Toronto After Dark: Impossible Horror Review

Impossible Horror
Directed by Justin Decloux
Written by Justin Decloux and Nate Wilson
Starring Haley Walker, Creedence Wright, April Etmanski

Review by Stephanie Cooke

Monday evening at Toronto After Dark was the premiere of the local feature, Impossible Horror. The film is directed, written, produced and starred local talent. The director told us beforehand that the actors poured their heart and soul into the project. And that’s something evident even as the film was introduced.

But before we got to that, part of the Toronto After Dark tradition is airing a short film. The short before Impossible Horror was called Stray Dog. This short was about a man who hits a boy with his car on Christmas Eve. As the boy tries to use the incident as leverage, things get more and more tense until everything finally comes to a head. It was a great short, which fell into the realm of a sort of mini psychological thriller. Director Michael Mazzuca packed a lot of story into the film. I was impressed with the punch it packed.

This led us to the feature film, Impossible Horror, which was made locally by Justin Decloux. The film follows around a young filmmaker named Lily as she tries to pick her passion back up again. As she tried to find something to make a film about, she stumbles across another young woman who is trying to solve the mystery of a scream that resonates throughout their neighbourhood late at night. A scream that leads to other strange occurrences. As Lily spends more and more time on the mystery, she becomes more and more consumed by it and the need to figure it all out and finish her film.

Prior to the film starting, Decloux told us that its a little slower paced, which I tried to anticipate, however, I didn’t find the film particularly slow at all. I enjoy the overall story laid out before us. It allows you to take in the characters, the atmosphere, the jump scares every now and again, and everything else.

I loved the two lead actresses who were charming as heck and just a lot of fun to watch on screen, played by Haley Walker and Creedence Wright, respectively. Wright brought so much fun into the film in a completely organic way with a very natural stage presence. Sometimes I forget that horror movies can be funny as well as scary. It takes watching one such film to remember that when done right, it’s a great combination. For me (aka a wimp), having comedic relief amongst the tension and scares helps me enjoy the overall film more. I’m able to relax and let my guard down for a little while. Walker and Wright worked wonderfully together, and Decloux was able to bring out fantastic performances from the both of them.

The music and the score were absolutely perfect. I’m not just saying this because I happen to know Emily Milling. I’m saying this because she’s exceptionally talented and mark my freaking words: she is going to be on everyone’s radar in the near future (slightly related: watch this video of Emily doing a live performance of a song about her mom being afraid of werewolves). Milling had countless roles within this project, but with a score akin to Stranger Things, It Follows, The VVitch, etc. She truly shone as she breathed, even more, life to the film with meticulous affection.

Verdict:
Check it out! You can follow the film and how you can watch it over on CanMake. It’s a great piece of Canadian indie horror cinema that is perfect for an October night when you want to get your spooky on. Filled with more atmospheric horror as opposed to jump scares, anyone can sit down and enjoy this film for what it is and appreciate this fantastic passion project.