Apr 30th Horror Trivia Watchlist

To all those who came here from the event or the Trivia FB page, welcome! I am Jay, one half of the horror trivia quizmasters and this is my humble blog. Here's a selected list of titles mentioned at the last event. Click on the titles to be redirected to their Imdb listing. Horror Trivia Night happens at Storm Crow Manor in Toronto. If you're in the area, come on down! Register here.

Underwater (2020)

Screamboat (2025)

Parasite 3-D (1982)

The Rule of Jenny Penn (2025)

The Lift (1983)

The Tower (1985)

Behind The Mask (2006)

Rubber (2010)

Absentia (2011)

You Might Be The Killer (2018)

Why Horror? (2014)

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

Suitable Flesh (2023)

Frankenhooker (1990)

Iced (1989)

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Sting (2024)

The First Omen (2024)

Grizzly (1976)

Day of the Animals (1977)

Jaws of Satan (1981)

Frogs (1972)

Alligator (1980)

Night of the Lepus (1972)

Razorback (1984)

Nightwing (1979)

The Swarm (1978)

Squirm (1976)

The Nest (1987)

R.I.P Adam Lopez 1972-2025.

I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Adam Lopez this week. All of us in the Toronto film community knew he had been battling terminal cancer since 2021, but he was a fighter, outliving his initial six-month diagnosis by several years. It was a period of time he put to good use, travelling the world, spending time with family and, perhaps most importantly, saying his goodbyes.

Adam Lopez 1972-2025.

Adam was a lover of genre film and pop culture, a total Star Wars geek who loved people. He founded the Toronto After Dark Film Festival in 2006, not only to show cool films, but also to create a place that cinephiles could gather and talk about the movies they love so much. I met some of my closest friends at this festival. Adam, and his programming team (Peter, Shelagh, Shannon et al), screened four of my shorts over the years and it was always a place I felt at home. Adam's contribution to the Toronto horror scene is immeasurable and his enthusiastic presence will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Adam and revel in that big IMAX theater in the sky.

Short After Dark 2019

Despite missing both shorts programmes at Toronto After Dark this year due to my Ottawa trip, I was able to still catch them via screeners. Here are my faves from this year's selections made by programmer-at-large Shannon Hanmer.

On the international side of things, it was a particularly strong year with work that ranged from stunning animation (Carlos Baena's La Noria) to the blackest of comedies (Mia'kate Russsel's Maggie May), but for me there were two outliers;

Jason Gudasz's Place was a delightful exercise in absurdity. A brisk ten minutes, I immediately earmarked it to perhaps pair up with something we're playing at SFFF next month.

I also really dug Marc Martínez Jordán's Your Last Day On Earth, which possessed all the colourful quirkiness we've come to expect from the Spaniards along with a dash of Ray Bradbury.

TAD's commitment to Canadian content continued this year and I was pretty impressed by the visual polish on several of these, namely Kat Webber's Barbara-Anne and Neil Cavalier's Eilid & Damh.

It was also a good year for economy, as there were a pair of shorts that nailed it in under five minutes, these being Denman Hatch's Make Me A Sandwich and David Hamelin & Neil MacDonald's The Changeling.

On the other hand, equally as noteworthy was Geoffrey Uloth's Moment. Clocking in at twenty-two minutes, it remarkably kept me engaged, walking a tightrope between the startling and saccharine.

If I were to pick a top short, it would likely be Guillermo de la Rosa's A Noise That Carries. This one has atmosphere in spades and relied heavily on sound design and a supremely unsettling performance by Lee Lawson.

So that's another TAD in the bag. This was the sadly the first year in fourteen that I wasn't able to attend a single screening - a huge bummer - but I guess it shows how busy I've been. That's the Halloween season for you!

TAD 2019

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival is once again upon us. Check out this year's (the 14th) sizzle reel below.

Of the titles I've seen already, I recommend Paradise Hills, Come To Daddy and The Furies. TAD runs Oct 17-25. For ticket info, click here.

