World Premiere August 2 Fantasia International Film Festival 2014 GAT PR Media Summary
Interviews Completed Wednesday, July 30 Friday, August 1 Saturday, August 2 Sunday, August 3 Tuesday, August 12
CHOM 97.7 -‐ Amped with The Rockman Chad Archibald Con Men Webseries Chad Archibald, Chris Giroux, Cody Calahan Con Men Webseries Sydney Kondruss, Clare Bastable Montreal Rampage Chad Archibald CUTV Chad Archibald, Chris Giroux, Cody Calahan CUTV Sydney Kondruss, Clare Bastable Examiner.com/Canada Chad Archibald Examiner.com/Canada Michelle Mylett Fantasia Web TV Chad Archibald Fangoria Chad Archibald
Le Festival Fantasia, horriblement interessant! By Laurence Beaudin-‐D'Anjou July 17, 2014 http://www.lahordegeek.com/evenements-‐geeks/horreur-‐fantasia-‐3/
Burlington filmmaker debuting The Drownsman at Montreal festival
By Melanie Cummings July 24, 2014 http://www.insidehalton.com/news-‐story/4649662-‐burlington-‐filmmaker-‐debuting-‐the-‐ drownsman-‐at-‐montreal-‐festival/
There aren’t enough iconic villains nowadays, says Christopher Giroux. So the filmmaker is doing his best to fill that void.To make this happen it required him showing up to work at a city pool in a wet suit some days. That’s because Giroux’s latest contribution to the big screen is The Drownsman. It’s a horror/suspense film about a woman whose fear of water, due to a near drowning, becomes debilitating. When her four friends stage an intervention to help, a floodgate of terror opens. Next week The Drownsman has its world premiere on Aug. 2, in Montreal, at the Fantasia International Film Festival, North America’s largest gathering of genre films, including sci-‐fi, thriller and action flicks. It’s Giroux’s second trip to the vaunted film festival. Antisocial, which is also a horror movie, premiered there last year and it is now selling on DVD in major retailers HMW, Walmart and iTunes. While The Drownsman is a modern day original story it takes a page out of horror movie making from the ‘80s. A self-‐described “retro guy” the 1980s are Giroux’s favourite era “when films such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Hellraiser haunted movie theatres everywhere.” He counts fantasy and horror fiction directors Clive Barker and Wes Craven among his moviemaking his idols. “Those are the films I grew up with,” said Giroux who has fond memories of sleepovers and staying up all night watching horror movies with buddies. “It was all about having fun and being scared but seeing the comedy that was intentionally put into the plot line to relieve the tension,” he said. Story is still king for this filmmaker. “Everything should come down to story.”
That priority prevailed in The Drownsman, which was written by Chad Archibald and Cody Calahan, who also both wrote Antisocial. All of the water scenes for The Drownsman were filmed in Angela Coughlin Pool attached to M.M. Robinson School, which is Giroux’s alma mater. Divers from Float N’ Flag Dive Shop stepped in to offer their expertise. Filming at the high school was familiar territory for Giroux. He made his first film at age 14, while a student at M.M. Robinson. He then graduated from the film program at Sheridan College in 2009 and immersed himself in the industry, doing camera work, directing, casting, producing and editing for television, film and video. Giroux travelled extensively and worked with bands such as Theory of a Deadman and City in Colour, as well as politicians in Ottawa, and stars such as Oprah, Tom Hanks and Ben Affleck. Giroux continues to live in Burlington full-‐time, except when he’s away on a shoot, or attending a film festival, which is often and will continue to be as Giroux is slated to produce four films this year for Black Fawn Films, a Canadian independent film production house. For now he is focused on the upcoming film fest in Montreal and reuniting with the cast and crew of The Drownsman. “It’s my baby, I want everyone to like it.”
The Drownsman: la phobie du monstre dans l’eau by Matthieu Dessureault. July 29, 2014 http://www.lienmultimedia.com/spip.php?article42994 Film d’horreur sur fond d’aquaphobie, « The Drownsman » fera peut-‐être de vos baignades une angoisse. Lac, rivière, étang, piscine, baignoire : dans ce long métrage de l’Ontarien Chad Archibald, tout ce qui ressemble de près ou de loin à un point d’eau cache potentiellement un esprit maléfique aux traits hideux.
