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Lack of local media, Meta's news block impact Northwest Territories residents' access to information – The Globe and Mail

Published

1 year ago

August 20, 2023

This Aug. 13 image provided by Sylvia Webster shows smoke rising from wildfires near Yellowknife, NWT.SYLVIA WEBSTER/AFP/Getty Images

Residents of the Northwest Territories are feeling the effect of the news vacuum on Facebook as they flee communities that are under threat by wildfires.

But industry observers say the regional media landscape was barren long before Meta – Facebook’s parent company – pulled news content from its platforms in Canada, and that the current situation highlights a long-standing dearth of local news coverage.

Up to 50 per cent of Canadians use Facebook to find out what’s happening in cities and towns across the country, Dwayne Winseck, professor of communication and media studies at Carleton University, said Thursday in an interview.

Meta’s decision to block news in Canada is irresponsible, especially in times of crisis, he said. “It’s reprehensible.”

An emergency situation such as the fires in the Northwest Territories underscores the importance of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in disseminating news, Prof. Winseck said. “When these pathways to news are brutally shut down, as they have been with Meta, banning the distribution and sharing of news on its services here in Canada, we are right to be very concerned.”

Yellowknife’s 20,000 residents and two nearby First Nations have been ordered to evacuate by noon on Friday, as crews battle more than 200 blazes in the Northwest Territories. The wildfires have burned an area about four times the size of Prince Edward Island, but no deaths have been reported.

What’s the difference between an evacuation alert and an evacuation order in Canada?

Meanwhile, news outlets have been unable to post on Meta’s social media sites since earlier this month after the digital giant, in response to federal legislation, began rolling out its restrictions on Canadian news. The federal government’s Online News Act requires some tech giants to pay for news content shared or repurposed on their platforms. In response, Meta decided it would simply block news to evade the law’s reach.

Wildfire maps 2023: Tracking fires and air quality across Canada

In a statement Thursday, Meta said Canadians can use its platform to get help and check on loved ones in times of crisis.

“People in Canada can continue to use our technologies to connect with their communities and access reputable information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations,” the company said in an unsigned e-mail.

But Canadians can no longer access news on Facebook. Daniel Tsai, a lecturer in communication, culture, information and technology at the University of Toronto, said Meta’s actions are harming society and putting people’s lives at risk.

“People are not getting critical information such as what’s happening in Yellowknife, with the prospect of an entire town being burned down. It’s insane,” Mr. Tsai said.

“You have a town of 20,000 people that could be wiped out of existence, and no one can get any information on it through using social media apps like [Facebook]. It strikes me that this is a terrible decision by Meta. It shows how heartless and oblivious they are to their responsibility to society as a large corporation.”

For media industry observers such as Jeffrey Dvorkin, former director of the journalism program at the University of Toronto, the lack of news options for Canadians was a reality long before Meta’s ban. The dearth of local news on social media platforms such as Facebook merely reflects a larger crisis in the country’s media ecosystem.

Smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire fills the air and nearly blocks out the sun in Kelowna.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

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Evacuees from Yellowknife are greeted by Aurora Borealis as they arrive to a free campsite provided by High Level, Alberta.Bill Braden/The Canadian Press

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The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills of West Kelowna, B.C..DARREN HULL/AFP/Getty Images

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Residents who plan to shelter in place stock up on groceries as an evacuation order draws near in Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Residents board buses to the airport at the Yellowknife Flight Registration Centre at Sir John Franklin high school.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Evacuees from Yellowknife queue up to get gas at Big River Service in Ft. Providence, Alberta.Bill Braden/The Canadian Press

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People watch from downtown Kelowna, B.C., as the McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills above West Kelowna, B.C.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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A satellite image shows smoke rising over Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on August 15, 2023.MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Reuters

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The City of Kelowna, B.C., declared a state of emergency overnight while fire crews responded to spot fires coming across Okanagan Lake.Shawn Talbot/The Globe and Mail

