A curated list of unexplored Canadian horror films, featuring indie classics and masterpieces by directors like David Cronenberg, as well as hidden cinematic treasures. Includes movies about translucent succubi, sadistic serial killers, and eerie tales from a haunted hospital, all set against the backdrop of Canada's frosty and nightmarish landscapes.
Oh, Canada, our haunted, nightmarish land… That’s right, from way up North there are a ghostly host of movie monsters and frosty film frights. Aside from tragic Zamboni mishaps and maple syrup drainings gone wrong, a lot of scary things occur up yonder, and many have been captured by Canadian filmmakers.
While indie classics like Ginger Snaps and Grave Encounters, and David Cronenberg masterpieces like Videodrome and Scanners, typically receive all the glory, there are a bunch of unexplored, spine-tingling cinematic treasures to unearth. With movies about nearly-translucent succubi, like White Skin, and others centered on sadistic yet handy serial killers, including The Carpenter, there are a wide range of spooky sub-genres to indulge in.
Here is a very polite, but very creepy assortment of Canadian horror gems that no one below Minnesota has probably ever encountered. 10 'The Carpenter' Borrowing a critical plot element from 70s cult fav Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, where the protagonist is fresh out of a mental hospital and occupying a new home, The Carpenter has a lot of other fun and weird elements to offer. Directed by David Wellington, this guilty pleasure spectacle stars Lynne Adams as Alice Jarett, a lady starting fresh, and Wings Hauser as Ed, the handy carpenter who is quick with a smile…and even quicker with a lethal power saw.
Indeed, the titular carpenter is a homicidal maniac…or is he? Wellington raises a lot of interesting questions, mostly related to Alice’s mental state and whether the murderous visions she’s experiencing are real or imagined.
While this results in mostly good ole, campy hijinks , the final moments of this film find Alice summoning the strength to defeat the evil entity plaguing her home, as she fervently reclaims her sanity. 9 'The House by the Lake' Dentists are often portrayed unfavorably in films .
No exception here, as Chuck Shamata plays Harry, a morally questionable oral surgeon who brings his trophy girlfriend, the lovely, yet road-rage-prone Diane , to a remote cottage for a salacious getaway. Only one little caveat/cavity: Diane takes the wheel and gets into a confrontation on the road with some vengeful hicks — who then stalk and terrorize the couple.
Writer-director William Fruet used some loosely-based facts surrounding a similar Canadian home-invasion crime for the basic source material, while he amped up the tension and brutality of all the incidences depicted. Overall, this is a great little slasher/revenge flick, with a message about how one shouldn’t mess with women .
The House by the Lake is very uncomfortable and icky, but does make the audience confront some basic truths regarding the depths that humans can sink to, and the reserves of strength some possess. 8 'Tales from the Gimli Hospital' If David Lynch made a film about a Manitoba fishing village, this would be it. This hyper-surreal movie takes a bizarre look back at the history of an accursed town, all within the framework of a grandma telling her grandkids the tale .
Here intrepid director Guy Maddin employs a barrage of old-timey techniques to tell the story of two Icelandic fishermen stuck together in quarantine during a plague that descended a century before. They vie for the attention of the nurses, all while relaying their exploits and anecdotes about their mutually adored sweetie: some lady named Snjofridur. All the while, things seem headed for a very dark turn.
Tales from the Gimli Hospital is shot in the expressionist style that was popular in Europe during the time the main action of the film takes place. Ergo, it’s visually quite interesting, somber, and moody as all heck.
This film is also rife with dark humor and sardonic charms; definitely an intriguing watch for strange art house horror fans. 7 'Ghostkeeper' Old, mostly vacant hotels are always a good location for a scary movie . Director Jim Makichuk leads his protagonists to just such a structure, after their snow mobiling trip is derailed .
Here they encounter the alleged care taker, an elderly woman, Georgie Collins, who is very hospitable…despite the fact that she’s got her psychopathic son living in one of the rooms and an indigenous monster of some sort chained up in the basement. Of course, this list was going to include some snow mobiles , but Makichuk’s use of all the Northern components in Ghostkeeper is wonderfully weird and well executed.
