It’s the tail-end of 1971, and Blackvale School for Girls is closed for the holidays — except that two boarders, Samantha and Clara (Madison Baines and Georgia Acken) are stuck here, which means that Miss Tanner (Chloë Levine) and her boyfriend, handyman Jimmy (Gus Kenworthy) have to stick around too. But there’s worse to come: fresh from a murderous crime spree, four Manson Family-type killers (one of them a Blackvale alumna) show up bearing bloody body parts, intent on raising hell and performing an ancient occult rite…
Jenn Wexler’s second feature has a couple of major, mind-bending twists up its sleeve which we can’t even begin to hint at… Let’s just say that horror tropes are significantly upended and there’s a subversive strain that runs rampant in the movie’s second half. Worth noting, too, a splendidly over-the-top performance by Mena Massoud (Aladdin) as the cult’s charismatic leader.
Narrative turns, characters that challenge perceptions, and slasher-like bloodletting yield a devilishly fun new entry in holiday horror.
Bloody Disgusting
Series Media Partner
Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Chloë Levine, Madison Baines, Georgia Acken, Derek Johns, Laurent Pitre
USA
2023
Altered States
English
Violence
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Marc Coté, Philip Kalin-Hajdu, Albert I. Melamed, Emily Gotto, Samuel Zimmerman, Roman Kopelevich, Crystal Hill, Roman Viaris, Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Peter Phok, Benoit Beaulieu, Mike Klymkiw, Walter Klymkiw, Mark Berry, Duane Farley, Shuxia Yu
Producer
Philip Kalin-Hajdu, Albert I. Melamed
Screenwriter
Jenn Wexler, Sean Redlitz
Cinematography
Alexandre Bussière
Editor
Arthur Tarnowski, Mathieu Bérubé
Production Design
Ted Samuels
Original Music
Mario Sévigny
Director
Jenn Wexler
Jenn Wexler is a writer and director, whose directorial debut, The Ranger (2018), world premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, premiered in Canada at the Fantasia International Film Festival, and was released by AMC Networks’ Shudder. In television, she’s directed for The CW’s Pandora and TruTV’s Late Night Snack. Wexler has also produced acclaimed and award-winning genre films including Darling (2015), Like Me (2017), Depraved (2019), and Most Beautiful Island (2017), which was nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW.
Filmography: The Ranger (2018); The Sacrifice Game (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Crash
Sex drive, David Cronenberg-style. The car-crash fetishists who orbit Cronenberg's metrosexual Toronto (they include James Spader, Holly Hunter, and Deborah Unger) obsessively seek a fusion of metal and flesh... Fender bender as the ultimate orgasm.
Trainspotting
Danny Boyle's blistering movie was a sensation in 1996: a kick in the teeth of old school British kitchen sink realism, it fearlessly transformed the dire circumstances of Edinburgh heroin addicts into an experience by turns exhilarating and devastating.
A Simple Machine
Cutting costs, swapping four wheels for two, Nick is downsizing to pay off his student debt. It's a path which leads to savings he had not anticipated, even if his girlfriend thinks he's losing it (and she may be right). A lean, low budget gem.
Cookie Queens
A documentary about the annual Girl Scouts' cookie sale is probably not high on your list of must-sees, but don't be too sure — this movie is a delight, a rare celebration of girlhood, supportive family relations, and the art of salesmanship.