Movies
Genre: Horror
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
When her great aunt dies, famed horror hostess Elvira heads for the uptight new England town of Falwell to claim her inheritance of a haunted house, a witch’s cookbook and a punk rock poodle. But once the stuffy locals get an eyeful of the scream queen’s ample assets, all hell
Possession
Banned upon its original release in 1981, Andrzej Żuławski’s stunningly choreographed nightmare of a marriage unraveling is an experience unlike any other. Professional spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani, in a role that earned her Best Actress at Cannes)
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Werner Herzog’s only horror film is as rich with artistry and tragedy as his most grounded, human work. It is 1850 in the beautiful, perfectly-kept town of Wismar. Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz, DOWNFALL; WINGS OF DESIRE) is leaving on a long journey over the Carpathian Mountains to finalize real estate
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
“She’s alive!” The Rio Theatre‘s seasonal deep dive into Halloween-y favourites continues on Saturday, October 25 with one of the all-time great monster movies, James Whale‘s iconic THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. This 1935 sequel to Whale’s 1931 film FRANKENSTEIN (also screening October 25 as part of a Double Creature Feature)
The Mummy (1932)
A team of British archaeologists led by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron) discover the mummified remains of the ancient Egyptian prince Imhotep (Boris Karloff), along with the legendary scroll of Thoth. When one of the archaeologists recites the scroll aloud, Imhotep returns to life, but escapes. Several years later,
VIFF 2021: Saloum
Kicking off at a velocity that would leave most Mission: Impossible entries in its dust, Jean Luc Herbulot’s breathless genre gem vaults us into a darkly poetic, wholly cinematic realm. Having orchestrated a coup in Guinea-Bissau, extracted a foreign drug lord, and absconded with a gold bounty, the Bangui Hyenas—Chaka
VIFF 2021: The Scary of Sixty-First
When college friends Noelle (Madeline Quinn) and Addie (Betsey Brown) secure an affordable apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, it’s not only too good to be true but worse than they could’ve ever imagined. They’ve barely unpacked when an exceedingly strange investigator (director Dasha Nekrasova) darkens their doorstep and shares
VIFF 2021: Kicking Blood
Robbie (Luke Bilyk) and Anna (Alanna Bale) cross paths courtesy of a “meet macabre:” he’s a despondent alcoholic in desperate need of a drink, while she’s a high-on-hemoglobin immortal who’s looking for her latest fix. Unexpectedly enchanted with his take-it-or-leave-it approach to life, a disarmed Anna stows Robbie away in
VIFF 2021: The Beta Test
In the post-Weinstein era, the fragile Hollywood ecosystem of predatory talent agencies and investors is a house of cards teetering on collapse. Jordan Hines (Jim Cummings), an ambitious but struggling agent trying to preserve his way of life, receives an anonymous invitation to a no-strings sexual encounter. Obsessed with uncovering
Don’t Say Its Name (BC Premiere! Featuring Director Q&A)
This small, snow-covered Indigenous community is about to see an upturn. Mining company WEC has just made an agreement for drilling on this tribal land, and it’s looking like everyone will benefit – except the land itself. Local activist Kharis Redwater is one of those protesting the deal when