The trio of friends, led by Riva Spier as Jenny, go through a harrowing experience , where only Jenny survives. However, she ultimately faces a fate potentially worse than death... 6 'The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches' Based on the bleak book by Gaétan Soucy of the same name, The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches tells a grounded, yet very odd story.
The titular protagonist of this fretfully freaky film is indeed a little girl, La jeune fille , who grew up in a remote shack with her brother and father. Oh, and her father was determined to raise her as a boy, so there’s that little nugget of information to mull over. Director Simon Lavoie takes the audience on a darkly intellectual journey to the moodiest corners of the mind.
The way the film is shot, framed tight and murkily lit, is a master class in disquieting ambiance setting. Lavoie gets a tremendous performance out of the young Marine, who conveys the heartbreaking emotions of her circumstance with her wide eyes and smoldering glares.
Overall, this film is a must-watch for fans of the kind of cerebral horror that sticks to your bones, and penetrates the soul. 5 'Backcountry' Hippos may kill a lot more people than bears every year, but the giant furry critters are somehow way more petrifying. Ergo, being stuck in the wilderness with a black bear on the hunt for human flesh is quite the scary prospect.
Even though most black bears are pretty chill, this story was inspired by horrific true events — and writer-director Adam MacDonald capitalizes on this gruesome occurrence, and the instinctual fears that accompany it, in the stark survival-thriller Backcountry with absolute flair. The plot is essentially this: a “big city” couple decides to push their relationship to the brink by sauntering into the deep woods for some camping fun.
It’s an age-old story about pride and ignorance, where the protagonists learn a ferociously harsh lesson from Mother Nature. Yet MacDonald makes the absolute most of his surroundings, capturing the lush, verdant forest all around in a way that is simultaneously awe-inspiring and terrifying. When the bear is eventually seen, it’s truly fierce and instills pants-wetting.
Nature suddenly transforms into what it sometimes can be: totally unpredictable and utterly savage. 4 'White Skin' This French language horror gives new meaning to the term “beyond the pale. ” The story is about a Montreal grad student, the nebbish Thierry , who develops a crush on an extremely fair-skinned ginger, Claire .
Oddly enough, the beautiful, mysterious pale woman reciprocates his affections and Thierry is overjoyed…until it’s revealed why she’s so into this oh-so-tasty nerd… Director Daniel Roby does a grand job of blending the typical vampire story with more esoteric, eccentric elements of succubus lore. The result is a nuanced film that acts as a metaphor for sometimes symbiotic, and often cannibalistic, relationships, where one partner leeches off the other, and the other, in turn, relishes in this.
Roby won the Best Canadian First Feature Film at TIFF , so this film definitely has some serious cinematic teeth…even if it needs an SPF of at least 50. 3 'Evil Words' Directed and co-written by Éric Tessier, this genre-hybrid is the most pulse-pounding selection on this list. Evil Words, based on the novel Sur le seuil by Patrick Senécal, is a trippy look into just what happens when someone has horrific premonitions that keep coming true.
With graphic religious iconography galore, this vivid film is a gruesome feast for the eyes. Subscribe to our newsletter for hidden Canadian horrors Uncover more offbeat Canadian horror picks and related film curiosities—subscribe to the newsletter for curated recommendations, context on overlooked movies, and thoughtful suggestions that extend beyond this topic. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The story may seem familiar to Stephen King fans, as it mirrors The Dead Zone in some ways. However, this tale is even darker than what King imagined . The plot is focused on a psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Lacasse , who is enlisted to treat an odd patient; a famed scary scriber, Thomas Roy , who has just attempted suicide by slicing off his own digits. Yeech.
It eventually comes out that all the horrific things Roy wrote about in his career came true — and, yup, Roy was just trying to stop the culprits…his own fingers which typed the atrocities. Tessier is fantastic at creating tension, eerie moods, and heart-thumping sequences.
He delivers a fine film that scares as much as it raises uncomfortable metaphysical and moral questions. 2 'The Interior' There is something distinctly Canadian about this movie. It’s hard to pin down exactly what that is, but the mixture of good-natured, wry humor and genuinely terrifying moments, all brought about by a gnawing fear of the unknown, makes this Trevor Juras film a well-designed voyage into minimal yet absolutely hair-raising horror.
