and adapt on the spot, and the trio did a great job at adjusting. Had it been dialed up another notch, I’d say we would’ve been treated to a true tribute.

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Always A Tender Moment: Genki Bear, Baachan and the Matriachs Who Shape Us

Kizuna Theatre’s Genki Bear: Memoirs of a Granddaughter uses puppetry, Japanese Canadian memories and Studio Ghibli nods to honour the grandmothers who help shape us.

Genki Bear- Memoirs of a GranddaughterIf I had to describe Kizuna Theatre’s production of Genki Bear: Memoirs of a Granddaughter with one song, I’d choose Queen’s “These Are the Days of Our Lives.” It captures the show perfectly. This is a tender production about nostalgia, ageing and cherishing what has been, rather than crying into a tissue over the loss of someone who watched their granddaughter grow up.

For Misty Cozac, the material feels autobiographical. Yet, through videos of other Japanese Canadians explaining why they loved their baachan, or grandmother, the production becomes a broader reflection on the matriarchs who help shape every individual’s wellbeing. I have fond memories of my own po-po and ma-ma, and the show brought them back without forcing me to hide my tears.

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To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before: The Ice Keeps… But How Well?

The Ice Keeps reframes Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition with an all-female cast and a stronger focus on empathy and community. Its performances hold firm, but the survival drama still needs fuller scenic design to make the frozen environment come alive.

The Ice KeepsAlthough Josh Gates told the story better on Tales from the Explorers Club, the sheer melodrama and hell the crew of the Endurance faced while attempting the first land crossing of Antarctica are something to behold when retold on stage. Melissa Taylor’s adaptation, The Ice Keeps, offers a different take that generally works.

What’s presented during the Victoria Fringe Festival is clearly more of a work in progress than a finished show. Another producer and more funding could elevate the visual elements and make this interim version feel fuller. Taylor mentioned future plans, so her take may yet be explored further. I’ll gladly return to see the updated version, should it set sail, because I want to experience a full-on recreation of the environment rather than the drama alone.

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