Tag: Canada

Welcome to the FUN HOUSE: Atomic Vaudeville’s Halloween Spectacle

Step right up, ladies, gentleman, for Atomic Vaudeville’s annual Spooktacular! FUN HOUSE you say? Welcome to a history of tradition, and come what may if you dare enter….

Atomic Vaudeville’s Halloween spectacular FUN HOUSE
Tickets can be bought in advance here. Limited tickets at the door.

The theatre company Atomic Vaudeville has been a Victoria, BC, institution since 2004. For those in the know, it is also a place where emerging local talent can find mentorship and opportunities to hone their skills. Some performers have graduated from the Canadian College of Performing Arts; others, I honestly don’t know. But when the team gathers to create its annual Halloween show, I take notice!

This year’s FUN HOUSE sounded like one I had to check out. Although I don’t get to see Atomic Vaudeville every year, I’ve followed with interest ever since 2016. It’s not only because certain luminaries honed their craft here and moved on to establish careers of their own but also they have other events throughout the years.

There’s Mike Delamont (God Is a Scottish Drag Queen), Wes Borg, the comic musician who co-founded Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie before joining the Atomic Vaudeville team, Ingrid Hansen, the puppeteer known for her work on the Fraggle Rock revival, and Trevor Hinton, an actor who appeared in Bones of Crows. The latter is amazing because I’ve seen him perform in numerous genre shows over the years.

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To the West Coast and Not Beyond! Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North Dives Deep Into Pop Culture History in BC!

Shot in Vancouver traces the productions that helped shape British Columbia’s screen industry. Sam Wiebe’s book rewards curiosity with familiar favourites and local discoveries, although its preview copy leaves some gaps.

Shot in Vancouver
Available to order on Amazon USA

The one thing I immediately noticed in Sam Wiebe’s book, Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North, is the lack of an index in the preview copy I received to read. When I’m trying to find out whether a certain movie or television production was filmed in town, at Terminal City, or somewhere else, having an index would come in handy. If that’s intentionally part of this book’s design, I hope the retail copy will be different. That’s because of the way he’s built the chapters, which move back and forth in chronology and purpose.

And along the way, the details he offers can make or break a section. That includes historical anecdotes about when Yvonne De Carlo made this city her home and why some Asian movies were filmed here. When downtown Vancouver was part of the Rumble in the Bronx set and the biggest running joke amongst fans during release was why are there mountains in the background? Even I looked at this chapter rather than to start on page one to see if that concern was ever addressed by the producers. Even today, there’s no official statement. Had this film historian sought an answer, I’d be pleased. But instead, all he wrote about is how this film helped certain talents begin their legacy.

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Fright Fest’s Ravenous, Unseen Ithaqua Reinvents the Wendigo Legend

Casey Walker’s Ithaqua transforms the frozen Canadian wilderness into a Western Gothic nightmare where hunger, colonialism and the Wendigo legend converge. Luke Hemsworth leads this brutal survival tale where the cold may be the least dangerous thing outside.

Ithaqua Movie Poster World Premiere
Played at Fright Fest 2026
on Sat 29 3:30 PM (BST)

Life in the Canadian wilderness can be rough. It’s even tougher once those brutal winters settle in and settlers are forced to huddle together in huts, where the only warmth comes from a fire burning beneath an opening for smoke to escape. And no, those aren’t smoke signals to signal something specific. When the name Ithaqua isn’t widely known, it takes a talent like Casey Walker to convey the intent. Between Walker and co-writers Pascal Trottier and Peter Scott Vicaire, who flesh out the lore and world, what’s presented is haunting and eerie.

Between expectations created by the title and how August Derleth used Ithaqua in his fiction, there’s no cosmic horror this time. It’s survival through and through, and I’d label this film Western Gothic, especially given its fantastic cinematography and depiction of survival in the snow. Frosted water creates alien textures, mist hangs over the lake, and the environment itself feels alive. The question becomes: who reigns in this world? The answer suggests someone does, and that’s a cat-and-mouse game I can get behind!

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When Mathieu Fortin’s The Parrot Isn’t Squawking Release Me, Release Me….

…that’s because it’s being held captive by Bell Media! It’s not a bad thing, but when The Parrot needs to spread his wings, and tell all, let’s hope this producer has plans to expand this bird’s reach.

The Unearthly Notes The Parrot PosterBefore reviewing Mathieu Fortin’s The Parrot, and again afterwards, I had to search online and hunt through my various books examining the themes common in H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction. I wanted to see if there was any mention of talking birds revealing the secrets of forgotten cults before moving forward. I knew this filmmaker’s idea came from The Notes and Commonplace Book of H.P. Lovecraft. While there are no specific mentions of a parrot in the book, the ideas are certainly there.

The most telling lines from the public-domain scan are the following. On page three, it reads: “As dinosaurs were once surpassed by mammals, so will man-mammal be surpassed by insect or bird—fall of man before the new race.” Page eight offers two tantalizing clues. The line that inspired this work reads, “[A] talking bird of great longevity—tells secret long afterward,” but I suspect Fortin drew upon more than that single note. Another speaks of “Ancient and unknown ruins—strange and immortal bird who speaks in a language horrifying and revelatory to the explorers.”

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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.”

A Nerd’s Guide to the 2026 Victoria Fringe Festival, and it’s Ruby Celebration!

The 2026 Victoria Fringe Festival celebrates its 40th year with another unpredictable lineup. Here are ten shows featuring theatrical legends, psychological horror, puppetry, wrestling, superheroes and other wonderfully strange ideas.

2026 Victoria Fringe FestivalThe 2026 Victoria Fringe Festival is celebrating a milestone, and once again, I’m ignoring any sensible attempt to see everything under the sun. Weather in Victoria, BC is fickle, and for those not wanting to wait in line for too long, it’s always good to bring a bottle of water! While they are keeping 40th century style celebrations a temporary secret, as they want to surprise, it’s best to subscribe to their mailing list and check online for the latest updates to find out what’s in store!

And once again, I offer my top picks on what to see at this year’s show. With a few returning shows to quickly include on the list, namely Space Queen and 52 Stories, Instead, I’ve gone hunting through this year’s lineup for shows that appeal to the nerdier side of the Fringe experience. That means science fiction, horror, pop culture, unusual adaptations, strange concepts and anything else that makes me stop scrolling and wonder, “What the heck is this?”

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