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Smoke from the McDougall Creek fire rises over Okanagan Lake, across from Kelowna, B.C.Joe O’Connal/The Canadian Press

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The McDougall Creek wildfire spreads around Okanagan Lake near Kelowna, B.C.Shawn Talbot/The Globe and Mail

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People watch from downtown Kelowna, B.C., as the McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills above.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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People line up outside a Yellowknife school to register to be evacuated as wildfires threaten the Northwest Territories’ capital city.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Vehicles line up for fuel at Fort Providence, N.W.T., on the only road south from Yellowknife.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

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As wildfires threaten the Northwest Territories city of Yellowknife, the sky turns pink overhead.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Flames from the McDougall Creek wildfire advance during the night near Kelowna, B.C.Shawn Talbot/The Globe and Mail

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People wait in line at the airport as they prepare to be evacuated from wildfires threatening Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Yellowknife residents embrace as they wait to be evacuated from wildfires.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Lines at the airport in Yellowknife as evacuations continue from wildfires.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Aerial view of Yellowknife as wildfires threaten the Northwest Territories’ capital.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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A helicopter carrying a water bucket passes a sign that warns of forest fire smoke outside Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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An evacuee from Yellowknife arrives at the airport in Edmonton with her dog.AMBER BRACKEN/Reuters

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Yellowknife evacuee Jamie Fradsham, her daughter Ivy Droesse, her mom Jackie Fradsham and son Sterling Droesse at Edmonton’s airport.AMBER BRACKEN/Reuters

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A person stands in Okanagan Lake near downtown Kelowna, B.C., as the McDougall Creek wildfire burns.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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Vehicles line up for fuel at Fort Providence, N.W.T., on the only road south from Yellowknife.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

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Warrant officer Mike Albright updates people waiting in a school gym who registered to be evacuated by plane from Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Keith Swirlle rests in his truck after directing traffic from Yellowknife in Fort Providence, N.W.T.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

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The road is closed north to Yellowknife from Fort Providence, N.W.T.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

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A long line of cars evacuating from Yellowknife wait to fill up with gas at Fort Providence, N.W.T.,Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

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Beatrice Bernhardt, Yellowknife resident since 2013, in Calgary’s airport after evacuating.Jude Brocke/The Globe and Mail

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A resident takes a photo of the burning McDougall Creek wildfire from downtown Kelowna, B.C.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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Woman and her dog watching the wildfire from downtown Kelowna, B.C.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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A group of people watch from downtown Kelowna, B.C., as the McDougall Creek wildfire burns.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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A person watches smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire from downtown Kelowna, B.C.Aaron Hemens/The Globe and Mail

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Chuck Davidson of Matrix Aviation, loads supplies for firefighters in Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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A resident waters the trees on his property in the neighbourhood adjacent to Grace Lake in Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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A city worker places hoses along the firebreak in Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Animals are offloaded in Edmonton from a Buffalo Airways plane coming from the Northwest Territories.ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images

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Darlene and Wes Churchill are reunited with their son’s dog, Rosco, in Edmonton, from a plane in Yellowknife.ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images

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Volunteer Edmund Gill clears dry branches to create a firebreak in Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Residents set up sprinklers to protect their homes in the neighbourhood adjacent to Grace Lake in Yellowknife.JENNIFER GAUTHIER/Reuters

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Smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire fills the air in Kelowna.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

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Smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire blankets the area on Okanagan Lake, in Kelowna.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

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Local newsrooms in the North and the rest of the country have been deeply damaged by years of declining advertising revenue, which has largely migrated to companies such as Meta and Google.

The danger here, Mr. Dvorkin said, is that people will be forced to rely on information that cannot always be verified.

“We’re in a real dilemma,” he said. “And we’re going to see that now, especially with the whole city of Yellowknife being evacuated. Where are people going to get their information? How are they going to find out what’s the best way to get out of there? What is the state of the fires?”

