Filmcraziest Interviews, Justin G. Dyck and Keith Cooper, “Anything for Jackson”

On this episode of Filmcraziest Interviews, I chat with director Justin G. Dyck and writer Keith Cooper for their new film Anything for Jackson, a great reverse exorcism horror that had its World Premiere at Fantasia Film Festival on Sept. 1, and recently had its U.S. Premiere as a part of the Nighstream Film Festival on Oct. 9. The plot: Dr. Henry Walsh (Julian Richings) and his wife, Audrey (Sheila McCarthy), lost their grandson, Jackson, in a car crash two years earlier and instead of accepting it, they found satanism. To get him back, they kidnap one of Henry’s pregnant patients, Becker (Konstantina Mantelos), to execute a ritual that would hopefully bring Jackson back, but they get more than they bargained for. The film also stars Yannick Bisson and Josh Cruddas. My review out of Nightstream can be found here, and my first review from Fantasia can be found here. 

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Nighstream Film Festival Recap

With the first edition of the Nightstream Virtual Film Festival winding down, many of the events are still available on-demand until tomorrow, Oct. 14, and the same can be said for many of the festival’s on-demand titles, too! You can find those tickets and films still available here. I wanted to do a link round-up post for the films I was able to watch at this year’s Nightstream that are still available on demand, as well as some of the same films that are playing at Nightstream that I caught at Fantasia in August, and some of the short films that are playing at this year’s festival, as well, and the ones I’m highlighting will have played at Fantasia.

Nightstream Review: An Unquiet Grave (2020)

This is another tale in the “what would you do for your family?” horror cannon, which has seen some good features, even at this year’s Nightstream with Anything for Jackson and My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell it To. Here, An Unquiet Grave is carried by two great performances by Jacob A. Ware and Christine Nyland, who also co-writes this film with director Terence Krey. And when I say the film's carried by these two performances, they're virtually the only ones in the film and are there in every scene. With that said, it's great that these performances are so compelling. Ware captures the grief of his character well, as does Nyland, and Nyland’s performance is the standout here as it’s unpredictable, and I would give kudos to a unique aspect of her performance but that would border on spoilers. But with what happens in the film and what results from the ritual is fascinating and creates such a cool dynamic, and makes for such an interesting concept. 

Nightstream: My Most Anticipated Films at the Festival

A collective online initiative has been launched to create Nightstream, a virtual horror film festival put together by the Boston Underground Film Festival, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, North Bend Film Festival, the Overlook Film Festival, and Popcorn Frights Film Festival, which will run from October 8-11. The festival is open to U.S. audiences and the screenings will be geo-locked to the United States (there are events being put on by the festival that will available worldwide, as well). The festival is packed with a mix of horror, fantasy, science fiction, vanguard and underground films, with over 40 feature films to choose from, over 20 panels and events, as well as 20 short film programmes composed of over 160+ shorts, all curated by the different festivals involved in this initiative.

Fantasia 2020 – Anything for Jackson (2020)

I knew very little about Anything for Jackson going into the film and did not know that this was an exorcism film. Well, it’s actually a reverse exorcism. Basically, this scenario is born out of the idea of there being someone you would do absolutely anything to see again. For Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) and husband Henry (Julian Richings), that’s their two-year-old grandson Jackson. They need to find a host for Jackson to bring him back, and luckily Henry works as an obstetrician and they grab a woman named Shannon Becker (Konstantina Mantelos), a soon-to-be mother.

Filmcraziest Interviews (And Review) – Joanna Tsanis for Imagine a World

On this episode of Filmcraziest Interviews, I am joined by first-time director Joanna Tsanis for her short film Imagine a World, about a persistent salesman who refuses to leave a home until he makes a sale. The film premiered at Toronto After Dark Festival last year and is currently playing at the Fantasia Film Festival …