Warning - disturbing/mature content and images  Z (Dir. Brandon Christensen) TORONTO PREMIERE (83 mins) A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend. MY TAKE: The director mentioned during Q&A that budget constraints dictated the look of the terrifying imaginary friend at the centre of this picture, Z, but I must say, they dealt with it in a way that made Z seem like an expensive and sophisticated CGI creation. Only quick "full reveals" to see, otherwise we're mostly seeing Z through his actions and the behaviour of other characters (not to mention a glimpse out of the corner of the eye here and there). Another strong ensemble cast fleshes out the characters (whether they annoy you at times or not, it's all a part of who they are and a larger back story). I really enjoyed the twists and turns of plot, including the lead's final solution to the problem...though I very much doubt there's any way to completely get rid of this insidious "friend." And wait for what Kirk Haviland of Blood in the Snow referred to as a truly jaw-dropping moment about midway through the film - it's really something!  THE REMNANT (Dir. Navin Ramaswaran) (16:45 mins) A team of con artists posing as paranormal investigators steal from the home of an affluent elderly woman, only to find themselves unleashing a dormant malevolent spirit. MY TAKE: Creepy cool meets the art world, once again! There's a larger story here, and I hope someday the filmmakers see fit to expand this story line. The Results are in...the Bloodies Closing Night Awards... Blood in the Snow 2019 Award Winners Best Feature: Z Director: Brandon Christensen Producers: Chris Ball, Brandon Christensen, Kurt Harder, Colin Minihan Best Short: ROMI Director: Robert Cuffley Best Webseries: DEEP SIX Director: Davin Lengyel Best Director: BRANDON CHRISTIENSEN (Z) Best Actress: OLUNIKE ADELEYI (She Never Died) Best Actor: HESTON HORWIN (Dead Dicks) Best Ensemble: HAPPY FACE Cast of Happy Face Best Screenplay: DEAD DICKS Directors: Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer Best Editing: JEREMY LUTTER (Giltrude's Dwelling) Best Score: HATIRAS (Raveage) Best Cinematography: JULIAN GAROFALO (The Nights Before Christmas) Best FX: RYAN NICHOLSON (Puppet Killer) Best Poster: ONE IN TWO PEOPLE Best Podcast: WITCH FINGER PODCAST Creators: Yasmina Ketita, Megan Stinson and Morgan Lander Rising Star Award: CHRIS BAVOTA and LEE PAULA SPRINGER (Dead Dicks) Vanguard Award: AUDREY CUMMINGS (She Never Died) Night of the Living Dead VR...by Hollywood Suite I've never had any sort of virtual reality experience before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I had a lot of fun, despite my clumsiness with the controls (hey, it's my first time, after all). There's lots to explore inside an authentically recreated version of the ol' boarded up house at the centre of the Night of the Living Dead. You can interact with multiple objects, including the television set and radio, changing stations and whatnot. I really enjoyed the introductory part, where you drive up to the house in Barbara's car - you can look around at the entire scene and honk the horn, if you feel like drawing attention to yourself. Another nice touch - there's all sorts of video shorts you can view in the basement when you move each movie reel to the projector. You can sorta see this happening in the very short and shaky bit of video above that I shot while waiting my turn in line. And we didn't even have time to get to the shoot up the zombies part! I look forward to any future opportunity I may have to try this game again...I wanna brain some zombies, dammit! Subscribe to my newsletter/list tailored to the tastes of us cult movie fans and Frankenfiction aficionados - particularly those who love to mash up horror and comedy! If you'd like your own copy of my very own feature film B-movie parody (including my short film parody, The Scary Bitch Project, in the special features) you can buy the DVD of my feature film, Space Zombies: 13 Months of Brain-Spinning Mayhem!
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