One of the reasons why Facebook is popular as a news source, Mr. Tsai said, is because it takes in people’s personal information and preferences and its algorithms spit out messages tailored to that person.

Big tech and social media platforms, he said, have used that knowledge not just to become dominant players but have changed people’s news consumption and entertainment habits.

Mr. Tsai said for the short term, people can go directly to news websites and get verified and reliable information.

“People can consume news back the way it was before Meta and other social media platforms took over complete dominance,” he said. “We have to relearn how to make the wheel.”

In the long term, he said, Canadian media companies could unite to create their own social media platform and shun companies such as Meta and Google.

“I think now is the time to get creative, and not necessarily rely on government to come up with solutions … but to take another approach, which would be co-operating among competitors to leverage as many viewers or readers as possible,” he said.

“Have this coalition of news so that they work together and build a platform where they can all profit from it. That’s my take on it.”

Burned ground and smoke from wildfires can be seen from the air over the hamlet of Enterprise in the Northwest Territories. Meanwhile, thousands joined road convoys to flee a looming wildfire approaching Yellowknife.

The Canadian Press

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Bayo Onanuga battles yet another media – Punch Newspapers

Published

1 week ago

October 31, 2024

Harry Miller

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Bayo Onanuga battles yet another media Punch Newspapers

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Blood In The Snow Film Festival Celebrates 13 Years!

Published

3 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Sasha Stoltz

Blood in the Snow FILM FESTIVAL

Celebrates

13 YEARS

“Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid”

Toronto, on – Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS), a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian genre films are pleased to announce the popular Festival is back for its 13th exciting year. The highly anticipated Horror Film festival presented by Super Channel runs November 18th– 23rd at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre. The successful, long running festival takes on many different faces this year that include Scary, Action Horror, Horror Comedy, Sci-Fi and Thrillers. Festival goers will be kept on the edge of their seats with this year’s powerful line-up.

Blood in the Snow Festival begins with the return of alumni (Wolf Cop) Lowell Dean’s action horror feature Dark Match featuring wrestling veteran Chris Jericho followed by the mysterious Hunting Mathew Nichols. The unexpected thrills continue with Blood in the Snow World Premiere of Pins and Needles and the Fantasia Best First Feature Award winner, Self Driver. The festival ends this year on a fun note with the Toronto Premiere of Scared Sh*tless (featuring Kids in the Hall’s Mark McKinney). Other titles include the horror anthology series Creepy Bits and Zoom call shock of Invited by Blood in the Snow alumni Navin Ramaswaran (Poor Agnes). The festival will also include five feature length short film programs including the festivals comedy horror program Funny Frights and Unusual Sights and the highly anticipated Dark Visions program, part of opening night festivities. Blood in the Snow Film Festival Director and Founder, Kelly Michael Stewart anticipates this year’s festival to be its strongest. “This was the first time in our 13 year history, all our programmers agreed on the exact same eight feature programs we have selected.”

Below is this year’s horror fest’s exciting lineup of features and shorts scheduled to screen, in-person at the Isabel Bader theatre.

**All festival features will be preceded by a short film and followed by a Q&A with filmmakers.

Tickets for the Isabel Bader Theatre lineup on sale now and can be purchased https://www.bloodinthesnow.ca

Super Channel is pleased to once again assume the role of Presenting Sponsor for the Blood in the Snow Film Festival. We extend our sincere appreciation to the entire BITS team for their unwavering commitment to amplifying the voices of diverse filmmakers and providing a platform for the celebration of Canadian genre content. – Don McDonald, the CEO of Super Channel

Blood in the Snow Festival 2024 Full screening schedule:

Monday November 18th
7pm – Dark Visions

Shiva (13:29) dir. Josh Saltzman

Shiva is an unnerving tale about a recently widowed woman who breaks with a long-held Jewish mourning ritual in hopes of connecting with her deceased husband.

