Ghostkeeper

Director Jim Makichuk
Year 1981
Run Time 89min
Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
A trio of friends on a snowmobiling trip in the Canadian rockies become lost after venturing up a trail during a snowstorm. They stumble upon a seemingly abandoned hotel lodge and decide to spend the night, unaware of the grave danger that they have put themselves in.

Director

Jim Makichuk

Writers

Doug MacLeod, Jim Makichuk

Cast

Murray Ord, Riva Spier

Genres

Drama, Horror, Thriller

Original Language

English

The King Tide

Director Christian Sparkes
Year 2023
Run Time 100min
Genre Drama, Thriller

After the mayor of an idyllic island village discovers a child with mysterious powers awash on their shores, the once peaceful community devolves into civil war, torn over the belief that the child is the next saviour.

Director

Christian Sparkes

Writers

Kevin Coughlin, Ryan Grassby, Albert Shin, William Woods

Cast

Frances Fisher

Producers

William Woods, Allison White

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Original Language

English

Through Black Spruce

Director Don McKellar
Year 2018
Run Time 111min
Genre Drama, Thriller
The disappearance of a young Cree woman in Toronto traumatizes her Northern Ontario family, and sends her twin sister on a journey south to find her.

Director

Don McKellar

McKellar is a prolific filmmaker and actor whose work has garnered numerous awards. He wrote Highway 61, The Red Violin and Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, and wrote, directed and starred in Last Night (which won the Prix de la jeunesse at the Cannes film festival), and Childstar, and has directed several other films. He recently starred in Meditation Park, Crimes of the Future, and directed Sensitive Skin. Currently, he is writing episodes for Park Chan-wook’s The Sympathizer, which he is also executive producing.

Writer

Barbara Samuels

Cast

Tanaya Beatty (Kwakwakaʼwakw)

Producers

Tina Keeper (Cree), Phyllis Laing, Robert Lantos, Barbara Samuels

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

A Dangerous Method

Director David Cronenberg
Year 2011
Run Time 99min
Genre Drama, Romance, Thriller
A fictionalized account of the early days of psychoanalysis and the turbulent relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), his mentor Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen), and the patient (Kiera Knightley) who tore them apart. 

Director

David Cronenberg

Cast

Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen

Producer

Jeremy Thomas

Genres

Drama, Romance, Thriller

Interests

Biography, Literary Adaptation

Original Language

English

Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm)

Director Xavier Dolan
Year 2013
Run Time 102min
Genre Drama, Thriller
A grieving man (Xavier Dolan) travels to a rural farm for his boyfriend’s funeral, where he finds a less than warm welcome from the family, particularly Francis (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), his boyfriend’s brother, whose sadistic and threatening behaviour begins to escalate to dangerous levels.

Director

Xavier Dolan

Cast

Xavier Dolan, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Lise Roy

Producers

Xavier Dolan, Nathanaël Karmitz, Charles Gillibert

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

LGBTQ2S+, Literary Adaptation

Original Languages

English, French

Jusqu’au déclin (The Decline)

Director Patrice Laliberté
Year 2020
Run Time 83min
Genre Thriller
A survivalist expert recruits a group of ordinary people united by fears of an impending societal collapse, and trains them at his remote lodge in the woods. When one of their training activities leads to a fatal accident, the group is divided about what to do and the tensions soon turn violent. Divided into opposing factions each with a full arsenal, they enter into a true fight for survival, one far greater than what they’d trained for.

"A first feature for director Patrice Laliberté and several of his principal collaborators, The Decline is lean, credible and well-crafted” - Dennis Harvey, Variety

Director

Patrice Laliberté

Writer

Patrice Laliberté

Cast

Guillaume Laurin, Marie-Evelyne Lessard, Réal Bossé, Guillaume Laurin, Nicolas Krief

Producer

Julie Groleau

Genre

Thriller

Original Languages

English, French

Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

Director Nathan Morlando
Year 2011
Run Time 105min
Genre Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller
This real-life adventure story is based on an actual Canadian WWII veteran and family man turned bank robber. Disillusioned by his post-war life, Eddie Boyd (Speedman) is torn between his desire to provide for his wife (Reilly) and his dream to go to Hollywood and become a star. Eddie is charming, ambitious and hungry for success, and ultimately turns to crime in order to attain it.

