EIFF REVIEW: Edmonton-Made Ditched a Gory Love Letter to B-Movie Horror
After watching the nearly hour and a half thrill ride that is Ditched (2021), it is hard not to smile and feel some local patriotism when the credits rolled. For a film that involves a diverse cast of Canadian actors, crew members, all while being shot in Edmonton, it’s obvious why Edmonton International Film Festival would be interested. It screens Sunday, Oct. 3 at 8:30 pm, and Monday, Oct. 4 at 4 pm.
Aside from Ditched doing everything right in showcasing Canadian talent, writer-director Christopher Donaldson’s first crack at a feature film is a relatively successful one. From Donaldson’s directorial work on the TV series Necessary Evil to his storyboarding artistry on Child’s Play (2019), the Lethbridge-raised filmmaker has all the necessary accolades to make a great horror. As a result, Ditched more or less succeeds in being a fun, horrifically gory romp that will call to fans nostalgic for B-tier horror.
The film revolves around first responders Melina (Marika Sila), Jake (Declan O’Reilly), and Officer Revesz (J. Lindsay Robinson) as they wake up from a crash involving the transfer of high-priority criminals (Reamonn Joshee, Kris Loranger) to a facility near Drumheller, Alberta. After an unknown force in the forest mysteriously kills different members of the group, the remaining members must band together to survive – when everything and everyone is not as they seem.
It isn’t a secret that Ditched evokes nostalgia from the best films in horror. From John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) to Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever (2002), to even Canada’s own The Void (Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, 2016), Donaldson’s inspiration from these iconic movies and directors are as clear as day. Hell, most of these directors are even thanked in the credits. For example, as the film opens, blood bags are scattered on the floor, close-ups are consistently used to disorient the viewer, and washed-out grey-green colours are present, making it impossible not to think of the opening of Saw (2004). Though Ditched takes a bit to get going, these nostalgic nuances are enough to feel fun but never too much where the movie feels like a bad copy of other films.
Unfortunately, the film’s first act suffers from campiness that feels a little too on the nose at times. From lines like “You have a gun … better, I have two,” to “If there’s something bad, kill it,” makes the film feel more parody-like as the delivery of these lines feels inorganic and forced, even by B-movie standards. Furthermore, the first act exemplifies the damsel in distress and conventional action male motif too strongly. Sila’s Melina and Robinson’s Officer Revesz “romantic, not romantic” relationship feels a tad dated considering how far horror has come to move the needle past these conventions. These issues aren’t inherently movie-breaking as they are brief in retrospect, but they cause an eye-roll or two.
However, the film separates itself from these other films and dated conventions by establishing its own identity through gorgeous cinematography, paired masterfully with the film’s soundtrack. Cinematographer Wes Miron (Lake Shore Drive, Necessary Evil) and crew have done a great job bathing the frames in a diverse array of green, blue, and yellow floodlights that are absolutely stunning to look at – balancing the creepiness of the forest with the inner struggle of the characters. From a simple knocked-down street light, Miron does some incredible work with a clearly limited budget. For example, a brief blood splatter on the street light changes the scene from a neutral yellow glow to a frame full of red as the chaos ensues. Additionally, bringing the atmosphere together is Clayton Worbeck’s synthwave-retrowave soundtrack that perfectly fits the film and heightens the intensity and tension tenfold. From an atmosphere standpoint, Ditched nails its vibe completely.
These cinematic elements are especially captivating when the film quickly shifts to the second and third acts. Once the film hits the climax, Ditched goes from a basic B-horror film to something more thematically deep and interesting. Overall, it provides more depth and motivation to the characters than what was initially established – while showcasing some great blood and gore effects to boot. Though Melina’s arc is a little rough at the beginning of the film, she really comes into her own by the end. It’s worth noting that Mackenzie Grey’s (Legion, Fargo) Caine and Loranger’s (Winter Kill) Franson are clear standouts as the villains of the film. Caine is vengeful but sympathetic (as one may feel towards vigilante characters like Batman or Daredevil), and Franson is cunning and maniacal that hearkens back to Hannibal Lecter. Overall, these villains provide great foils to the protagonists and work in hammering home the question of “who are the actual good guys here?”
The answer is still murky by the end of the film – a love letter to fans of B-movie horror.