Terror in a Tub! The Drownsman (2014) Review By Erin Van Horn July 30, 2014 http://www.killpandakill.com/2014/07/terror-‐in-‐tub-‐drowsman-‐2014-‐review.html The Drownsman (2014) Director: Chad Archibald Starring: Michelle Mylett, Caroline Korycki and Gemma Bird Matheson Running Time: 88 min I really dug the poster for this and seeing that I've almost drowned more times than I would have liked, I had a morbid fascination with this film. I was unfamiliar with the cast and crew, so I didn't know what to expect and hoped for some good, clean, horror fun and not something that I'd want to pull the plug on. So, I slipped into the film and had my lucky towel beside me, just in case. The film starts with a woman trapped in a box and she is screaming. Eventually, the killer gets to her and drags her to the tub to give her a good drowning. Luckily, he finds her sexy and she starts making out with him, which gives her the opportunity to stab him in the back of the head, and start drowning him. How do you like it, buddy boy. Unfortunately, he disappears while she's drowning him and she can't find him. Maybe, he went down the drain? Fast forward to plot B, Madison has just found out that her best friend, Hannah is engaged! Their other friends, Coby and Lauren are so excited that they run back into the house, screaming like spinster banshees to tell everyone and Hannah brings Madison down to the dock to ask her to be the Maid of Honour. Sounds like a video game. Anyway, Madison is so thrilled that she agrees and then hangs out at the dock, while her best friend goes back to the party alone. While on the dock, Madison slips on a empty bottle, bangs her head and slips into the water. While unconscious, she dreams of a being in a dark, terrifying place with a horrible killer and just as he comes just close enough to grab her..., she is wakes up safe again on the docks with her friends around her.
Unfortunately, this isn't over yet cuz fast forward again and since the drowning experience Madison has become a basket case. Presumably, she is seeing this monster from her drowning dream everywhere since the day at the dock and she has come down with some form of aquaphobia. Lucky for her, her best friend Hannah choosing to do nothing about this until it causes Madison to miss her wedding. Hannah tells her that she is tired of this mental disorder and Madison is getting help for her tomorrow, the day after the wedding(?). So, Hannah and her friends get a fake, but kind of real psychic to try and prank Madison out of her serious mental condition. Unfortunately, everything goes wrong and the girls soon learn that what Madison is dealing with is real and now they are being hunted down by the same wet blanket maniac. Can these ladies stop this madmen from making their dreams wet & terrifying or will they fill yet another watery grave for the Drownsman?!?!
The concept of this film is great and I enjoyed the Kruegerestic/water monster that co-‐ writer/director Chad Archibald (Kill, Neverlost) and co-‐writer Cody Calahan (Antisocial) have created. I think if handled well, they could have a character that has the potential for a terrific franchise. The Drownsman is very scary, when used properly. Also, the production on this film is pretty good and Archibald uses the shadows and the darkness to his advantages. Even though I'm sure this film must have budgetary constraints, being a smaller company, it has a good looks and feel to it that is equal too or better than some films that I've seen from larger studios lately. However this film isn't squeaky clean and doe have some issues. For instance, at times I didn't think there was enough depth or back story. They never did clear up how Sebastian Donner/The Drownsman knew how to travel into the netherworld? Was it voodoo? Was it an accident? Nothing can just happen, there needs to be a reason. Also, why do we never see Hannahs' fiance/husband? Doesn't he care about his new wife and where she is going and doing? I guess not, because from what I remember, she doesn't get one phone call and nobody mentions him outside the event at the beginning. Personally, I think she just made him up and she's probably the bat shit crazy one not Madison. Finally, why did it take so long for them to confront Madison with this basket case issue? She suffered a year or like 6 months with it and I guess the Drownsman is one slow dude on tasks because I'm sure he could have gotten around to
this a little bit faster. These characters need depth, they need a background story and there has to be reasons why people do and say things, it can't just be because or you're left with the these one note characters that nobody gives a shit about.
