The occult chiller is currently making its way around the festival circuit.
Scripted by award-winning First Nation filmmaker Christopher Darton and directed by Darton and Sébastien Godin, THE DAMNATION stars Norma Sue Whitlow, Osawa Muckwa, Ryan Lunn, Tim Denis, Derek Groulx, Alix Sobschak, Dino Sicoli, Ali Chappell and Sayla de Goede. Gregory Lamberson (SLIME CITY, JOHNNY GRUESOME) was an associate producer, and Scott Patterson created the makeup effects. The synopsis: “THE DAMNATION takes place in the small, largely Indigenous Canadian communities of Creek and Buffalo Mines. Since the closing of the mines a number of years ago, the area is a shell of its once-thriving past. The area is mostly made up of seniors and Indigenous people who have inhabited the area for hundreds of years. To further complicate matters, developers–led by a mysterious religious figure–have appeared and are clearcutting the land. These developments and age-old colonial sentiments have helped unearth a malignant evil that begins not only destroying the environment, but feeding on the blood of locals.
“Eighteen-year-old Sarah Blackice [Whitlow] is forced into taking action. Sarah, along with her cousins Birdie [Muckwa] and Jimi [Groulx] and their friend Wes [Sobschak] approach a local talk radio host of a show about myths, monsters and urban legends. The show, titled THE VAN HELSING SHOW, named Remi Gates [Lunn] for his expertise in helping combat the evil that has arisen. This unlikely team must band together to overcome the dark malevolence they’re confronted with.”
In addition to the cast listed above, Darton was able to land a handful of horror veterans to do vocal cameos: Ray Sager (star of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ THE WIZARD OF GORE), BASKET CASE’s Keven VanHentenryck, Italohorror regular Brett Halsey and THE ROAD WARRIOR’s Vernon Wells are heard as callers to Remi Gates’ radio show. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford any big onscreen talent,” Darton tells RUE MORGUE, “so I added the device of some colorful phone calls to Remi’s talk show. I had hoped I might be able to get a few people to help us out if I could get them to read the script. Fortunately I got those four gentlemen, and of course it meant a lot to me, the cast and crew, a number of whom are lifetime horror fans.
“So far, the movie has been well-received,” he continues. I think at the price point, given how ambitious it is, people are pretty surprised. Indigenous audiences really enjoy the subtext and the fact that I wrote characters like them who are smart, educated and in control of their own destinies. I tried to break a lot of Indigenous stereotypes that we’ve seen in film and television for almost 100 years, and they got it.”
