![\"Deborah](\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/1010-you-nwff-2.jpg\" "\\"Deborah")
In a banner year for Hollywood not seen since 2013, lower budget, standalone indie horror films like Obsession and Backrooms stood their own, critically and even financially beating out Spielberg’s Disclosure Day and The Mandalorian and Grogu, if not massively-marketed juggernauts Spider-Man: Brand New and The Odyssey.
Either way, underdog young directors like Curry Baker and Kane Parsons and to an extent It Ends’ Alexander Ullom with their pandemic-influenced films about being trapped are very much luring younger audiences back into the soft seat mystery boxes, a notion NorthwestFEARfest’s director-programmer Guy Lavallee is cheerfully aware of.
“We’ve sold more passes than ever before,” notes the ever-friendly Lavallee. “It looks like Edmonton’s genre-loving community is coming out in full force, and we’re getting a lot of new people buying tickets, which is amazing.”
Small wonder, mind you, as this year’s fest running Oct. 14-18 at Metro Cinema at Garneau Theatre has one of its best lineups in its five-year run, from crowd-pleasing screenings of classic horror camp like Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and Big Trouble in LIttle China to one of the most disgusting films of all time, Cannibal Holocaust – dripping with a 4K restoration, no less. Ick!
The 21 screenings over five days has a special treat for, as Lavallee puts it with a laugh, “people of a certain vintage”: Behind the Castle Doors: The origin of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, which will have some purring, “The castle lights are growing dim…” in Vincent Price’s voice.
“This is probably not for the 18-year-olds because they won’t know what the hell we’re talking about,” laughs Lavallee, “but there was this weird ‘70s Canadian kids show House of Frightenstein and some folks have made this documentary about it. What’s beautiful is it’s only 65 minutes long, and the filmmakers are coming.
“And we’re doing it on Saturday morning (11 a.m., Oct. 17) with free cereal, so people can come watch the doc, have a little cereal break, then watch an actual episode!”
One film you probably won’t want to eat at is the aforementioned Cannibal Holocaust, which Lavallee says something I’ve never heard in an preview interview before: “If you’re offended, especially by animal cruelty, don’t come and see this film.
“It’s a tough, tough watch. It’s an unpleasant experience. But it was designed to be.”
That said, “It’s this new restoration and is extremely significant in the realm of horror.
“The director Robert Deodato was arrested and tried for murder – the killings are so authentic and realistic, especially because the film is shot to look like a sort of documentary – to the point where the actors had to show up in court.
“Years later, director said he deeply regrets some of the stuff he was doing as he was trying to push the limits of what you could do on film, and he went overboard.
“But it exists, right? And there’s a reason now Humane Society is on every set.”
Less psychically wretched is still pretty splattery fare Jason Lives, “selling like crazy,” says the programmer. “It’s the 40th anniversary and it’s probably the most fun of the sequels – plus there’s that great Alice Cooper theme song.
“And then The Prowler from ’81 is one of the most underrated and legit scariest of the movies with effects by Tom Savini. A Stagefright is this incredible Italian slasher from ‘87, the first feature from Joseph Zito, a protege of Dario Argento, so it’s got that creepy Giallo feel.”
Two shorts packages, including one full of Alberta talent, are also in the chutes.
“There’s this young, emerging filmmaker from Camrose, Luke Cloarec, who submitted three shorts and we loved them all, so we’re doing kind of a little spotlight within the Alberta Kills package Sunday at 6:30 p.m.”
Which brings us to the main features, starting with opening night’s The Last Temptation of Becky, 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.
“For anyone not familiar with the Becky franchise,” explains Lavallee, “the first one came out during the pandemic with Kevin James as the villain with this little 12-year-old girl kicking ass.” This was followed by 2023’s The Wrath of Becky, with American Pie’s Sean William Scott as the baddie this time.
“So it’s like, I see what they’re doing here, casting comedic actors against type. So the third one we’re showing is Last Temptation where she’s now working for the CIA and she has to infiltarte this den of Nazis, and the head Nazi in charge of this nefarious plot is played by Neil Patrick Harris!
“So this is catnip for horror fans: it’s got the laughs, but also the over-the-top kills.”
The film Lavalle really goes to bat for is The Cycle, starring Daredevil’s Deborah Ann Woll. He just doesn’t want to tell you much about it.
“This one just came up out of nowhere, we had the whole lineup almost done. But it’s one of the best surprises of the year. I’ve been telling everyone: the less you know going in, the better.”
Which brings us to festival Sunday.
“It’s interesting, but on the evening of the 18th – I don’t know if you know what’s happening in Alberta the next day – but closing the festival we have a celebration of Alberta and Canada films, read into that what you will,” he growls. “Far be it from me to get political.”
Following the aforementioned Alberta Kills shorts package is Ancestral Beasts, about a Métis encountering a lethal presence, written and directed by Manitoba filmmaker Tim Riedel, with local filmmaker Edmon Rotea as an executive producer, who held the same role in locally-made global sensation, Skinamarink.
“Edmund is a huge, long-time supporter of all our festivals we put on,” says Lavallee. “He shows up to everything, so it’s great to be able to have a film that he’s actually been involved in.”
It’s a terrific pre-Halloween lineup, all of it and tickets at northwestfearfest.ca , including all-access passes for $137.14, individual tickets starting at an insanely-cheap $10 to $16, and the fest-classic four-packs for $48.50.
Cannibal Holocaust aside, see you there!
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
","slug":"northwestfearfest-celebrates-five-horror-dripping-years-with-joyful-disgusting-lineup","publicPath":"/news/2026-10-08-northwestfearfest-celebrates-five-horror-dripping-years-with-joyful-disgusting-lineup"}}