Also, everything is given to the characters and they don't seem to have to work for it. This person has information on the Drownsman, he's home and has a box of stuff with all the information they need, or this lady was one of his victim, she's in a mental institution that can be accessed at all hours of the day and is sane enough to give them just the right pertinent information they need. Stories need some kind of push/pull, I want the characters work for that information! This is what causes tension, it's ten o'clock, visiting hours are closed, or the tapes the man had on the Drownsman were destroyed by flooding last year! Give the characters some obstacles, the audience will appreciate it.
With that said, it's still an aright movie but it could have been a better. It definitely has some good scares and again the concept is solid but the build up can be frustrating at times. Eventually though, the story gets into it's groove and there are some good twists and turns of terror. So check it out and you may never bath again, or even less than you normally do!
FANTASIA 2014: THE DROWNSMAN – WORLD PREMIERE TRAILER by Evil Argento July 30, 2014 http://www.yellmagazine.com/fantasia-‐2014-‐the-‐drownsman-‐world-‐premiere-‐ trailer/87833/
They say that drowning is one of the most peaceful ways to die, yet despite this the fear of water is a very real phobia for many people. If you’re among this demographic, you probably will want to skip The Drownsman, just as arachnophobes should have skippedArachnophobia, starring John Goodman.
After the success of Antisocial, writer/director Chad Archibald and Black Fawns Films have selected Fantasia to make The Drownsman’s World Premiere. The screening will be this Saturday, August 2nd. Starring Michelle Mylett, Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson, The Drownsman tells the story of Madison, who, after almost drowning in a lake, finds herself bound to a life of fear. Madison’s friends attempt an unconventional intervention in which they accidentally open a floodgate to a dark place where none of them are safe. As Madison and her friends dive deeper into the dark history of this figure that haunts them, it reaches out and begins dragging them to a horrifying place that they can never come back from.
Watch the trailer above and let us know what you think in the comments below. Personally, this looks terrifying. Rock Hard \m/
Fantasia 2014: The Drownsman
C.J. Prince July 31, 2014 http://waytooindie.com/news/fantasia-‐2014-‐the-‐drownsman/
The Drownsman stars Michelle Mylett as Madison, a young woman we know absolutely nothing about. Madison’s best friend Hannah (Caroline Korycki) just got engaged, and after accepting Hannah’s request to be maid of honour, Madison nearly drowns in an accident. Madison had a vision of a hulking, demonic-‐looking person locking her in a basement while drowning, and the hallucination now makes her deathly afraid of water. Director Chad Archibald establishes the severity of Madison’s fear by showing her cowering in her bedroom, sobbing because it’s raining outside. I wondered why Madison wasn’t afraid of crying, considering she’s covering herself in tears. I also wondered if Madison freaks out on a particularly humid day in case she starts sweating. Then I realized I was putting more thought into this movie than the writers ever did. Unfortunately that rainy day also happened to be the day of Hannah’s wedding, and Hannah, now losing patience with her best friend’s behaviour, takes action. Hannah grabs two of Madison’s close friends (Gemma Bird Matheson & Sydney Kondruss) and a
spiritual type (Clare Bastable) to contact the spirit haunting Madison and get it to leave. The whole thing is a hoax, though; Hannah’s doing it as a trick to convince Madison to get over her fear. Yet oddly enough this fake ceremony somehow does contact the evil spirit, the ghost of a serial killer whose MO was drowning women, and one by one everyone around Madison gets picked off by the titular villain.
The Drownsman can only travel through water, as it acts like a gateway to his “realm” (the shoddy basement in Madison’s vision) where he proceeds to drown his victims. Like everything else in the film, this brings up a lot of questions. Why does the Drownsman have to kill people in his basement? He can clearly exist in our world, as shown by how he appears in puddles or any pool of water, yet he continues to drag people kicking and screaming into his weird, undefined alternate dimension. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to drown them in the water he uses to travel to our world? And why, as we learn toward the climax of the film, does the Drownsman have a fear of fire? If someone tried to light him on fire, couldn’t he just use the water surrounding him to put it out? He wouldn’t even have to roll, just stop and drop. I finished The Drownsman with plenty more questions, but sadly I don’t think I’ll ever get any answers. Some of the more basic questions are easy to figure out. This is a low budget, presumably straight to DVD horror film, so the awful acting, terrible dialogue and shoddy direction are all easy to understand. They’re expected to some degree. How a film with such a stupid premise made it past the development phase is something I can’t really figure out. I may have hated The Drownsman, but it’s not completely worthless. Whether it’s intentional or not, the scenes of characters flinching at the presence of water makes for some of the year’s funniest moments. I’ll give The Drownsman credit: it’s the only film I’ve seen where people cower in fear as someone next to them drinks from a bottle of water. There’s something of value there, even if I can’t figure out what it is exactly.