Juras turns the concept of"dread" into the antagonist in this smartly conceived and chillingly presented popcorn movie. The protagonist, James , begins the film in the kind of rut that leads one to venture into uncharted forests for some meditative R&R . One can only assume that James didn’t anticipate a mysterious woods entity stalking and terrorizing him witless.
McFadden does a stellar job at expressing his trepidation, while keeping the character grounded and real .
The Interior, which seems to reference both the deepness of the woods he’s in and the cavernous, dark corners of James’s mind, is a great little film about paranoia, loneliness, and all the hidden things that go bump in the night that we just don't have names for... 1 'The Retreat' There aren’t a ton of quality lesbian slasher films out there, but director Pat Mills makes the argument that there certainly should be more with The Retreat.
The plot is focused on a couple with a somewhat strained relationship, the elusive Renee and the more traditional Valerie , who make the pilgrimage to a cabin for a fun little getaway with their friends. And then, a pack of homophobic mouth-breathing sadists are revealed, who want to murder them and their chums — all while streaming it live to their sick legion of highly disturbed"fans.
" It’s a fairly straightforward premise, but Mills does a lot more with this set-up than one may initially think . The feistiness of both Renee and Valerie, and the inventiveness of their kills and outright brutality of their survival instincts are on full display. Does this movie make you think twice about taking a trip with a partner and friends?
It should — but it also provides some highly entertaining revenge-based retribution and super strong queer characters to root for. COLLIDER Collider · Quiz Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving? Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you're not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it.
Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one. 🏕️Jason 🔪Michael 💤Freddy 🎈Pennywise 🪆Chucky TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → QUESTION 1 / 8INSTINCT 01 Something feels wrong. You can't explain it — you just know.
What do you do? First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty. ALeave immediately. I don't need to understand a threat to respect it.
BStay quiet and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it. CStay awake.
Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again. DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I'd rather know what I'm dealing with. ECheck everything, trust nothing.
The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 8ENVIRONMENT 02 Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong? Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.
ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people. BA quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight. CIn my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what's already in there.
DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things. ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you'd expect is a threat.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 8STRENGTH 03 What is your most reliable survival asset? Every survivor has a quality the villain didn't account for. What's yours? APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence.
BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out. CPsychological resilience — I've faced my worst fears before. They don't have the same power over me. DEmotional steadiness — I don't panic.
Panic is what gets you caught. EScepticism — I don't underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 8FEAR 04 What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through? Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it. AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer. BThe invisible — a threat I can feel but can't locate, watching from somewhere I can't see.
CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me. DThe unknowable — something ancient, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself. EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it's too late.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 8GROUP 05 You're with a group when things start going wrong. What's your role? Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn't. AThe one who says"we need to leave" first — and means it, even when no one listens.
BThe one who stays quiet, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does. CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to. DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed. EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 8MISTAKE 06 What's the horror movie mistake you're most likely to make? Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not. AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn't, but I can't leave them behind.
BAssuming I'm safe once I've found a hiding spot. That's when it finds me. CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy.
DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I'm dealing with. EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That's exactly what it wants.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 8ADVANTAGE 07 What's your best weapon against something that can't be stopped by conventional means? Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it. AThe environment itself — I use the terrain, the water, the geography against it.
BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn't expect. CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon. DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on. EImprovisation — I use whatever's at hand, however unconventional.
Creativity over brute force. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 8FINAL SCENE 08 It's the final scene. You're the last one standing. How did you make it?
The final survivor always has a reason. What's yours? AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me.
BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it. CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most. DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed.
EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it. REVEAL MY VILLAIN → Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated Your Best Chance Is Against… Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th Jason Voorhees Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit. Haddonfield, Illinois · Halloween Michael Myers Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it's too late for anyone who isn't paying close enough attention.
Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised. Derry, Maine · It Pennywise Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
Chicago · Child's Play Chucky Chucky's greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it's already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ Like The Retreat R Thriller Horror Release Date May 21, 2021 Runtime 82 minutes Director Pat Mills Writers Alyson Richards Cast See All Powered by Expand Collapse
Canadian Horror Indie Films Ghost Stories Cult Classics Ginger Snaps Videodrome Scanners White Skin The Carpenter Death Weekend Tales From The Gimli Hospital Ghostkeeper Wendigo Snowmobile Horror
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