R.J. Glass gives his audience a parental nightmare with his short film Benny’s Second Birthday. Full of rightful paranoia, this is a psychological horror that ticks the right boxes. Little Benny is turning two years old, but when his pregnant mother Claire (Allegra Edwards) starts encountering strangers who seem to
Category: Reviews
Fawn ★★★★★ HollyShorts 2026
Molly Mayhew has made an utterly heartbreaking look at childhood trauma with her short stop-motion animation, Fawn. A terrifically sad story backs up gorgeous designs. Exceptional. Following the sudden passing of her parents, Fawn is forced to return to a house she hasn’t called home in a very long time.
Hide ★★★★★ Hollyshorts 2026
Brenden Hubbard’s short horror film Hide exceptionally uses suspense and world-building to leave audiences terrified for the fates of a father and daughter. Perfectly utilising the themes of grief and routine, this is a must-watch. Still reeling from a tragic loss, a father (Alejandro Rose-Garcia and daughter (Ionie Olivia Nieves)
The Inheritance ★★★ 1/2 Hollyshorts 2026
The Inheritance is a strong, unsettling short that explores the challenges mixed-race couples face as they delve into their ancestors’ past. Destinee Stewart keeps her audience uncomfortable throughout the fifteen-minute runtime. When Venus (Arie Thompson) joins her wife Harley (Hetty Abbott) on a remote family estate, unsettling visions collapse past
Aurora ★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival 2026
Writer/director Angad Aulakh swings for the fences with his fantastic sci-fi short film Aurora. For the most part, he succeeds, especially visually. It’s a short film that deserves your time. Stranded in the farthest reaches of space. When on a mission, the sole survivor, Freddie (Guy Kent), of a catastrophic
20 Films to watch at Fantasia Festival 2026
If you are anything like me, one of the funnest parts of the year is waiting until the full Fantasia Festival program is released and just browsing through all the films on offer. For the vast majority of these films, the most I have seen is the trailer and a
Atəm kʷaθ nan (Namesake) – ★★★★★ Hot Docs 2026
Atəm kʷaθ nan (Namesake) is a tremendously emotional and necessary documentary, showing us how lost some communities are in their efforts to recognise and respect Indigenous people. If we could all live with the attitude of the Tla’amin Nation, we would be a lot better off for it – A
Searching for Drug Peace ★★★★ Hot Docs 2026
Searching for Drug Peace is a raw, but careful conversation starter on the benefits of safe drug use and effective but still illegal methods of tackling the overdose crisis. Director Alisher Balfanbayev’s compelling and important documentary will reframe how people think about this highly political topic. Amidst a deadly overdose
The Tower That Built a City ★★★ Hot Docs 2026
Informative and engaging, The Tower that Built a City shows us the evolution of Toronto through an overly nostalgic lens. The result is a feel-good jaunt that anyone with a love for the city will finish watching with a smile. Since 1976, Toronto’s skyline has been defined by the iconic
Concrete Turned to Sand ★★★★ Hot Docs 2026
Ryan Ermacora and Jessica Johnson’s Concrete Turned to Sand is a magnificently shot, contemplative visual essay that blows you away with its meditative immersion in the rising warmth and acidification of the oceans that affect BC oyster farmers. Cortes Island is a coastal paradise in British Columbia’s Discovery Islands archipelago.
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