The Drownsman
August 1, 2014 Syril Tiar http://www.cinemaniak.net/drownsman/ Film d’horreur d’un ennui réel Et si vous souffriez d’un cas extrême d’hydrophobie, une peur de l’eau si accablante qu’un simple verre de ce liquide ou une légère pluie vous rendrait hystérique ? Maintenant, imaginez que cette peur – que tous les gens qui vous entourent estiment être irrationnels – soit justifiée…. Voici un film d’horreur/épouvante des plus classiques… avec de faux airs de Massacre à tronçonneuse (qui sera justement projeté dans le cadre d’une version restaurée le 30 juillet à Fantasia) …deJeepers Creepers…ou de bien d’autres des films de peur où des jeunes filles plutôt démunies y passent les unes après les autres non sans s’être battu face à un vilain plutôt laid. Enfin Massacre à la tronçonneuse (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) a maintenant 30 ans…et il serait temps d’essayer de se renouveler… C’est poussif, plutôt commun et bien trop « déjà vu ». Passez votre chemin!
Fantasia 2014: Haunting Stills for the Supernatural Horror Film "The Drownsman" August 1, 2014 http://www.film-‐arcade.net/2014/08/fantasia-‐2014-‐haunting-‐stills-‐for.html Black Fawn Films recently send us over stills for their upcoming "The Drownsman",which will be making it's world premiere at this year's Fantasia International Film Festival. The film is the latest from director Chad Archibald, who directed the very entertaining horror film "Antisocial". The film reunites him with "Antisocial star Michelle Mylett. Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson, Sydney Kondruss also star in the film. "The Drownsman" will be making it's world premiere on 2nd at 5:15 at the D.B.Clarke Theatre in Montreal, QC. No U.S. release plans are known at this time For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TheDrownsmanMovie. Plot Synopsis: After almost drowning in a lake, Madison finds herself bound to a life of fear. Unable to describe what happened to her during the moments she was underwater, Madison begins to develop hydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. Crippled by her post trauma, Madison attempts to shut out the world around her but, her fear intensifies when she begins to be haunted by the vision of an evil figure. After watching her struggle for over
a year, Madison's four friends stage an intervention in a desperate attempt to help. In doing so, they accidentally open a floodgate to a dark place where none of them are safe. As Madison and her friends dive deeper into the dark history of the evil that haunts them, they’re dragged one by one to a horrifying place where they may never return.
Fantasia International Film Festival: The Drownsman Review By Derek Deskns AUGUST 1, 2014 http://nextprojection.com/2014/08/01/fantasia-‐international-‐film-‐festival-‐drownsman-‐ review/ -‐ comments
The Drownsman (2014) Cast: Michelle Mylett, Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson Director: Chad Archibald Country: Canada Genre: Fantasy | Horror | Thriller Official Site: Here
Editor’s Note: The Drownsman has its world premiere August 2, as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival. For more information visit fantasiafestival.com and follow Fantasia International Film Festival on Twitter at @FantasiaFest. Despite the perceived simplicity of the horror genre, it is something that is extremely difficult to get right. It is such a diversified field, so even figuring out the type of horror film you want to be is a struggle. Regardless of its many eccentricities, penchant for
sequels, and the latest found footage fad, the core principle of horror is that of fear. We are attracted to these films because they make us feel uneasy, adrenaline coursing through our bodies. The hair on the back of our neck springs to attention as we tremble with anticipation, both dreading and yearning for that thrill of terror. As such, it is the ultimate in disappointment when a horror film fails to deliver on this very base of its genre.The Drownsman is just such a disappointment. After Madison (Michelle Mylett) slips into a lake and almost drowns, her life becomes consumed with a fear of water. She struggles to cope with her phobia, as the world is filled with her aqueous nemesis. When she fails to show up to her best friend’s wedding, because of a local rainstorm, her circle of friends reaches their