Shorts After Dark 2018

For its thirteenth edition, Toronto After Dark actually added more short films to their numbers this year. While we are usually treated to an International Programme and homegrown efforts before each feature, programmer Shannon Hanmer premiered an additional Canadian shorts block. As a programmer myself, I know that time restraints can often make you leave some solid stuff off the line-up so creating a separate program for longer form short films is a perfect solution.

Here were some of my faves from the week.

On the international side of the things were some really solid creepers, including 9 Steps from Marisa Crespo & Moises Romera and Paul Taylor's The Blue Door starring GoT's Gemma Whelan. 

The short film world is rife with clever sci-fi concepts, but very few are as well conceived as Heath Michaels' The World Over. I immediately dialed into the universe built here and the connection between the two leads, Tess Granfield & Brett Keating. That's a tall order when you only have fifteen minutes to work with.

The programme's only source of levity - the world is angry folks - was Sam KJ's PvP, a fun portrait of video game competitiveness with a nice homage to The Raid 2 thrown in.

It was unfortunate that a technical glitch caused the most traumatizing short - Alezandro Rios' Los Gatos - to be played last, leaving the audience completely reeling when the lights came up. I heard several stories of attendees rushing home to hug their pets afterwards.

Moving on to the Canadian shorts, I actually felt that they were the stronger offerings this year and Shannon made sure to run the gamut.

Coming off her short Ink last year, Ashlea Wessel stepped up her game with the fairly ambitious Tick that was not only larger in scope, but also took the opportunity to tackle long gestating social issues.

I mentioned sci-fi earlier and James Villenueve's The Ticket was likely the best POC I've seen in a while. Channeling V with a little Willy Wonka, it's definitely a concept I'd like to see more of.

Winnipeg native BJ Verot had not one, but two solid works in the fest with After The Rain and Echoes in The Ice, the latter of which being a terrific hybrid between Carpenter and Lovecraft.

I really dug Scott Riopelle's Split Decision, as it was a well executed piece using the urban legend setup of a stranger appearing on your doorstep at night as a starting point. Things got gorier from there.

Quang Ngo-Trong's The Windmill Man and Roney's Glitter's Wild Women also got some good laughs from the audience and music videos Death Van and Space Hustler (from Michael Enzbrunner & Carlo Schefter respectively) had me tapping my foot in the aisle.

My favourite short so far this year though has been Santiago Menghini's Milk. This is the kind of shit that makes my eyes water. Perhaps most impressive is that he takes an idea reminiscent of a two-sentence horror and keeps ramping it up. It doesn't hurt that his shorts are always soaked in atmosphere, as anyone who saw his 2014 effort Intruders will attest. Someone give this guy a feature!

Yes, the future is bright (and dark) ladies and germs.

TAD 2018

Hey all. The thirteenth edition of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival wrapped up last Friday. Though I wasn't able to attend as much as previous years, it was a strong line-up that seemed to be well received by the October faithful.

Not only were they able to bring some great films from Fantasia to the Big Smoke, including Tigers Are Not Afraid (one of my faves from last year that you can read about here), The Dark and Mega Time Squad, but they also brought in some real crowd pleasers making the rounds, like The Ranger and Anna & The Apocalypse.

Today though, I'd just like to highlight three titles I was impressed with during the fest.

This sci-fi western from Chris Caldwell & Zeek Earl was some really great stuff. I appreciated that Prospect's universe was literally built from scratch and was surprised by how much of it struck me as fresh and original. Buoyed by terrific performances by Sophie Thatcher and Prince Oberyn himself Pablo Pascal, I was completely immersed in this world.

The easiest way to describe Overlord is Band of Brothers crossed with the Resident Evil video games. JJ Abrams threw a lot of money at this movie and it showed from the opening seconds. This was also a movie that moved, as there's not an ounce of fat on this picture. Like Prospect, it also had some recognizable faces in Wyatt Russell (channeling a bit of his father as MacReady at points), Pilou Asbæk & Jovan Adepo. For those who think zombies have been done to death, I think Julius Avery may have given it another stay of execution.