How to Stay Awake (5:30) dir. Vanessa Magic

A woman fights to stay awake, to avoid battling the terrifying realm of sleep paralysis, but as she risks everything to break free, will she be released from the grip of her nocturnal tormentor?

Pocket Princess (9:45) dir. Olivia Loccisano

A young girl must take part in a dangerous task in order to complete her doll collection in this miniature fairytale.

For Rent (10:33) dir. Michèle Kaye

In her new home, Donna unravels a sinister truth—her landlord is a demon with a dark appetite. As her family mysteriously vanishes, Donna confronts the demonic landlord, only to plunge into a shadowy game where the house hungers for more than just occupants. An ominous cycle begins, shrouded in mystery.

Lucy’s Birthday (9:29) dir. Peter Sreckovic

A father struggles to enjoy his young daughter’s birthday despite a series of strange and disturbing disruptions.

Parasitic (10:00) dir. Ryan M Andrews

Last call at a dive bar, a writer struggling to find his voice gets more than he bargains for.

Naualli (6:00) dir. Adrian Gonzalez de la Pena

A grieving man seeks revenge, unwittingly awakening a mystical creature known as the Nagual.

The Saint and The Bear (6:34) dir. Dallas R Soonias

Two strangers cross paths on an ominous park bench.

The Sorrow (13:00) dir. Thomas Affolter

A retired army general and his live-in nurse find they are not alone in a house filled with dark secrets.

Cadabra (6:00) dir. Tiffany Wice

An amateur magician receives more than he anticipated when he purchases a cursed hat from the estate of his deceased hero.

9:30 – Dark Match dir. Lowell Dean Horror / Action

A small time WRESTLING COMPANY accepts a well-paying but too good to be true gig.

Tuesday November 19th
7pm – Mournful Mediums

Night Lab (15:00) dir. Andrew Ellinas

When a mysterious package arrives from one of the lab’s field research stations, a promising young researcher uncovers a conspiracy against her masterminded by her jealous boss. She soon finds herself having to grapple with her conscience before making a life-or-death decision.

Dirty Bad Wrong (14:40) dir. Erica Orofino

Desperate to keep her promise to host the best superhero party for her 6-year-old, young mother Sid, a sex worker, takes extreme measures and books a last-minute client with a dark fetish.

Midnight at the lonely river (17:00) dir. Abraham Cote

When the lights go out at a seedy little motel bar, at the crossroads of a seedy little town, nefarious happenings are taking place, and three predators are enacting their evil deeds. Enter Vicky, a drifter who quickly realizes what’s happening right under everyone’s nose. After midnight, In the shadows of this dim establishment, evil begets evil, and the predator becomes the prey.

Mean Ends (14:58) dir. Émile Lavoie

A buried body, a missing sister and an inquisitive neighbour makes for a hell of an evening. And the sun isn’t close to settling on Eric’s sh*tty day.

Stuffy (18:26) dir. Dan Nicholls

A young couple sets off in the middle of the night to bury their kid’s stuffed bunny, as one of them is convinced that the stuffy might be cursed.

Dungeon of Death (18:33) dir. Brian P. Rowe

Torturer Raullin loves a work challenge, especially if that challenge involves hurting people to extract information from them.

9:30 – Hunting Matthew Nichols (96 mins) dir. Markian Tarasiuk

Twenty-three years after her brother mysteriously disappeared, a documentary filmmaker sets out to solve his missing person’s case. But when a disturbing piece of evidence is revealed, she comes to believe that her brother might still be alive.

w/ short: Josephine (6:15) dir. John Francis Bregar

A man haunted by his past seeks forgiveness from his deceased wife, but a session with two spirit mediums leads to an unsettling encounter.

