All The Conjuring Last Rites does is to lean heavily on callbacks to earlier films. While Judy Warren’s expanded role adds some novelty, the result feels more like a greatest-hits package than a true conclusion.
The Conjuring Last Rites may mark the end of the franchise on the big screen, but HBO Max’s TV series to continue the story will keep the Warrens alive. Just this week, the streamer announced Nancy Won as showrunner, with Peter Cameron and Cameron Squires joining the writer’s room. While Ed and Lorraine Warren claimed to have investigated countless cases, only the most sensational ones ever made it to theatres—often as overblown, fictionalized spectacles. What’s missing are the controversies surrounding the couple’s methods and credibility, which can take the franchise to a level other films never explore.
At the heart of this latest film lies a familiar question: who—or what—is the evil that continues to pursue the Warrens? Earlier entries teased a hidden hand behind Annabelle and The Nun, but ultimately the lore hinges on one figure: Valak.
The 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival is less than a month away! And we got our guide on what to see.
The 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival guide is out, and it looks amazing compared to prior years! That’s because the lineup includes a piece from Steven Kostanski. Without him, I would not be planning a trip to the mainland to see this film! While this event rarely offers a proper Midnight Madness mini-festival within, this year looks like it may well be a star. Let’s hope so, because who doesn’t want a bit of terror this Autumn season?
Chasing a rainbow through the woods, Iris encounters Arco, a boy who has stolen a time-travelling suit from his scientist parents and crash-landed in 2075. This charming animated fantasy blends futuristic adventure with heartfelt storytelling, offering a visually inventive world that appeals to all ages.
Bienvenu’s work has always blurred the line between retro charm and forward-thinking sci-fi, making this a must-see for animation enthusiasts.
Dir. Steven Kostanski
(read our interview with him here)
As the Dreadite horde cuts a path of destruction across the land, one man wields the power to rid the world of their evil — Deathstalker, a relentless and courageous hero. FX master Steven Kostanski conjures a bloody, entertaining hack-and-slash adventure, brimming with over-the-top action and dark humour. This reboot of the original film from _ is sure to please, and with this creative mind behind the production, it’s sure to be bloody! And for those unable to visit Vancouver for this cult classic, Shout! Studios will release it Oct 10th, 2025.
With Kostanski steering the gore and fun, this could very well be the new gold standard for fantasy revivals.
A foul-smelling gravedigger’s romance ends in tragedy, prompting her to attempt resurrection through a series of madcap scientific experiments. Glowicki and Ben Petrie inject zany, DIY horror energy into this modern twist on Mary Shelley’s classic themes of love, loss, and reanimation.
Glowicki’s quirky, hands-on aesthetic makes this one to watch for fans of experimental Canadian cinema.
An Iranian teenager who recently immigrated to Canada struggles to fit in at her new high school. Pressured to conform, she unintentionally unleashes a demonic force rooted within her. This darkly humorous coming-of-age horror explores identity, cultural tension, and the supernatural in clever, unsettling ways. By weaving cultural anxieties with supernatural dread, this film echoes the grounded terror of early Cronenberg.
A bawdy deconstruction of Romania’s most notorious legend, Radu Jude’s Dracula parodies the use of AI in filmmaking while delivering a cinematic feast of irreverent humour. The film is a multi-layered, genre-bending experience with six interwoven narratives designed to amuse and provoke.
Jude’s fearless satire might make this the most divisive entry of the festival — and that’s exactly why it belongs here.
After awakening from a coma with memory loss, Diane is taken to an experimental treatment centre in the wilderness by her husband, Homer. As visions of past trauma surface, Diane slowly uncovers dark truths about her marriage in this tense psychological drama that blends horror, mystery, and emotional depth. Sims-Fewer and Mancinelli excel at intimate, unsettling character studies — expect this one to linger long after the credits.
Two eccentric dreamers experience a freak accident that propels them back to 2008. Their inadvertent meddling wreaks havoc on the timeline, unleashing a riot of pop culture references, copyright-defying antics, and surreal gags. The result is a wildly inventive, meta-comedic journey through nostalgia and absurdity. Expect this to be a fan-service riot for those who followed the original cult TV series — and a trip for newcomers, too.
A computer nerd finds himself transported into a video game fantasy world when his dog is taken by the evil demon Ixaroth. Birney’s lo-fi adventure fuses analog horror with RPG mechanics, creating a nostalgic, black-and-white vaporwave aesthetic that celebrates retro gaming and DIY ingenuity.
This project feels like a love letter to gamers who spent nights with VHS rentals and pixelated screens.
Can a filmmaker depict the future without AI? Damien Hauser crafts an Afro-speculative fable set in a resurrected African kingdom, blending romance, war, and epic storytelling. A micro-budget yet ambitious cinematic experiment, the film is fueled by digital innovation, imaginative visuals, and deep emotional resonance.
This feature could be the sleeper hit of the festival, showing how vision and creativity can eclipse budgetary limits.
In a fractured reality where humanity has lost its ability to dream, a Fantasmer becomes a puckish outlier, slipping into the dreamworld and reincarnating across a century. Each rebirth unfolds within a different film genre, offering a kaleidoscopic exploration of imagination, memory, and the enduring human desire to create.
Expect cinephiles to adore this genre-shifting ride — it’s practically a love letter to film history itself.
Sizzle Reel for the
2025 Vancouver International Film Festival
Dream-like and visually stunning, Boys Go to Jupiter explores independence, friendship, and the whimsical side of growing up.