Infamously known as the first movie to be conceived from a Twitter conversation between two writers, You Might Be The Killer was a really fun time. Seeing Fran Kranz again reminded me of Cabin In The Woods and just how much fun it is for horror fans to get together and gleefully deconstruct the genre we all love. There's also gore, some entertaining physical comedy, as well as the always delightful Alyson Hannigan. 

Drop by tomorrow for my first of two posts on TAD's selection of short films.

TAD 2018

The 13th edition of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival kicks off today with a solid nine days slate of features and shorts to satiate even the most hungry genre fan. While I won't be there as much as previous years this time around, I'm sure I'll check in with a round-up after all the dust has settled. Until then, see you... After Dark!

Short of the Week #24: Junko's Shamisen

This week I wanted to post a short film that I first saw way back in 2010. Part of Toronto After Dark's Canadian shorts programme that year, Junko's Shamisen by director Sol Friedman blew me away with its visual style. FYI for those who may think it's missing subtitles, only the opening is in Japanese.

As you can see, this live-action/animation hybrid has style to spare. Since 2010, Friedman has gone on to direct many more short films, including the highly amusing Day 40 in 2014.

Shorts After Dark 2017

This year, Toronto After Dark continued its tradition of showcasing short films from Canada and around the world. This was shorts programmer Shannon Hanmer's inaugural year (as former programmer Peter Kuplowsky has since moved onto curating TIFF's Midnight Madness) and she brought her A game. Here were some of my faves from this year.

The homegrown crop was especially strong this year. Toronto dynamo Justin Harding continued his streak of excellence with his newest short, Latched. In terms of production value, this short is a huge step-up and I think it's now only a matter of time before Harding wows us with a feature.

Stephane Lapointe's No Wave was the just the kind of stuff to which I respond. It was simple, dialogue driven and took something innocuous (in this case, those relaxation audio stations) and turned it into something sinister.

Shorts that played with standard genre conventions that I dug were Stephen Sawchuck's Fwd and Trevor Mirosh's The Freeze. Props to lead actress Abby Ross for channeling Katie Holmes from Disturbing Behavior in the latter.

On the science-fiction side of things, we had Phillip McKie's wonderfully colourful cyberpunk world of Breaker.

With Kuplowsky's exit, I was glad to see that Hanmer still kept some absurdity in the programme with Alecks Vujosevic's Schwartzy. Kept alive by an uncomfortably twitchy performance from star Keenan Marr Tamblyn, this short had a laugh-out loud conclusion.

Moving onto international wares, I was happy to see my favourite title from Fantasia, Natalie Erika James' Creswick, get in front of some Toronto eyeballs, as well as Todd Spence & Zak White's Your Date Is Here (which also screened at Fright Night Theatre earlier this year).

I loved the creepy intensity of James Bowsher's Withheld. It really mined the ever-growing concern we have about how vulnerable technology can make us. Adrian Selkowitz's Taste was a real standout, as well. After seeing it a few times now, I not only appreciate how good it looks, but also how well it's put together.

Lastly, I wanted to mention Jon Rhoads' Buzzcut. It likely cost the least out of all of these shorts I mentioned, but there was a raw energy that really won me over.

That's a wrap on another Toronto After Dark. The next one will be spooooky number 13 and you can be damn sure I will be there!

Endless Possibilities.

On Thursday, Toronto After Dark screened Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson’s newest film, The Endless.

Two brothers (Directors Moorhead & Benson) return to the commune of a mysterious cult they left several years before.

I was very much looking forward to this movie because frankly, these two make great films. During their intro, Moorhead & Benson explained that they had many offers after the successful festival run of their sophomore effort Spring, but they ultimately decided to go back to their roots after those all stalled. While it's true that decision meant smaller budgets, it also provided the fair trade of more control. And believe you me, they'd need it for a project like The Endless.

I don’t want to say too much about the movie itself because – like their debut Resolution – it is best to just let it happen, but these two movies do heavily tie into each other. The Endless shared a similar format as its predecessor, in that the entry point was something fairly standard and then went completely sideways from there. I really dug this. Moorhead & Benson vastly expanded the universe that we only glimpsed a tiny piece of in Resolution to the point that it was like getting two films in one.

Justin Benson (left) & Aaron Moorhead in The Endless.