breaking point. In hopes of making her see her delusion for what they believe it to be, they stage an intervention/quasi-‐exorcism. Unfortunately, their intervention does more harm than good and they soon have to face the ultimate nightmarish form of Madison’s fear. Archibald would love it if you considered him the next coming of Craven, but in his homage/aping of style he forgets to produce his own voice. Instead we are left with nothing more than a mediocre knockoff. It doesn’t take much to notice that writer-‐director Chad Archibald is a child of 80s horror. While there are notes ofHalloween, and splashes of Friday the 13th, the film’s most obvious older brother is Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact, that seems like an appropriate way to describe the two, Nightmare trotting around and impressing his younger brother, while The Drownsman places his fraternal relative on a pedestal of the highest quality. But no younger sibling can experience true success by simply repeating the actions of he who came first. Archibald would love it if you considered him the next coming of Craven, but in his homage/aping of style he forgets to produce his own voice. Instead we are left with nothing more than a mediocre knockoff. The film’s originality of premise reads initially as a strength, until your brain enters the equation and begins to pick away at its already lean corpse. The fear of water has yet to truly be personified in film, so tackling that seems admirable. Unfortunately writers Archibald and Cody Calahan don’t seem to have put too much thought into it. They
attempt to show that there is a way to manage this fear, showing Madison taking fluid intravenously. The explanation is somewhat appreciated, although it then makes the audience question how Madison is able to have hair that remains so flowing and well coifed, because a bath or shower is assuredly a non-‐starter. You cannot pay reverence to one issue and then forget all the rest. It may have been better to just embrace the unmanageability of the concept, rather than marring yourself in a quagmire of incomplete explanation. Further complicating the matter is the relative tameness of death by drowning. Where other horror films can indulge in a variety of kill shots, The Drownsman has severely limited itself. The killer largely relies on tanks or tubs of water to dispatch with his victims, and as a result the kills become repetitive and boring fairly rapidly. By the third time you have seen a girl gently writhe balleticly underwater, you grossly hope for something new. Admittedly Archibald does a fantastic job with the underwater scenes, imbuing them with a certain beauty that juxtaposes the grisly deaths nicely. However, a pleasing aesthetic only further saps the film of a modicum of real terror. The opening segment could survive as a separate, and superior short. In its few moments it creates a more terrifying atmosphere, touching upon the troubling nature of kidnapping, and introducing a villain with just enough vulnerability to be compelling. There are bits in The Drownsman that speak of a talent behind the camera, but they are shackled to this mess of a film. The opening segment could survive as a separate, and superior short. In its few moments it creates a more terrifying atmosphere, touching upon the troubling nature of kidnapping, and introducing a villain with just enough vulnerability to be compelling. Unfortunately, there is plenty of film that follows. The dialogue is staid and laughably clinical, rather than fresh and authentic, and the cast struggles to deliver it in a manner outside of wooden. The acting is barely serviceable with most of the cast unable to show themselves as actual humans. However, lead Michelle Mylett deftly carries the film, revealing herself as a promising scream queen. The Drownsman is a frustrating horror film, as its moments of success only serve to highlight the mediocrity of the majority of its runtime. It aspires to be mentioned in the same breath as Nightmare on Elm Street, but feels more at home alongside the later Final Destinations. The Drownsman is a frustrating horror film, as its moments of success only serve to highlight the mediocrity of the majority of its runtime. It aspires to be mentioned in the same breath as Nightmare on Elm Street, but feels more at home alongside the later Final Destinations.