Wednesday November 20th
7pm – BITS and BYTES

Ezra (10:57) dirs. Luke Hutchie, Mike Mildon, Marianna Phung

After fleeing the dark and demonic chains of his shadowy old home, Ezra, a killer gay vampire, takes a leap of faith and enters the modern world.

Head Shop (18:14 episode 1-3) dir. Namaï Kham Po

In a post-apocalyptic world, Anna’s life and work are dominated by her father Sylvestre, a short-tempered mechanic with a terrible reputation for tearing the head off anyone who dares cross him. He decides that she’s old enough to follow in his footsteps, much to her dismay. To prove herself, she must now decapitate her first victim. Can she find a way to defy fate?

D dot H (18 :15 episodes 1-2) dirs. Meegwun Fairbrother, Mary Galloway

Struggling artist Doug is visited by the beautiful and enigmatic H, who claims he holds the power to visiting “inconceivable places.” Still half-asleep, Doug is shocked when H vanishes suddenly and her doppelganger, Hannah, strides past.

Creepy Bits: “Last Sonata” (21:08) dir.

Adrian Bobb, Ashlea Wessel, David J. Fernandes, Sid Zanforlin and Kelly Paoli.

Set among forests, lakes, and small towns, Creepy Bits is a horror anthology series helmed by five innovative filmmakers exploring themes of human vs. nature, the invasion and destruction of the natural world by outsiders, and isolation within a vast, eerie landscape that is not afraid to fight back.

Tales from the Void: “Whistle in the Woods” (24:36) dir. Francesco Loschiavo

Horror anthology TV series based on stories from r/NoSleep. Each tale blends genre thrills & social commentary exploring the dark side of the human psyche.

9:30 – Self Driver dir. Michael Pierro Thriller

Facing mounting expenses and the unrelenting pressure of modern living, a down-on-his-luck cab driver is lured on to a mysterious new app that promises fast, easy money. As his first night on the job unfolds, he is pulled ever deeper into the dark underbelly of society, embarking on a journey that will test his moral code and shake his understanding of what it means to have freewill. The question becomes not how much money he can make, but what he’ll be compelled to do to make it.

w/ short: Northern Escape (10:38) dirs. Lucy Sanci, Alexis Korotash

A couple on a cottage getaway tries to work on their relationship but ends up getting more than they bargained for when they discover something sinister lurking beneath the surface.

Thursday November 21st
7pm – Funny Frights

Midnight Snack (1:41) dir. Sandra Foisy

Hunger always strikes in the dead of night.

Hell is a Teenage Girl (15:00) dir. Stephen Sawchuk

Every Halloween, the small town of Springboro is terrorized by its resident SLASHER – a masked serial killer who targets sinful teenagers that break ‘The Rules of Horror’ – don’t drink, don’t do drugs, and don’t have sex!

Gaslit (10:36) dir. Anna MacLean

A woman goes to dangerous lengths to prove she wasn’t responsible for a fart.

Bath Bomb (9:55) dir. Colin G Cooper

A possessive doctor prepares an ostensibly romantic bath for his narcissistic boyfriend, but after an accusation of infidelity, things take a deeply disturbing turn.

Any Last Words (14:22) dir. Isaac Rathé

A crook trying to flee town is paid an untimely visit by some of his former colleagues. What would you say to save your life if you were staring down the barrel of a gun?

Papier mâché (4:30) dir. Simon Madore

A whimsical depiction of the hard and tumultuous life of a piñata.

The Living Room (9:59) dir. Joslyn Rogers

After an unexpected call from Lady Luck, Ms. Valentine must choose between her sanity and her winnings – all before the jungle consumes her.

A Divine Comedy: What the Hell (8:55) dir. Valerie Lee Barnhart
Dante’s classic Hell is falling into oblivion. Charlotte,

sharp-witted Harpy, navigates the chaos and sets out despite the odds for a new life and destiny.

Mr Fuzz (2:30) dir. Christopher Walsh

A long-limbed, fuzzy-haired creature will do whatever it takes to keep you watching his show.

