12 Canadian Horror Films That Defined The 80s

6 – The Gate (1987)

The Gate is a film I wish I had watched when I was much younger. Growing up in the era of Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark and animated series Tales from the Crypt, there was always something out there for kids to get interested in the darker side of entertainment. If The Gate had been put in front of me at that time, it probably would have been one of those formative films that stuck with me and helped refine my interests in film and horror.

Directed by Tibor Takács and starring a very young Stephen Dorff, the film follows a brother, sister and friends who discover a hole in their backyard. Disturbing the hole, the group of kids accidentally let loose little demons that terrorize them around the house.

Overseen by special effects coordinator, Randall William Cook, the incredible animation was created by using stop-motion puppets and forced perspective shots of extras wearing rubber suits. Some may find the effects dated by comparison to modern day special effects, but the charming and sometimes horrifying little monsters are the highlight of a fun and spooky film. Although shot in Toronto, the film lacks a lot of Canadian cultural attributes due to its premise of “it could happen in any midwest town”; there are still a few hints of Canada that Hungarian-Canadian director Takács and crew stuck in; a KiLLeR DWaRfS embroidered jacket being one of them. Even though The Gate utilized the same tax benefits to create an “American” film in Canada, it is still a great entry-level horror film for any adolescent interested in getting started in the genre.

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5 – My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Many, if not most of the films on this list, consist of Americanizing Canadian towns and cities to look like their tax shelter films could be anywhere-USA. It’s a major gripe and irritant with these kinds of Canadian lists: although we are happy to employ Canadian talent and shoot in locations that we recognize, the films typically avoid overstating their Canadian connections. Then we have My Bloody Valentine. With Moosehead Beer, Nova Scotian accents, and featuring the Sydney Mines, the film feels overtly Canadian in its production and storytelling. While other tax shelter films were fearful of scaring off American audiences by featuring international stories, production companies, Secret Film Company, Famous Players, and CFDC (later Telefilm) took the risk and situated the film in real Canadian coal mines in a town with a real history of Canadian coal miners.

What happens when a folk story becomes truth? When coal miners celebrate Valentine’s Day in their small town, a killer returns seeking revenge on anyone who celebrates the romantic holiday.

The plot sounds thin, I know. But what this film does is something that most slasher films shy away from. The characters are fun, not brain-dead teenagers that typically fall under the standard jock, virgin, and stoner archetypes. So much of the film’s talent and personality comes from its stars, including the jokester Howard (Alf Humfreys), love-scorned T.J. (Paul Kelman), tough-guy Axel (Neil Affleck) and my personal favourite, the lovable Keith Knight as Hollis. Along with a spooky miners’ ballad called The Ballad of Harry Warden, performed and unfortunately uncredited by the famed Scottish-Canadian tenor John McDermott, the filmmakers don’t take these little things for granted and place them at the forefront of the film alongside their typical but wildly entertaining kills.

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4 – The Changeling (1980)

This is the Grand-daddy of all the Canadian tax shelter era films. It had big stars, nearly doubled its budget, making it the highest-grossing Canadian film of 1980, while being highly praised critically and commercially. Yet, there is something very interesting about its tax shelter claims and connection to the big producers down south. The Changeling, although looking like an American Horror film, is actually a 100% fully Canadian production. Consider this: it’s a Canadian film with a Hungarian director (Peter Medak), American actors (George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, and Melvyn Douglas), and based in an American city (Seattle), but if you squint your eyes, underneath its faux shiny Hollywood exterior, the infrastructure was all built by Canadians. It’s not just a director and their actors that make up the film; behind the camera, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of crew members. Where Canadians leave their footprint on the film can be found with Toronto-born co-writer William Gray, music by Hamilton’s own Rick Wilkins, and if you think that mansion looks familiar, that’s because it’s Hatley Castle, one of the most recognizable architectural landmarks on Vancouver Island.

John Russell (George C. Scott), a composer, moves from New York to Seattle to escape a traumatizing past. After renting a mansion, he soon realizes that the mansion may be haunted, and the only way to stop the apparition and haunting is to figure out the history of the mansion, which may implicate a U.S. senator.

While the film boasts an international creative partnership, it’s the haunting and incredibly crafted atmosphere that stands out more than any national identifiers. Its mystery is the kind of 1970s storytelling that sometimes feels like a forgotten craft unto itself, with a slow burn and guarded secrets. The Changeling wasn’t a hit for no reason.

