Tag: Canada

Terror Awaits When Nash The Slash Rises Again!

A stylish and thoughtful documentary, Nash The Slash Rises Again! examines the life, sound, and legacy of one of Canada’s most singular musical innovators, celebrating an artist who turned performance, technology, and mystery into something unforgettable.

Nash the Slash Rises Again! Promotional Tour TrailerOpens at Select Theatres March 13

Nash the Slash is an original. A living Phantom of the Theatre, unafraid to obscure himself, he’s often seen performing wrapped like a mummy, minus the Egyptian motifs, instead donning dark sunglasses and a stiff top hat. When we see him in Nash the Slash Rises Again!, he’s not just a silent film star, but a silver age minx. He exists in a space where noir sensibilities thrive. Nearly everyone knows the name, even if the sound itself feels ephemeral, electronic, and ahead of its time.

What’s presented in Tim Kowalski’s documentary brilliantly honours him like a living memorial. Rameses the Great would be jealous. When this musician doesn’t predate the theatrical shock of early Pink Floyd or Alice Cooper, but feels spiritually adjacent to them, evolving along a parallel creative wavelength. One suspects they’d have relished sharing a stage had the opportunity arisen.

With interests leaning heavily into the horror film genre, shock becomes part of the live experience for those fortunate enough to witness him perform. Not every show has him embodying The Invisible Man, but the theatricality remains central. His life and career are explored in thoughtful detail through Tim Kowalski’s documentary.

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Bisou Sauvage and Szczerbowski Shine in This Thought-Provoking NFB Showcase

The National Film Board of Canada brings a striking range of animated storytelling to Victoria Film Festival. In part one, I take a closer look at Bisou Sauvage and Szczerbowski, two shorts that confront human duality, moral consequence, and the fragile space between love and harm.

National Film Board of Canada LOGOThe National Film Board of Canada

is presenting at the Victoria Film Festival, and what they’ve got is a wide range of adventures. From making statements about the society we’re in to a fun-filled twist on what a zombie pandemic can look like, even I have to be amazed. In part one, I’ll be taking a look at Bisou Sauvage and Szczerbowski.

This examination will be broken up into two parts to give the four pieces a decent look at why they must be viewed. And hey, Jay Baruchel is all-Canadian in this piece (you’ll have to read part two for that review), and I have to love the fact he’s broken away from his Hiccup past to show he has versatility with his vocal performances.

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In Canada, Scared Shitless Brings the Bathroom Horror Home Ahead of U.S. Theatrical Release

Lock the bathroom door—SCARED SHITLESS is a hilariously gory horror-comedy where a plumber and his son face a monstrous creature wreaking havoc in the city’s pipes.

Scared Shitless Movie PosterLock the bathroom door and keep the plunger close, because Scared Shitless is finally coming out of the pipes and into your living room. This outrageous horror–comedy from director Vivieno Caldinelli (Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss, Baroness Von Sketch Show) is about to unleash blood, guts, and belly laughs on Canadian audiences before anyone else. One year after its Fantasia Film Festival 2024 premiere, Blue Fox Entertainment is ready to unleash the beast onto TVOD in Canada starting Sept 2, 2025—weeks ahead of its U.S. theatrical release.

The Premise

The film follows Don (Steven Ogg), a blue-collar plumber with a filthy sense of humour, who drags along his germophobic son Sonny (Daniel Doheny) on a simple house call. What should’ve been another day on the job turns into a nightmare when they discover a genetically engineered, bloodthirsty monster has made the city’s plumbing its all-you-can-eat buffet. Teaming up with tough-as-nails night manager Patricia (Chelsea Clark, they’ll need to stop the beast before it contaminates the water supply.

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Season Two of David J. Fernandes’ Creepy Bits is Here! Prepare for More Spooky Tales of the Unexpected!

And we have an episode guide too! Disclaimer: Creepy Bits is best experienced in the dark, with headphones. If only they were quadraphonic….

Creepy Bits Season Two PosterHollywood Suite Broadcast Premiere Nov 19 at 9pm ET. 

After Halloween, not everyone was preparing for The Day of the Dead. Some folks may have tuned in to view David J. Fernandes‘ Creepy Bits that debuted early in the month on VOD. But now, it’s more accessible on specific specialty networks! There’s no news yet for worldwide release, but in the meantime, for Canadians, they have early access.

It’s a wonderful series for those who want simple frights in a bite-size format. This Canadian series offers a contemporary take on some classic tropes, and will leave viewers in awe.

After the debut “Baby Face,” episode from season one, what makes this program special is that sets up the tension quite fast for the bogeyman style surprise! These shorts live up to its name for effectively creating that sense of unease, even as the last frames play out. Sometimes, the finale is not for the better, but is far, far worse, and leaves the aftermath for each viewer’s imagination to figure out.

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Highwater Press. From Little by Little to The Rez Doctor, This Publisher is Paving A Bright Future for Everyone!

Sometimes, reading influential books and graphic novels is enough to show how young readers can change their lives for the better, and Highwater Press is leading the way!

Highwater Press LogoHighwater Press continues to impress readers with heroes who can make a difference in everyday life. Whether this concerns a young child in Little By Little to another who desires to dream big in The Rez Doctor, just what makes these stories special is that these role models come from indigenous roots.

I’m glad this publisher has given me the opportunity to read most of their late summer and autumn catalogue of works. They opened my eyes to what anyone can be capable of. While the focus is on what these writers with First Nations upbringing can imagine up, I really enjoyed their takes on life, how to change for the better, and be more humane to one another.

For example, the Reckoner Rises (review) series shows teens coming together and learning how to use their mutant (superhero) abilities to take on the establishment. Not every graphic novel released are as simple as that. They just tackle social issues everyone should be aware of. After the discovery of a mass grave in Kamloops, the theme of how to heal and do better for a rewarding future will always be a theme. That aspect is central to what the Surviving the City series (review) is about.

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Surviving The City Can Be Rough. In Volume 3: We Are the Medicine What’s Examined is Based on Real Life.

In this graphic novel series, Surviving the City, isn’t just about how one culture is dealing with colonialism, but rather with how many other lives can get affected at the same time.

Tasha Spillett, author of Surviving the CityHighWater Press
Spoiler Alert

Some knowledge of what the graphic novel series, Surviving the City, wants to educate is required to acknowledge what the latest instalment Volume 3: We Are Medicine, hopes to heal. Ever since the news about finding a mass grave of children near a former residential school in Kamloops broke out in 2021, there were a lot of protests and finger pointing. The world blamed people in prominent positions of power of the atrocity. Even now, the after-effects are still ongoing. Some reconciliation has happened since, but what’s presented here as fiction is coming true in the real world after reading “Chief says grave search at B.C. residential school brings things ‘full circle’” from the Kelowna Capital News.

This story by Tasha Spillett (pictured above left) makes up the backdrop where Miikwan and Dez are thinking about their futures. This author/educator/public speaker strives for a world where multiculturalism is embraced and everyone is treated with compassion. It’s basically what Gene Roddenberry envisioned for Star Trek, and everything Sisko would fight for when he travelled back in time and became part of the protests for equal rights in “Past Tense, Parts One and Two (Deep Space 9).”

In this story, these youths want to make the world a better place. They will soon graduate, and instead of figuring out what to wear for their last prom, these two indigenous teens change their plans and want to help after this news broke out. These are wonderful kids. Even Dez, the protagonist from the first two books, gets involved! After her own dealings with “The System,” how she deals with authoritarianism is important too. Continue reading “Surviving The City Can Be Rough. In Volume 3: We Are the Medicine What’s Examined is Based on Real Life.”