Moorhead & Benson say they have a concise mythology written for these films and I believe that, as their movies do reveal more with each subsequent viewing. Stepping into the lead roles themselves, the directors seem to have even more focus toward their unique vision.

I liken The Endless to David Lynch's Fire Walk With Me. Not in subject matter of course, but just in how it related to what came before it. Twin Peaks, like Resolution, exists on its own – coincidentally both end in cliffhangers – but is significantly broadened in scope by the additional material. There were even thematic similarities between the fates of their characters and Lynch’s pre-Return Dale Cooper. I also adored that the communication through vintage media was carried over from the previous film, as well.

I am really glad that Moorhead & Benson are not only making films, but also dedicated to producing original content that smashes the norm. Even more admirable is that they had the opportunity to sell out and decided not to make movies by committee. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these guys and can’t wait to see where they go from here.

Let's Kill All the Lawyers.

On Tuesday, Toronto After Dark screened Joe Lynch’s Mayhem, a title to which I had been looking forward for quite some time.

When a virus that causes people's inhibitions to recede infects an office building, the white collar workers inside must wait out the quarantine while the effects subside.

Mayhem was crazy amounts of fun and Joe Lynch through and through. This was a perfect example of the solid genre content that him and his unofficial collective (including the likes of Adam Green & Paul Solet) have been making for over a decade now. Lynch has an energetic quality that permeates his work, but he also doesn't take himself too seriously. This film in particular was very polished and with having been shot in Serbia using pretty much one location, I'd wager that it cost much less than it looked like it did.

I should address the inevitable comparison to Greg McLean’s The Belko Experiment. The setup of both movies was similar, but the driving force behind both efforts was not. In Belko, the characters actions are based on survival, whereas Mayhem it was revenge, or depending on how you look at it perhaps even justice. Lynch's movie was definitely the more fun of the two, as clearly his main goal was to entertain by playing on the hot button issue of the downtrodden rising up against corporate oppressors.

Samara Weaving & Steven Yuen in Mayhem.

I do maintain that Belko was a much more edgy and mean spirited effort, but also not without humour. However, anyone who has seen James Gunn's previous indie work (namely Super) knows that his comedy is of a jet black nature.

Mayhem's construct allowed for more camaraderie between the two leads Steven Yuen and Samara Weaving and they made a fantastic pair. Her career is exploding and Yuen is doing very well after his exit from The Walking Dead. The movie's plot device was a little hard to nail down at times, as it appeared to be a rage virus like the one in 28 Days Later, but nowhere near as powerful or consistent. It was almost as if the actual violence perpetrated by the infected was a choice rather than a condition. It's a delicious concept, but never fully explored in my opinion. No matter, it didn't take anything away from the movie for me.

Mayhem was a super entertaining and slick horror comedy featuring a lot of great actors letting loose and having fun with the material.

Making the Impossible Possible.

Next up on the Toronto After Dark docket was a movie to which I was much looking forward in Justin Decloux’s Impossible Horror.

Two strangers named Lily & Hannah (Haley Walker & Creedance Wright) team up to investigate an unexplained phenomena taking place in their neighbourhood.

So full disclosure. I’ve known the people behind this movie for years and I contributed to the Indiegogo campaign, but bias aside Impossible Horror was a really fun watch and a special treat to see friends and locations with which I was so familiar on the big screen.

Decloux is a ravenous cinephile and it shows, as this movie was rife with influence, the bulk of which coming by way of the Asian horror movement, most notably Kyoshi Kurasawa, Takashi Miike and Shinya Tsukamoto. Yet even though he used many iconic moments in cinema as jumping off points, Decloux always seemed to land somewhere far from expectation.

Haley Walker (left) & Creedance Wright in Impossible Horror.

During his intro, Decloux confessed that he had always wanted to make a Lovecraft movie, but of course having no money meant there would have to be a distressing lack of monstrosity. To cleverly subvert this, he came up with the scream hunting angle and went from there. The resulting mystery and the energy with which it was portrayed were the real strengths of Impossible Horror.

