The positives- Storyline, acting (especial lead actress and McHattie who always does a fine job), blend of fantasy/animation with reality. Negatives- So much more could have been added to this movie, such as suspense, more back story, fantasy sequences could have been a bit more.. The brother just didn't fit. Whether it was his acting or the script he just didn't gel with the other characters especially the family. The ending left a little to be desired. A little more effort into this film on those areas and this may have had the potential to have a cult following. Overall it was entertaining and it wasn't a waste of time whatsoever. Just wanted more out of it.

I love making reviews for movies that surprise me. I write and do some drawing, but just for fun and catharsis, and sometimes loosing myself into the magic world of imagination.We have the story of a young woman (our heroine), who have depression and anxiety, and also agoraphobia (fear of leaving the house). She is visited by a therapist because of that, and it is implied that could perhaps try to attempt against her own life. She lives with her loving father and a brother who always want to skip school and feels ignored. This family had suffered the lost of a loved one: the mother, who had committed suicide after a heated argument with her daughter (and alcoholism was the reason).The loving father do the best he can with all his family have to deal with.Soon a stranger shows interest in that mother artwork, and our heroine is very suspicious of him. At the same time she had started to drawing again, only that this time she does it with her own blood and while in a trance... and she thinks that influenced by a character she call "The Dark Stranger". Reality and fantasy start to mix and boundaries seems blurring.And finally we know from the stranger interested in art the real identity of "The Dark Stranger".I loved the idea, and how the narrative caught my attention, and keep me interested.In other side the lead actress surprised me, I never had seen her before, she was quite believable.I love Enrico Colantoni, he is always awesome. The rest of the cast was nice, specially "The Dar Stranger"The worst: no explanation or more deep backstory, and some characters are lost in the movie, making a little plot hole.The best: the script was so original, the setting was pretty much fairy-tale that I loved it. And the special effects are pretty decent.8/10 RecommendedWe all are critics. Watch at your own risk.Greetings from Uruguay.

I'm following horror scene of Canada since the brilliant Ginger Snaps movies. They always come up with captivating concepts, stories, imagery and really good acting performances.Female lead is something I love in horror movies. The Dark Stranger has a beautiful one... One thing I love Canadian horror movies is the faces are familiar - like people next door but somewhat cuter and more charismatic. Everything they do, say, expressed feels natural.I totally LOVE the story. As an "artist" myself it resonated with me in many levels. Coming back and forth between fantasy world and the "real" world gave the movie a modern world fairy tale feel which is something I also love very much.I have to admit I discovered Katie Findlay with this movie. She reminds Katharine Isabelle to me but not because they are similar in any way - they are not. But because Katie Findlay is bedazzling and bewitching like Katharine Isabelle in her own unique way.Enrico Colantoni is one of my favorites since the sitcom Just Shoot Me. He performed his character far from being pretentious - very modest and understanding father figure and very real. Actually he acted exactly like a real father act in real world in situations like this.Stephen McHattie is very charismatic guy and does the job well. Rest of the cast with Jennifer Dale, Mark O'Brien, Alex Ozerov, Emma Campbell played their parts extremely well to support the story of the leading character and created very much believable atmosphere around her. After sometime with that type of cast and acting, the story totally takes you in.The only thing I personally didn't liked so much in this movie is overall look and cinematography. Shots are very well done compared to the budget but I'd expect a bit more dark, moody, gloomy atmosphere, colors and lights for a story like this. Other than this I enjoyed everything they done with this movie.I'm glad I didn't passed this one and I actually rarely write that much detailed reviews but I really enjoyed this flick and I wanted to show my support and appreciation to obviously hard work they put in this movie.Again the story was just wonderful. This even could be a wonderful bedtime story for me when I was a little kid...I have to note that I have no relation with this production whatsoever and this is not a "paid review" - nor anything like that. I had to say this because I'm seeing from other movie reviewers that when they see a good critique on a less popular, budget movie they tend to think the good reviews are paid. Check my other reviews and general look of my account and you'll see I'm legit.Enjoy!

This movie tells the tale of a highly troubled teen who suffers from chronic hallucinations. Whether those hallucinations are the product of her traumatic past or a curse is not really clear. Apart from the fact that the protagonist has a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy she also seems to suffer from agoraphobia (which is the clinical term for someone who is afraid of the outside world).What really irked me about the movie were the totally random "2D dream sequences/daydreams" which if I had to guess were supposed to add some sort of artistic element. Kind of a given choice considering how the movie is about an artist but not quite solid in it's execution. It ended up being really silly. After all this is supposed to be a Horror movie and not a children's playbook.Furthermore, the antagonist of the movie (the dark stranger) is basically an old man who is blackfacing/grayfacing. I know, this is supposed to be a scary movie but when I first saw the "dark stranger" I laughed out loud. It just seemed way too bizarre.To conclude: Was the movie scary? No, not really.