Canadian Horror Movies?

Cafe Society
1

Sleeplessness got me thinking about the movie Pontypool and how I can’t recall a lot of other horror movies set up north.

I tried to seek some more out, but I seem to be having a difference of thought with Wikipedia. I want to define “Canadian Horror movie” as a horror movie that is set in Canada. I’m not sure what their definition is, but based on this list with lots of entries I’ve seen and know for a fact are not set in Canada, they have a different definition.

So… what can you recommend for horror movies set in Canada?

Or un-recommend? Canada must be the setting for some terrible B movies too, I’m sure.

2

Their definition is almost certainly ‘horror films made in Canada’ or ‘horror films made by Canadian companies’.

As for films set in Canada…I’m pretty sure the Ginger Snaps series is, though it’s only clear in the third (distant prequel) film.

Then there’s Kevin Smith’s horror-comedy Tusk which… Well…it’s not been well received. Though Smith does intend to release 2 sequels (the first of which is supposed to premier at Sundance this year).

3

I think most Canadian-made horror movies were, to maximize their audience, set in a generic “North American” setting.

However, I believe that Videodrome and Dead Ringers were explicitly set in Toronto (David Cronenberg is a proud Canadian).

Savage Messiah is more of a drama than a horror film but it’s based on a true story and openly takes place in Ontario/Quebec.

4

Oh, and Wedding in White is another very dark drama that might as well be a horror film. It’s also openly set in Canada - the small-town Canadian atmosphere is authentic and as creepy as it gets.

5

A couple nights ago, I saw “The Returned,” on Netflix. Zombie film set in Toronto. Well worth your time.

6

Resident Evil, and as any Toronto resident will attest, raccoon city is indeed apt moniker.

Declan

7

Ginger Snaps is an excellent werewolf movie, which ranks just behind American Werewolf in London. It is somewhat handicapped by a poverty-row budget, but has great characters and a genuinely different story line, something rare in the werewolf genre.

8

Well, there’s The Invited.

Canadians are too polite to just drop in.

9

Canadian TV series seem to have been moving away from this convention lately, and just setting shows in Canada e.g. Flashpoint, The Listener, and Continuum. Maybe there is/will be a similar shift in films.

10

I’m not sure if the future parts of Continuum are set in Canada, in the sense that Canada as we know it might not exist in 2077.

/pedant

11

I randomly watched Wolfcop when it came up on Netflix. Was not disappointed

12

I remember The Gate (1987) being filmed north of Toronto

13

There is also a sequel, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed and a prequel, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

14

Yes, but the first one is really, really good. The other two are OK, but…

15

I had a friend who worked on that series. “Raccoon City” indeed gets a laugh from every Torontonian. :smiley: [Has anyone made a horror movie in which the raccoons of Toronto rise up and take over? And how would that differ from a documentary? :stuck_out_tongue: )

The Changeling is a Canadian movie, though it is set in the US - and one of my favorite horror movies of all time!

16

Well, Pom Poko is about raccoon DOGS (tanuki) rising up. Not a horror, although their giant testicles are scary. It’s a kids movie!

Canadian sequel idea though: Titanic Totoro Terrorizes Toronto.

17

Followed by Mega Mothra Mashes Mississauga.

18

The Thing That Was Impolite

19

David Kronenberg made several films in Canada.

20

* Beavra! *