To compensate for the low budget production values, Impossible Horror had some great sound design and the score was legit fantastic. Emily Milling wore many hats on the project, but this was her best contribution. On many occasions, I found myself being aware of how bangin' it was. I'd stack it up against some of the best soundtracks in recent memory.

After watching this, and his previous film Teddy Bomb, I've keyed into something unique about Decloux's style. His characters speak in a particular and calculated cadence that is very distinct. That requires a level of discipline that very few filmmakers possess. He is also very good at juggling genres, as in addition to J-Horror and Lovecraft, he also managed smatterings of kung-fu, buddy comedy, surrealism and, perhaps most resonant of all, a movie about making movies. I'm reminded of a scene in an alleyway where Lily walked by a random pile of tapping screws and used condoms. It's a bizarre combination that immediately makes you wonder how it came to be.

Director Justin Decloux (left) with cast & crew of Impossible Horror.

Decloux (and his equally talented co-writer/co-producer Nate Wilson) have continually showcased they can impress with micro-budgets, so imagine the horrors they will unleash if (when) they get some serious money behind them.

Twinsies.

So now all of the hoopla over the premiere is behind me I can concentrate on some of the titles that have been screening at Toronto After Dark. I've decided that I'm going to focus on the indies of the fest this year. First up is Aussie Luke Shanahan's Rabbit.

Maude (Adelaide Clemens) returns to her childhood home in South Australia when she starts having visions about her missing identical twin, Cleo.

Rabbit had a very slow and measured pace so I don't know if it will appeal to everyone, but I liked it well enough. I dug that what appeared to be a backwoods horror tale actually opened up into something more captivating about halfway through. Shanahan's script inhabited a much more philosophical space that, despite perhaps not answering all the questions it posed, certainly elevated the material.

Adelaide Clemens as Maude in Rabbit.

Aesthetically, I liked everything about the film. The dark and blanketing score by Michael Darren had me right into it from the get-go and the locations and cinematography were both top notch. Shanahan definitely had a clear vision (right down to the colour palette) of what he wanted and it showed.

Having said that, the bulk of the reason this movie worked at all was its star Adelaide Clemens. Not only was she playing dual roles, but they also required a wide range of emotion. She kept me invested throughout, even during the stretches where I wasn't sure Shanahan was leading me. In addition to Clemens, the film was populated with a lot of wonderful and strange players with a lot of character to spare.

Rabbit was an intriguing tale, spearheaded by solid performance and presentation.

TGS Premiere.

It was a fabulous weekend. The Good Samaritan, the short film that I wrote and produced for my longtime collaborator Darrin Suzuki screened at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival last Saturday.

Director Darrin Suzuki, actress Storm Steenson & I with programmer Peter Kuplowsky (left)

We were extremely fortunate to play to a packed house at the Scotiabank Theatre, due to us having been paired with the highly anticipated Korean action flick The Villainess. Our short seemed to go over well - nobody booed which is always a plus - and Darrin & I came away feeling pretty chuffed about it.

Clowning around with Taddy!

Now, onto the next!

After Dark 2017

Toronto After Dark unleashes its horrifying wares upon Toronto this evening. Among them is Saturday's premiere of my newest short made in collaboration with my good friend Darrin Suzuki.

Come on out and say hi if you are able. As for things here, aside from a brief look-in tomorrow for obvious reasons, I'll be swept up in the festivities all weekend so you likely won't hear from me for a bit. Until then, stay safe kiddies.

Also of Note.

Now that the Toronto After Dark titles have finally been released, I can also announce that the short film I wrote & produced for my good friend, Darrin Suzuki is also playing this year's fest.

Again, I am ecstatic to have something playing a festival so near and dear to me. I think this will be screening a year almost to the day that we were running around the fields & forests of Clarington, Ontario shooting it. If you happen to be in the GTA on Saturday the 14th at 6pm, come on out to the Scotiabank!

Toronto After Dark 2017

Toronto After Dark just announced this year's line-up and it's looking pretty damn good. With a mix of local efforts, festival darlings and anticipated sequels, it looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time at the Scotiabank Theatre this month.

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival goes from October 12th to 20th. For info on schedule and tickets, click here.