Out of the Hands of the Wicked (5:00) dirs. Luke Sargent, Benjamin Hackman

After a harrowing journey home from hell, old Pa boasts of his triumph over evil, and how he came to lock the devil in his heart.

The Shitty Ride (9:13) dir. Cole Doran

Hoping to impress the girl of his dreams, Cole buys a used car but gets more than he bargained for with his shitty ride.

9:30 – Invited dir. Navin Ramaswaran Horror

When a reluctant mother attends her daughter’s Zoom elopement, she and the rest of the family in attendance quickly realize the groom is part of a Russian cult with deadly intentions.

w/ shorts: Defile dir. Brian Sepanzyk

A couple’s secluded getaway is suddenly interrupted by a strange family who exposes them to the horrors that lie beyond the tree line.

+ A Mother’s Love dir. Lisa Ovies

A young girl deals with the consequences of trusting someone online.

Friday November 22nd
7:00 pm – Creepy Bits (anthology horror series)

Creepy Bits is a short horror anthology series that explores pandemic age themes of isolation, paranoia and distrust of authority, serving them up in bite-sized chunks. Directed by Adrian Bobb, Ashlea Wessel, David J. Fernandes, Sid Zanforlin and Kelly Paoli.

9:30 – Pins and Needles (81 min) dir. James Villeneuve Horror / Thriller

Follows Max, a diabetic, biology grad student who is entrapped in a devilish new-age wellness experiment and must escape a lethal game of cat and mouse to avoid becoming the next test subject to extend the lives of the rich and privileged.

w/ short: Adjoining (11:42) dirs. Harrison Houde, Dakota Daulby

A couple’s motel stay takes a chilling turn when they discover they’re being observed, leading to unexpected consequences.

Saturday November 23rd
4pm – Emerging Screams (94 mins)

Apnea (14:58) dir. David Matheson

A single, working mother finds her career and her offbeat son’s safety in jeopardy when she discovers that her late mother is possessing her in her sleep.

Nereid (7:48) dir. Lori Zozzolotto

A mysterious woman escapes from an abusive relationship with earth shattering results.

BedLamer (15:00) dir. Alexa Jane Jerrett

On the shores of a small fishing village lives a lonely settlement of men – capturing and domesticating otherworldly creatures that were never meant to be tamed.

Blocked (6:30) dir. Aisha Alfa

A new mom is literally consumed with the futility of cleaning up after her kid.

Dance of the Faery (10:23) dir. Kaela Brianna Egert

A young woman cleans up her estranged, great aunt’s home after her death. Upon inspection, she soon realizes that her eccentric obsession with fairies was not born out of love, but of fear.

Deep End (7:36) dir. Juan Pablo Saenz

A gay couple’s heated argument during a hike spiral into a nightmare when one of them vanishes, leading the other to a mysterious cave that could reveal the chilling truth.

Ojichaag – Spirit Within (11:21) dir. Rachel Beaulieu

An emotionally devastated woman seeks comfort in her choice to end her life. As she faces death in the form of a spirit, she must decide to let herself go to fight to stay alive.

Lure (9.56) dir. Jacob Phair

A tormented father awaits the return of the man who saved his son’s life.

Let Me In (10:00) dirs. Joel Buxton, Charles Smith

A reluctant man interviews an unusual immigration candidate: himself from a doomed dimension

7:00 pm –The Silent Planet (95 mins) dir. Jeffrey St. Jules Sci-fi

An aging convict serving out a life sentence alone on a distant planet is forced to confront his past when a new prisoner shows up and pushes him to remember his life on earth

w/ short: Ascension (3:57) dir. Kenzie Yango

Deep in a remote forest, two friends, Mia and Riley, embark on a leisurely hike. As tensions run high between the two, a strange humming noise appears that seems to be coming from somewhere in the woods.

