We independently select everything we recommend.
asserted
we → select → everything
Buying through us may earn us a commission, which supports our work.
uncertain
which → buy → work
It’s time to take a look at a handful of maple-flavoured treats that might give you a good ol’ fashioned scare at this spooky time of year.
uncertain
that → ’ → year
Many horror fans consider this the first of its kind — slasher — and it’s not.
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it → consider → kind
That title belongs to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, but that didn’t stop famed horror director John Carpenter from admitting how much Black Christmas influenced his classic film Halloween.
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Christmas → belong → film
One of its stars was Margot Kidder — a future Lois Lane — and also included standbys Art Hindle and comic Andrea Martin.
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One → include → standbys
While director Bob Clark wasn’t a Canadian, he had a major effect on the industry as he went on to helm Porky’s (1981), and the holiday favourite, A Christmas Story (1983).
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he → have → Porky
Finally, it should be noted, besides Keir Dullea, John Saxon, and Olivia Hussey, the entire cast is Canadian.
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cast → note → Dullea
Elevator pitch: An intruder hides in a sorority house, makes obscene calls and kills residents one by one
The Dead Zone (1983)
Filmmaker David Cronenberg was the first and only director to bring justice to a Stephen King novel on the big screen (ya, we know both Shawshank and Stand By Me are good movies, but hardly Halloween favourites).
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Shawshank → hide → Me
The Canadian director shot much of the movie in Canada and besides its stars, much of the behind-the-scenes production crew, including artistic and technical departments, was comprised of prominent Canadian film-industry professionals working in Ontario.
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much → shoot → Ontario
Places filmed included: Canada’s Wonderland (north of Toronto), for the roller-coaster sequence and Niagara Falls for the famous tunnel scene.
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Places → film → scene
Cronenberg also got excellent performances from Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and Brooke Adams.
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Cronenberg → get → Walken
William B. Davis has a blink-and-you-miss-it scene and later found fame as The Smoking Man in The X-Files.
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you → have → Files
Elevator pitch: After a serious accident, a teacher wakes up from a coma with the ability to see into the future.
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teacher → wake → future
Despite being set in small-town Wisconsin, the film was shot in Ontario and starred acclaimed Canadian actress Sarah Polley.
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film → set → Polley
Other Canadian actors included Kim Poirier, Lindy Booth, and Matt Frewer (a.k.a. Max Headroom).
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actors → include → Poirier
It’s a typical zombie movie with plenty of blood, guts, screams and chainsaws.
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It → ’ → blood
The mall scenes were shot in Thornhill, Ont. (an abandoned shopping mall), while neighbourhood scenes were captured in Toronto suburbs and smaller centres such as Caledon, Ont.
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scenes → shoot → Caledon
Polley, who first came to attention as Sarah Stanley in the wholesome CBC series Avonlea, went on to win an Oscar for best adaptive screen play for Women Talking.
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who → come → Women
Elevator pitch: A small group of survivors take shelter in a shopping mall and look to escape quick-footed zombies.
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group → take → zombies
Pontypool (2008)
Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool was produced as both a film, and as a radio play.
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Pontypool → produce → play
Both versions were influenced by Orson Welles’ 1938 radio production of The War of the Worlds.
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versions → influence → Worlds
The 2008 movie, directed by McDonald (Hard Core Logo, 1996, Dance Me Outside, 1994), starred the Canadian husband-and-wife team of Stephen McHattie and Lisa Houle, and was basically set in the basement of an underground radio station during a zombie attack.
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movie → direct → attack
The flick appears on many lists as a favourite among Canadian horror fans.
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flick → appear → fans
Elevator pitch: A shock jock and his crew are stuck at his basement radio station when a virus, passed through spoken word, is spreading.
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virus → stick → word
While most would consider this an American film, fans say this may be esthetically, creatively, and geographically, Cronenberg’s Canadian masterpiece.
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this → consider → ?
The film also featured composer Howard Shore, who wrote the score, while most of the crew and production was based out of Kleinburg Studios.
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most → feature → Studios
The film will always be remembered for Jeff Goldblum’s transformation into the pesky fly.
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film → remember → fly
The special effects eventually won the duo of Chris Walas, a Chicago native and Stephan Dupuis, who was originally from Montreal, an Oscar for best makeup.
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who → win → makeup
Elevator pitch: A researcher accidentally mixes his DNA with a common housefly and slowly turns into a grotesque monster.
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researcher → mix → monster
The Aporia