Playing at The Vic Theatre (Victoria, BC) From Sept 5 to 11th, 2025
One theme explored in Julian Glander‘s animated film, Boys Go to Jupiter, is the importance of giving kids personal space rather than pushing them to explore other, more literal spaces. The film feels like a dream-like take on Rugrats. Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) often acts as the voice of reason among his friends—Freckles (Grace Kuhlenschmidt), Beatbox (Elsie Fisher), and Peanut (J.R. Phillips)—but when he pursues independence, the question arises: does gaining freedom mean leaving his friends behind?
The gang drifts through summer as outcasts, relying on little more than each other. Even Peanut’s “initiation” feels redundant, as if he already belongs. With no parents, teachers, or siblings guiding them—Billy’s sister barely registers—they fill the void with pranks, banter, and existential musings. They recall The Lost Boys not in plot but in spirit, caught in a restless limbo. Early in the film, they encounter a strange wormlike creature on the beach. The brief adventure quickly slips away, signalling a world where oddities can appear at any moment.
Experience the creativity of Hothouse 15, the National Film Board of Canada’s program showcasing emerging Canadian animators. Six eclectic shorts, each exploring the theme People Watching, are now streaming worldwide, offering a glimpse at the future of Canadian animation.
The National Film Board of Canada’s long-running animation program has once again opened its doors to new talent. Beginning today, six shorts from Hothouse 15 are streaming worldwide, showcasing a range of visual styles and stories tied together by this year’s theme: People Watching.
Each filmmaker had just 12 weeks to complete a one-minute piece, and the results are as eclectic as ever. For those unfamiliar, Hothouse was created in 2003 to nurture emerging animators, and it has since launched the careers of over 90 talents. Names like Patrick Doyon (Dimanche), Howie Shia (Marco’s Oriental Noodles), and Eva Cvijanovic (Hedgehog’s Home) all honed their craft here before gaining international recognition.
A charming stop-motion short featuring Gus MacDuffin, a puffin who discovers his wings are actually hands—and learns to embrace his uniqueness. The film explores how watching others shapes self-beliefs and identity, all while staying true to oneself. Its gentle story plays out with endearing visuals and subtle humor. A delightful blend of whimsy and introspection.
Hege, Bjørn, and Romain face grief, isolation, and uncertainty in Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Folktales, a documentary that trades trolls for emotional trials and the supernatural for self-discovery. With some people heading back to school, they may want to be aware other programs exist to help them deal with post-secondary.
In Norway’s far north, where winters stretch long and the aurora paints the sky, a group of young adults sets out on a modern hero’s journey. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s documentary Folktales doesn’t follow Vikings clashing with trolls or giants. Instead, its battles are quieter yet no less daunting: grief, fear, and the uncertainty of growing up. Unlike the heroes of the Eddas, these youths don’t all stride forward with courage, but they still answer the call. The film follows three 19-year-olds each weighed down by their own struggles.
Hege spends her nights partying, still drifting after losing her father many years ago. Bjørn shrinks from new friendships, convinced he is an outcast. Romain has withdrawn even further: he dropped out of school and hides from the world in fear. None of them knows what future to pursue, but all crave change. That chance comes through the Pasvik Program (Pasvik Folkehøgskole), a modern version of Norway’s folk schools. First established in the 1840s to bring education to rural areas, these schools were never about diplomas. They offered reflection, skill-building, and community. In Finnmark, this offering continues that tradition by inviting young people to take part voluntarily in an immersive experience—one that tests them both physically and emotionally.
Kin flips Rumpelstiltskin on its head, blending myth, music, and Rapunzel’s journey into one of Victoria Fringe Theatre’s most imaginative production that speaks about why we all need family too, no matter what dreams may come.
Remaining Shows: Aug 27 8:00 pm and Aug 28 8:00 pm
Just when I thought I’d seen every take on Rumpelstiltskin, Andrew Sawyer’s experimental theatre company, Becoming Theater, flips the fairy tale inside out without touching Disney. In Kin, the story shifts from the imp to Rapunzel (Lauren Steinmann). The title hints at his involvement, but placing her at the centre immediately signals something unusual, and raises the question: why are these two characters sharing the same story?
That twist can feel disorienting, but it makes for an engaging reinterpretation. And it’s the type of show that’s appropriate to test out in the world of Fringe Theatre. Also, I’m fairly sure the Brothers Grimm never explicitly identified the Queen’s daughter as Rapunzel, so this fresh angle works. And when the Fringe is often the home for many new takes on their content, I knew I had to check this show out!
The Conjuring Last Rites may mark the end of the franchise on the big screen, but HBO Max’s TV series to continue the story will keep the Warrens alive. Just this week, the streamer announced Nancy Won as showrunner, with Peter Cameron and Cameron Squires joining the writer’s room. While Ed and Lorraine Warren claimed to have investigated countless cases, only the most sensational ones ever made it to theatres—often as overblown, fictionalized spectacles. What’s missing are the controversies surrounding the couple’s methods and credibility, which can take the franchise to a level other films never explore.
The 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival guide is out, and it looks amazing compared to prior years! That’s because the lineup includes a piece from Steven Kostanski. Without him, I would not be planning a trip to the mainland to see this film! While this event rarely offers a proper Midnight Madness mini-festival within, this year looks like it may well be a star. Let’s hope so, because who doesn’t want a bit of terror this Autumn season?
Dir. Ugo Bienvenu
Dir. Steven Kostanski
In Norway’s far north, where winters stretch long and the aurora paints the sky, a group of young adults sets out on a modern hero’s journey. 