The Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival (BITS) is dedicated to bring the best of Canadian Genre Cinema. This year’s line-up of films includes some very exciting films, both feature and short length. Already underway at the Carlton Cinema and running until Sunday, November 30th, BITS is sure to make a splash in Toronto this weekend.

Here I give you my first preview of what to check out at BITS Saturday, November 29th.

Queen of Blood – 4:00pm

This is an atmospheric, experimental horror following the success of director Chris Alexander’s Blood for Irina. It continues to look at the vampire myth; in this case, the rebirth of Irina (Shauna Henry). In Queen of Blood, vampire Irina continues to wonder the countryside for more victims. Not far behind is a vampire slayer (played by Skinny Puppy’s Nivek Ogre). The slayer is no match for Irina, however, whose hunger for blood is never truly satiated.

Still from Queen of Blood Courtesy of BITS

The film contains zero dialogue, so it will not appeal to some audiences, however, it does have good visuals. I found the time setting and location interesting and went along for the ride. I also liked the score, which helps in creating the tone and pacing of the film. The score was composed by Alexander himself. It is reminiscent of some of the scores in earlier horror films. The costume design by Toronto-based artist Alex Kavanagh is actually well done, too.

I find watching films with minimal to no dialogue can be challenging. However, they are not to be dismissed. In the case of Queen of Blood, I think those who like more of the art-house and experimental type of films will find something to like here. It is not quite Carl Dreyer’s Vampyr but it has its merits. If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, feel like a challenge, like vampires, this is one for you.

Bloody Knuckles – 9:30pm

Horror comedies are some of my favourite type of films. When I read about Bloody Knuckles I knew it was one to watch. It revolves around Travis (Adam Boys), an underground comic books artist, who loses his drawing hand after his satirical and controversial work seriously ticks off a gang kingpin (Kasey Ryne Mazak). The content of some of Travis’ comics can certainly offend many, but there is always room for a little controversy… At least, that’s he thinks until the gangsters decide it’s time for him to pay.

The film contains all kinds of goodies, like kick ass fights, gruesome deaths, and of course, lots of blood. I actually read an article where director Matt O’Mahoney mentions the productions was very low budget. They used a lot of old-fashion make-up effects and such, especially around filming the severed hand.

Bloody Knuckles is definitely an outstanding, fun horror comedy. I had several laugh out loud moments, as well as, “oh no, did I just see that?” instances. Definitely not for the prude types, but for those of you who like gorey action, peppered with some smart humour in between.

Honorary mentions
Teddy Bomb – 11:59pm

Picture this: A beer delivery boy, Chris (Christian Murdoch), inadvertendly passes a crime scene. While trying to get out of there, he takes with him a talking teddy bear. Except this is no ordinary bear. This cute little pal turns out to be a robotic ticking time bomb; set to denote in 48 hours. Teddy bear in hand, Chris recruits the help of his best bud and hottie nerdy girlfriend in order to find a code to deactivate the bomb. Hot on their trails are a gang of cyborgs led by The Man, whose sole purpose is to retrieve Chris’ plushy new friend and create chaos in the world.

Still from Teddy Bomb Courtesy of BITS

Terry Bomb is a fun film that does not aim to be a serious film by any means. It is punctuated by a lot of silly lines with some funny action and chase sequences. At times, it may even feel a bit cheesy… but that’s okay. I think the filmmakers purposely made it so.

At times the film seemed a little disjointed and I felt a bit confused, but with some action in between, I found myself laughing and wanting to know what would become of Chris. Would he and the teddy bomb survive? If you’re curious, too, then tonight’s screening is the time to find out what happens.

One thing to keep in mind when watching these other indie genre films is that the filmmakers often have restricting to almost no-budget. They and their crew make this film because they are fans of the genre and because they want to bring us something to laugh or even scream at. Canadian Genre Cinema is not lacking in talent by any means. This is why BITS is one festival where we can sample these films and others.

For more information on BITS, full scheduling times and more, visit bloodinthesnow.ca.