9:30 – Scared Shitless (73 mins) dir. Vivieno Caldinelli Horror / Comedy

A plumber and his germophobic son are forced to get their hands dirty to save the residents of an apartment building, when a genetically engineered, blood-thirsty creature escapes into the plumbing system.

w/ short: Oh…Canada (6:20) dir. Vincenzo Nappi

Oh, Canada. Such a wonderful place to live – WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. A musical look into the artifice surrounding Canadian identity.

Tickets for the Isabel Bader Theatre lineup on sale now and can be purchased https://www.bloodinthesnow.ca/#festival

Follow “Blood In The Snow” Film Festival:

https://www.instagram.com/bitsfilmfest/

Media Inquiries:

Sasha Stoltz Publicity:

Sasha Stoltz | Sasha@sashastoltzpublicity.com | 416.579.4804
https://www.sashastoltzpublicity.com

Media

It’s time for a Halloween movie marathon. 10 iconic horror films

Published

3 weeks ago

October 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Sometimes, you just have to return to the classics.

That’s especially true as Halloween approaches. While you queue up your spooky movie marathon, here are 10 iconic horror movies from the past 70 years for inspiration, and what AP writers had to say about them when they were first released.

We resurrected excerpts from these reviews, edited for clarity, from the dead — did they stand the test of time?

“Rear Window” (1954)

“Rear Window” is a wonderful trick pulled off by Alfred Hitchcock. He breaks his hero’s leg, sets him up at an apartment window where he can observe, among other things, a murder across the court. The panorama of other people’s lives is laid out before you, as seen through the eyes of a Peeping Tom.

James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter and others make it good fun.

— Bob Thomas

“Halloween” (1978)

At 19, Jamie Lee Curtis is starring in a creepy little thriller film called “Halloween.”

Until now, Jamie’s main achievement has been as a regular on the “Operation Petticoat” TV series. Jamie is much prouder of “Halloween,” though it is obviously an exploitation picture aimed at the thrill market.

The idea for “Halloween” sprang from independent producer-distributor Irwin Yablans, who wanted a terror-tale involving a babysitter. John Carpenter and Debra Hill fashioned a script about a madman who kills his sister, escapes from an asylum and returns to his hometown intending to murder his sister’s friends.

— Bob Thomas

“The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)

“The Silence of the Lambs” moves from one nail-biting sequence to another. Jonathan Demme spares the audience nothing, including closeups of skinned corpses. The squeamish had best stay home and watch “The Cosby Show.”

Ted Tally adapted the Thomas Harris novel with great skill, and Demme twists the suspense almost to the breaking point. The climactic confrontation between Clarice Starling and Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) is carried a tad too far, though it is undeniably exciting with well-edited sequences.

Such a tale as “The Silence of the Lambs” requires accomplished actors to pull it off. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins are highly qualified. She provides steely intelligence, with enough vulnerability to sustain the suspense. He delivers a classic portrayal of pure, brilliant evil.

— Bob Thomas

“Scream” (1996)

In this smart, witty homage to the genre, students at a suburban California high school are being killed in the same gruesome fashion as the victims in the slasher films they know by heart.

If it sounds like the script of every other horror movie to come and go at the local movie theater, it’s not.

By turns terrifying and funny, “Scream” — written by newcomer David Williamson — is as taut as a thriller, intelligent without being self-congratulatory, and generous in its references to Wes Craven’s competitors in gore.

— Ned Kilkelly

“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)

Imaginative, intense and stunning are a few words that come to mind with “The Blair Witch Project.”

“Blair Witch” is the supposed footage found after three student filmmakers disappear in the woods of western Maryland while shooting a documentary about a legendary witch.

The filmmakers want us to believe the footage is real, the story is real, that three young people died and we are witnessing the final days of their lives. It isn’t. It’s all fiction.

But Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick, who co-wrote and co-directed the film, take us to the edge of belief, squirming in our seats the whole way. It’s an ambitious and well-executed concept.

