STEAL MY SUNSHINE

It's the spooky season...

It’s spooky season. I’ve never really been scared of vampires, ghosts or goblins. Not even zombies or clowns. But, the human mind. That’s another story. That’s where the monsters are.

Summer is over and my favourite time of year has started. You’re likely to see a few horror posts in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll start this with some Canadian content. Canada has a fine tradition of contributing to the horror genre.

I’ve gone over some of this before in another post MAPLE SYRUP MAYHEM.

I have been fucking around with my own slasher screenplay. One I started during the pandemic on a dare from a friend. I wrote a nasty first draft in 10 days. I scrapped it and then re-outlined it. Then re-outlined it again. Then again. Now, only the title remains. Then I took walks and outlined it again in the form of recipe cards that I’ve pinned to the cork board beside my computer.

I’m sure if you look close enough you can figure-out the title…and like Mr.Rogers said “Always look out for the Helpers!”

Now. Why would I write a summer camp slasher movie? Well. I love them. And when asked why he made THE WILD BUNCH, Sam Peckinpah said “I made a western I would pay to see.” And like Sam, I’m a good whore.

Okay.

Back to the main subject…Canuck horror for the season…

If you want something more recent from Canadian slasher movies, check this out…

The slasher film on everyone’s lips this summer is Chris Nash’s “In A Violent Nature,” a film I called “deliciously disgusting but you can’t help but cheer” in my review out of the Overlook Film Festival. Instead of following a group of unsuspecting young adults trying to survive, “In A Violent Nature” follows the killer, showing audiences what goes on between the hacking and slashing.

In a recent interview, I asked Nash why he elected to follow a slasher in the woods as opposed to a slasher in the suburbs or in the confines of a sorority house, and he explained it was a matter of practicality. “Well, for it being my first feature and trying to get something together, there’s just the logistical aspect of, if we’re out in the woods, woods are everywhere,” he explained. He did say that he’d be interested in seeing what this approach would look like in a more “hustle and bustle” setting, but laughed thinking about what a logistical nightmare it would be to pull off. And Nash knows a thing or two about logistical nightmares, considering a huge chunk of “In A Violent Nature” needed to be re-shot. Well, “I didn’t have to re-shoot it, I coerced my producers into allowing me to reshoot it,” Nash clarified.

Meanwhile, I throw this Canuck One-Hit-Wonder on as it pumps in my earphones as I kill all the teenagers (and adults) in my slasher script…smiling as I do it…

Spooky season is here.

PS.

I hate this fucking song.