Tag: Documentary

Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story Pays Tribute to Wrestling’s Boldest Outlaw

Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story is a fierce, compassionate portrait of a trailblazer who refused to shrink herself for anyone, charting how she carved out space in a hostile business and the cost that defiance carried behind the curtain.

Lunatic- The Luna Vachon Story
Also coming to Hollywood Suite 2010s+ channel (Canada) On demand on Dec 1, and on Dec 16 at 9 PM ET

Vancouver, BC Premiere
November 26 at the Rio Theatre
* with director Kate Kroll and guests in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

The Vachon family’s influence on professional wrestling is legendary, and Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story narrows that legacy to one of its most compelling figures. Once Gertrude “Trudy” Elizabeth Vachon committed to the ring, she knew she had to stand out. She built the character of Luna—fierce, theatrical, and utterly impossible to ignore—and pushed every button she had to. In an environment that wasn’t built to welcome her, she crafted a persona that looked right at home in a Mad Max wasteland.

The film opens during what many consider wrestling’s most electrifying period: the WWF “Attitude Era” of the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was a time when spectacle often overshadowed sport, and some performers used that fame to pivot into film careers. Luna took a different path. She stayed committed to the craft itself, valuing sportsmanship over the hype.

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The Siege of Ape Canyon 100 Years Later: Rediscovering the Gold, Grit, and Ghosts of Bigfoot’s Most Famous Encounter

Cougar, Washington—the gateway to Mount St. Helens—anchors this century-old legend. Director Eli Watson’s film revisits the Siege of Ape Canyon through surviving family memories and quiet reflection, honouring how this local mystery became part of Pacific Northwest folklore.

Poster for The Siege of Ape Canyon documentaryComing to VOD Nov 11
AppleTV, Google Play, and YouTube

Although the gold rush was technically over, a handful of prospectors — Fred Beck, Marion Smith, Roy Smith, Gabe Lafever, and John Peterson — believed there was gold to be found in The Siege of Ape Canyon. This area near Mount St. Helens was still relatively unexplored in the 1920s; little did these men know it was also home to creatures of legend. Mass sightings of Bigfoot did not begin in earnest until after their encounter. And even after the eruption of the volcano, speculation remains rife about how many survived—or whether any did.

While Indigenous lore regarding the Sasquatch receives little emphasis in this documentary, what director Eli Watson presents is a focused examination of how the legend has gained notoriety. Producer Seth Breedlove (Small Town Monsters) backs a production that privileges storytelling and folklore over rigorous anthropological framing.

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Strange Journey: A Joyful Celebration of Rocky Horror’s Legacy

Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror is Linus O’Brien’s intimate look at his father’s work shows how Rocky Horror began and continues to inspire performers and fans alike, decades after its debut. For newcomers and longtime devotees, this film is a love letter to a cultural phenomenon that changed lives.

Strange Journey Rocky Horror PosterStrange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror is more than a chronicle of the cult phenomenon that reshaped pop culture. For me, it’s also a reminder of how Richard O’Brien’s work helped me through a difficult time. Although I didn’t embrace the movement when it first debuted, I knew this would be something special.

The music and narrative beats weren’t just campy pastiches of sci-fi and B-movies; they carried an undercurrent of yearning and freedom that resonated deeply when I needed it most as I navigated adult life. Seeing them revisited and reframed here reminded me why this show has always been more than glitter and fishnets.

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My Bigfoot Life and the Owlman Problem

My Bigfoot Life aims to explore one man’s entry into the Bigfoot hunting community, but it falters in execution. While Daniel Lee Barnett’s passion is undeniable, staged moments and questionable “evidence” weaken the documentary’s credibility. The result works better as a personal story of determination than as serious cryptid research.

My Bigfoot Life documentary movie posterNow Playing in Select UK Cinemas
Spoiler Alert

Although My Bigfoot Life is framed as a story about joining a larger community of cryptid hunters, I couldn’t help but feel something was missing. Somerset, UK, is steeped in supernatural folklore, and the film barely nods to it. Glastonbury Tor—long linked to King Arthur’s burial—and the Beast of Exmoor are famous fixtures of local legend. Including them would have rooted Barnett’s journey in a much richer cultural backdrop. Instead, the focus shifts away from a giant cat to the “world’s number one ape” (sorry, Kong).

I can’t fault directors Daniel Lee Barnett and Monika Gergelova for wanting to make their mark. This seems to be Barnett’s first feature-length project, and while the effort is obvious, the execution falters. Although his father is far more emotional about supporting his son’s endeavours, it’s best to take some moments in this documentary with a grain of salt. I recommend checking out his better-produced podcast, Mythical Legends.

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Folktales Review: Finding Courage in the Norwegian North

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.

Folktales Movie Poster DocumentaryIn 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.

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Will Aliens Uncovered Golden Frequency Spark Another ID4?

The answer is no, but it’d be scary if aliens decide to reveal themselves during before the big day, just like in the movie. Instead, what Aliens Uncovered Golden Frequency explores is the search and how contact might eventually be made.

Aliens Uncovered Golden Frequency PosterBreaking Glass Pictures

Releasing this review near Independence Day feels fitting. Maybe it will spark some new ideas. Clive Christopher’s long-running series has now ended with the release of the last episode, fully titled Aliens Uncovered Golden Frequency. When this work is a clever play on words about what the aliens are really after, I’m liking the exposition.

Here, the focus is on why UAPs keep showing up in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. They may well be after the gold deposits still buried deep underground. Although I do not recall if this documentary said they are the Anunnaki—a group said to need gold to save their home planet—that’s a safe assumption. This detail is often said in many a podcast or other conspiracy series.

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