Film-Forward

Thriller

Zalava | TIFF 2021

The award for the most intriguing one-off at the festival goes to this story of demonic possession and romance, mixed with devilishly dark satire.

The Card Counter

Restraint is the name of the game in Paul Schrader’s new film.

John and the Hole

An uneasy new film that grapples with the darkness of growing up in a world distinguished by its overwhelming numbness.

Stillwater

A bouillabaisse of a film that mixes, not always successfully, the suspenseful procedural investigation of director Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight with the touching redemption stories of his earlier movies.

La Dosis

An impressive Argentinian thriller that burns very slowly, ratcheting up suspense in infinitesimal doses.

New Order

The dystopian film is best described as a parade of trauma and violence.

4×4

A high-concept thriller where the roles of victim and aggressor are reversed.

Promising Young Woman

Carey Mulligan delivers a shrewd, intelligent turn as a woman driven to avenge herself on the date rapists and sleazebags who derailed her future.

Let Him Go

Director/writer Thomas Bezucha expertly and deftly teases out the tension, priming the audience for the inevitable bloody climax.