— Christy Lemire

“Saw” (2004)

The fright flick “Saw” is consistent, if nothing else.

This serial-killer tale is inanely plotted, badly written, poorly acted, coarsely directed, hideously photographed and clumsily edited, all these ingredients leading to a yawner of a surprise ending. To top it off, the music’s bad, too.

You could forgive all (well, not all, or even, fractionally, much) of the movie’s flaws if there were any chills or scares to this sordid little horror affair.

But “Saw” director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, who developed the story together, have come up with nothing more than an exercise in unpleasantry and ugliness.

— David Germain

Germain gave “Saw” one star out of four.

“Paranormal Activity” (2009)

The no-budget ghost story “Paranormal Activity” arrives 10 years after “The Blair Witch Project,” and the two horror movies share more than a clever construct and shaky, handheld camerawork.

The entire film takes place at the couple’s cookie-cutter dwelling, its layout and furnishings indistinguishable from just about any other readymade home constructed in the past 20 years. Its ordinariness makes the eerie, nocturnal activities all the more terrifying, as does the anonymity of the actors adequately playing the leads.

The thinness of the premise is laid bare toward the end, but not enough to erase the horror of those silent, nighttime images seen through Micah’s bedroom camera. “Paranormal Activity” owns a raw, primal potency, proving again that, to the mind, suggestion has as much power as a sledgehammer to the skull.

— Glenn Whipp

Whipp gave “Paranormal Activity” three stars out of four.

“The Conjuring” (2013)

As sympathetic, methodical ghostbusters Lorraine and Ed Warren, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson make the old-fashioned haunted-house horror film “The Conjuring” something more than your average fright fest.

“The Conjuring,” which boasts incredulously of being their most fearsome, previously unknown case, is built very in the ’70s-style mold of “Amityville” and, if one is kind, “The Exorcist.” The film opens with a majestic, foreboding title card that announces its aspirations to such a lineage.

But as effectively crafted as “The Conjuring” is, it’s lacking the raw, haunting power of the models it falls shy of. “The Exorcist” is a high standard, though; “The Conjuring” is an unusually sturdy piece of haunted-house genre filmmaking.

— Jake Coyle

Coyle gave “The Conjuring” two and half stars out of four.

Read the full review here.

“Get Out” (2017)

Fifty years after Sidney Poitier upended the latent racial prejudices of his white date’s liberal family in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” writer-director Jordan Peele has crafted a similar confrontation with altogether more combustible results in “Get Out.”

In Peele’s directorial debut, the former “Key and Peele” star has — as he often did on that satirical sketch series — turned inside out even supposedly progressive assumptions about race. But Peele has largely left comedy behind in a more chilling portrait of the racism that lurks beneath smiling white faces and defensive, paper-thin protestations like, “But I voted for Obama!” and “Isn’t Tiger Woods amazing?”

It’s long been a lamentable joke that in horror films — never the most inclusive of genres — the Black dude is always the first to go. In this way, “Get Out” is radical and refreshing in its perspective.

— Jake Coyle

Coyle gave “Get Out” three stars out of four.

Read the full review here.

“Hereditary” (2018)

In Ari Aster’s intensely nightmarish feature-film debut “Hereditary,” when Annie (Toni Collette), an artist and mother of two teenagers, sneaks out to a grief-support group following the death of her mother, she lies to her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) that she’s “going to the movies.”

A night out with “Hereditary” is many things, but you won’t confuse it for an evening of healing and therapy. It’s more like the opposite.

Aster’s film, relentlessly unsettling and pitilessly gripping, has carried with it an ominous air of danger and dread: a movie so horrifying and good that you have to see it, even if you shouldn’t want to, even if you might never sleep peacefully again.

The hype is mostly justified.

— Jake Coyle

Coyle gave “Hereditary” three stars out of four.

Read the full review here. ___

Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.

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