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3 – Pin (1988)

Pin is truly the hidden gem on this list that everyone who reads these lists is looking for. Featuring a very young Jacob Tierney, creator of Letterkenny and Heated Rivalry, and starring David Hewlett, Cynthia Preston, and Terry O’Quinn, Pin’s deadpan approach leaves you grasping at straws, trying to figure out what will happen next. The evidence may be right in front of you, but with all the second-guessing you’ll do, you might be digging yourself a bigger hole trying to guess the ending of this underrated film.

Growing up under his father’s medical practice, Leon Linden had always had a fascination with Pin, Leon’s father’s medical dummy. To allow his young patients to relax while being examined, Leon’s father would talk to Pin via ventriloquism as a fun and friendly assistant. As Leon grows up, his fascination with Pin becomes obsessive and disturbing as he begins to talk to Pin through ventriloquism himself; Pin and Leon form a toxic bond that leads to deadly repercussions.

Written by Sandor Stern and adapted from Andrew Neiderman’s novel of the same name, Stern, who started as a medical doctor, was taken by the story’s exploration into the human psyche and helped find financing for the film through Canadian production companies, Image Organization, Lance Entertainment, Malofilm, and Telefilm Canada. Unfortunately, Pin was given less than a fighting chance to become a horror classic, with the American distribution company, New World Pictures, dissolving during the finalization of the film. While intended for theatrical release, at the last minute their release was changed to direct-to-video, effectively squashing any kind of wide release. As of today, distribution and availability for the film are worse than they were at the time of its release, having, at this time of writing, no home on any streaming service in Canada.

Viewed on Private Copy

2 – The Fly (1986)

The Fly, directed by David Cronenberg, is truly one of the best films of the 1980s, full stop. The practical effects by Chris Walas, returning from Scanners and orchestrating a talented team that brought the creature to life, showcase what was possible at that time. With creature effects that surpass even some of today’s top-of-the-line CGI, it’s no wonder it won Best Makeup at the 1987 Academy Awards and was nominated for six Saturn Awards, winning three of them.

Trying to make a name for himself, neurotic scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) meets Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) at a party. Persuading Veronica to come home with him to share his new invention with her, Seth Brundle unveils his latest and greatest invention: a teleporter. After a simple oversight, Brundle changes his biology in ways nobody knew were even possible.

Remaking The Fly (1958), Cronenberg solidifies the film with an emotional romance that only amplifies the horror when it’s shifted from a simple creature-feature to the horror of a loved one decaying in the most brutal way imaginable. Although producers like Mel Brooks (yes, that Mel Brooks) and other American producers were involved, Toronto takes centre stage as Cronenberg showcases his hometown and the incredible talents of the Canadian crew. It’s a film that has to be seen to believe that something made over forty years ago can still make you squirm in your seat and peek through your fingers as Brundle-fly buzzes out of his skin.

Viewed on Crave

1 – Videodrome (1983)

It was a tight race between The Fly and Videodrome, but Videodrome slips right past to take the number one spot. While The Fly deals with the mutation of the human body and the effects illness and death has on an individual, Videodrome takes a step back and looks at a much wider epidemic that was soon to step into the mainstream with the emergence of Reality T.V. The cultural relevance Videodrome carries in the days of endless Reality T.V. and social media is undeniable. David Cronenberg stumbled upon something that I’m not too sure even existed in the early 1980s. Whether he had an inkling of what the future held for entertainment or a foreboding warning about violence and sodomy in said entertainment, it’s not a stretch to concede that in the days of morbid monetized fascination, where a price tag has been placed around rubbernecking, Videodrome predicted it long before Bum Fights, pay-per-click and violence-driven prediction markets.

Set in Toronto, the president of CIVIC-TV, Max Renn (James Woods), is shown what seems to be the broadcast of snuff films. Thinking this sensationalist broadcast is the future of television, Max attempts to hunt down the producers of the program they call Videodrome, only to find the broadcast is something far more sinister than he previously thought.

Affirming three spots, David Cronenberg has taken a significant part of this list, proving his domination in the horror scene in 1980s Canada. Following the financial success of Scanners, David Cronenberg was approached to direct Return of the Jedi (1983) and, after turning it down, got financing for Videodrome. Having always been interested in telling his original stories and not intellectual property, he chose to explore the darker side of media and its exploits. Cronenberg builds that sense of a forbidden apple and explores the fascination and perils of what eventually became Reality T.V. The film is far ahead of its time by showcasing its mindless violence and showing what sensationalist television can do to a population over time. Watching Videodrome today with the advent of everything it warned us about feels like treading water in the ocean while the captain tells you the ship is sinking; we missed it, and now Videodrome’s unheeded warning has become a fascinating and horrifying document that closes the twelve Canadian horror films that defined the 1980s.

Viewed on Private Copy

Also worth checking: CBC Gem (often carries Canadian titles not listed elsewhere).