Eddie gets his start by recruiting a gang of small-time crooks and slowly turns them into a crack team of professional thieves. He launches a series of spectacular bank robberies, gaining notoriety and quickly becoming both a beloved national celebrity and public enemy number one. Part action-packed crime caper, part romance, this vibrant film brings an incredible true story to life.

Director

Nathan Morlando

Morlando’s first film, Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster, won Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF. He also directed Mean Dreams, which debuted in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. He recently produced Giant Little Ones and directed episodes of the show Cardinal.

Writer

Nathan Morlando

Cast

Scott Speedman, Kelly Reilly, Kevin Durand, Brian Cox, Charlotte Sullivan

Producer

Allison Black

Genres

Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Interests

Biography, History

Original Language

English

Polytechnique

Director Denis Villeneuve
Year 2009
Run Time 77min
Genre Drama, Thriller
Based on the tragic school shooting that took place at Montreal’s École Polytechnique on December 6, 1989 (known as the “Montreal Massacre”), director Denis Villeneuve’s melancholy docudrama portrays the events as seen from the perspective of two students.

There are some tragedies so devastating they defy rational understanding. Villeneuve films in black and white, shifting back and forth in time, attempting to maintain a sane and calm point of view in the face of just such a senseless act of violence. The result is a sensitive yet stark account of one of the more profoundly disturbing crimes in recent Canadian history.

The film won nine Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture, and five Jutra Awards. The Toronto Film Critics Association awarded it the Best Canadian Film Prize, with critic Brian D. Johnson referring to it as “a film of astonishing courage.”

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Writer

Jacques Davidts

Cast

Maxim Gaudette, Sébastien Huberdeau, Karine Vanasse, Evelyne Brochu

Producers

Julien Rémillard, Maxime Rémillard, André Rouleau, Don Carmody

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

History, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

French

Exotica

Director Atom Egoyan
Year 1994
Run Time 103min
Genre Drama, Thriller
At the Exotica strip club in downtown Toronto, a grieving father (Greenwood) becomes obsessed with a young stripper (Kirshner). As the intertwined stories of the dancers and patrons unfold, it becomes clear that they share many mysterious and unspoken connections.

Dark, engaging and with a brilliant ensemble performance from its many players, Exotica is one of Egoyan’s most engaging and alluring films. A hypnotic thriller about desire, obsession and loneliness, it won eight Genie Awards.

Director

Atom Egoyan

Egoyan received the Governor General’s award in 2015 for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He was the first-ever Canadian director to earn two Oscar nominations (for The Sweet Hereafter). His award-winning films include Exotica, Ararat and The Captive. His most recent film, Guest of Honour, premiered at TIFF 2019.

Writer

Atom Egoyan

Cast

Bruce Greenwood, Elias Koteas, Don McKellar, Arsinée Kahnian, Mia Kirshner

Producers

Atom Egoyan, Camelia Frieberg

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

Classics, Cult & Offbeat Cinema

Original Language

English

Incendies

Director Denis Villeneuve
Year 2010
Run Time 130min
Genre Drama, Thriller
A life in Canada, a secret past in Jordan. A dying mother (Azabal) in Montreal leaves separate letters to her twin children to be read once she passes away. Jeanne (Désormeaux-Poulin) is to deliver hers to the father the twins never knew, and Simon (Gaudette) is to give his to the brother they didn’t know they had. The siblings travel to the Middle East separately, where they uncover a startling and painful family history.

Incendies is the kind of film you’ll want to watch more than once. With intricate timelines and a family drama spanning two very different continents, the twists and turns of Denis Villeneuve’s celebrated adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad’s award-winning play are explosive, frightening and emotionally intense.

Winner of eight Genie Awards and nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Writer

Denis Villeneuve

Cast

Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard

Producers

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Global Experiences, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French