Fantasia Review: ‘Don’t Say Its Name’ Carves Out A Path For Canadian Horror

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Aug 30, 2021


There’s an ongoing conversation in Canada about a lack of tangible identity in Canadian film.

When I think about Can-con as a subgenre, no real specific identifiers come to mind except for low budgets and slow pacing. This isn’t the case for cinema in France, Japan, the UK, or Indonesia. These are all international film hubs who found their voices long ago. But, for some reason, Canada still struggles to find its identity on the global stage.

Don’t Say Its Name can’t solve this problem all on its own, but it does light the path forward.

With its footsteps freshly left in the snow of this year’s recently wrapped Fantasia Festival, Don’t Say Its Name has already made a bloody mark on Canadian cinema. Directed by newcomer Rueben Martel with a screenplay by Martell and Gerald Wexler, this Canadian horror show never shies away from its community, its setting, or its people.

Indigenous Horror Shines

In Don’t Say Its Name, a small indigenous community buried in snow is in the process of economic recovery. This is when an obviously evil mining corporation (WEC) lands a deal to begin drilling on the Indigenous territory. This disrupts the environment and much of its community, and soon a young local activist is the victim of a suspicious hit-and-run. That’s when the WEC mining corp digs its heels into the community harder than before. As the mining company begins its attack on the land, the land itself fights back. Soon individuals even mildly aligned with WEC start to show up dead. And not just dead. But like, really dead. Guts and all.

Sera-Lys McArthur as Stacey in Don’t Say Its Name

This horror title builds a strong foundation before letting loose in the third act. The excellent cast and chilly atmosphere take Don’t Say Its Name further than you might expect for the first hour. It’s never boring, even when the build-up and exposition lack focus. While most of the horror, here, occurs in broad daylight, the gorgeous isolation of the northern Tundra instills a bright, snow-blinding dread that allows for the kills to be intense and sometimes frightening. The scares are effective, even when the writing comes across as glaringly undercooked. The gorgeous setting and use of local talent give Don’t Say Its Name a level of realism you won’t find in many other Canadian horror films.

Two Leads are Better Than One

One of the most engaging facets of the story is the dynamic between both leads. Police officer Mary Stonechild (Madison Walsh) and ranger Stacey Cole (Sera-Lys McArthur) steal the show with their dialogue and consistently active character beats. These two authority figures waste little time getting to the bottom of a string of grisly murders, even when they’re forced to disrupt their own belief systems to save on time. There’s nothing more boring than when a film takes two acts to convince its leads that something supernatural is afoot. Officer Stonechild and Ranger Cole show up smashing skulls and taking names the moment they’re mobilized. It’s kind of a shame that their dialogue isn’t tighter.

Don’t Say Its Name presents Canadian horror without any of the usual embarrassing identifiers. It carves out a place for itself in the Canadian horror lexicon right next to titles like Cube and Ginger Snaps. And just like these other examples, Don’t Say Its Name manages to feel distinctly Canadian in ways that feel dangerous and exciting, rather than because it’s under-financed or slowly paced.

  • Don't Say It's Name
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Summary

Don’t Say Its Name carves out a place for itself in the Canadian horror lexicon right next to titles like Cube and Ginger Snaps. And like these other examples, Don’t Say Its Name feels distinctly Canadian in ways that feel dangerous and exciting, rather than under-financed and slow paced.

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