It Came From the Indies – The Drownsman
by Martin August 2, 2014 http://nerdylittlesecret.com/main/icfti-‐1-‐ drownsman/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+NerdyLittleS ecret+(nerdy+little+secret)
Welcome to the new flagship show for the new Nerdy Little Secret! It Came From the Indies is dedicated to pushing the cause of independent genre film and entertainment with interviews, features, and any other way we can spread the word about this thriving film scene. Join Martin and Ashlee as they talk THE DROWNSMAN with producer Christopher Giroux, director/co-‐writer/producer Chad Archibald and two of the stars, Syndey Kondruss and Clare Bastable. They are bringing back the 80′s style strong horror antagonist with The Drownsman, a character meant to stand next to the likes of Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and The Candyman. Being that The Drownsman was shot in a harsh Canadian winter and featured a lot of scenes that involved a great amount of water they share their stories of the trials and tribulations of a difficult, but fruitful shoot. It’s a great listen as cast and crew tell stories from the set and really prove a great example of the passion and desire to make great horror that is so unique to the independent genre scene. On top of that Chad and Christopher also talk about EJECTA, a sci-‐fi horror that they worked on which was written by Tony Burgess of Pontypool fame. Chris also gives some exclusive news on their next project, and it’s a sequel! Find Ashlee on Twitter and on her website Graveyard Shift Sisters Martin is on Twitter too Subscribe to our RSS Feed, iTunes and Stitcher links coming soon Intro music courtesy of Rock Plaza Central Outtro music courtesy of Big Attack!
Fantasia Review: The Drownsman (2014) – or – Underwater Freddy By Will Brownridge August 2, 2014 http://www.the-‐filmreel.com/2014/08/02/review-‐drownsman-‐2014/
After almost drowning in a lake, Madison (Michelle Mylett) develops an intense fear of water. She even refuses to go outside if it’s raining, which causes her to miss her friends wedding. Desperate to help her overcome her fear, her friends try to get her to sit in a bathtub full of water, which only makes things worse. Madison keeps seeing a mysterious man known as The Drownsman (Ry Barrett), and now her friends are seeing him too. When The Drownsman shows up, somebody always winds up dying, and Madison must finally overcome her fear, in order to put a stop to the supernatural figure. Chad Archibald and Cody Calahan share writing duties on The Drownsman, while Archibald steps behind the camera to direct, and together, they create a terrifying new creature, although one that seems a touch familiar. Michelle Mylett takes the lead,
working with Archibald and Calahan again, after their last film, Antisocial. She continues the great work, and once again proves that she makes a fantastic badass heroine. There seems to be an influence of Nightmare on Elm Street here. The lair of The Drownsman instantly recalls the steaming pipes of Freddy’s world, although water replaces the flames. There’s also the fact that many of the interactions between the characters, and The Drownsman, seem to occur in a dream like place. They’re not sleeping, but you get that impression. It’s Ry Barrett as The Drownsman that takes this one to great heights. This is a terrifying villain. Massive, and powerful, with the ability to basically appear anywhere there is water. It’s always the villain that makes a horror film, and this is where The Drownsman truly succeeds. Is The Drownsman Worth Watching? Despite a few last minute twists that are a bit ridiculous, the film works quite well. Growing up with the same films, you can now start to see whose work is inspired by what, while Archibald and Calahan still make it their own. It’s Ry Barrett who really makes this film though, as The Drownsman is a truly frightening monster, and one you’ll want to see more of. The Drownsman Screening Time • Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 5:15 pm at DB Clarke Theatre • The Drownsman Trailer
Fantasia Fest Review: THE DROWNSMAN Gives Us The Best And Worst Of 80s Slashers By Meredith Borders August 03, 2014 http://badassdigest.com/2014/08/03/fantasia-‐fest-‐review-‐the-‐drownsman One look at the poster for writer/director Chad Archibald's The Drownsman, and we know what he's going for: a throwback to the supernatural slasher franchises of the late '70s and early '80s. It's a noble aspiration, and one that feels like it could be successful in the opening minutes of The Drownsman (after a quick cold open that establishes The Drownsman's origin story, a mistake so early in the film). It's too bad the rest of the movie never fulfills the promise of The Drownsman's opening scenes. After the title card, we open on a group of girls at a party by a lake. Encouraging, right? The tone here is on point for those early slasher flicks, and lead Michelle Mylett has just the right look as Madison: effortlessly cool prettiness, tattered jeans, high-‐top sneakers. After some chit-‐chat (charmingly stilted in the grand slasher tradition) about the upcoming wedding of her friend Hannah (Caroline Korycki), Madison slips on a beer bottle on the pier and falls into the lake. She's immediately transported in her mind to the dark, leaky dungeon of
The Drownsman, a monster who looks like a black metal Swamp Thing. He very nearly does her in before she wakes on the pier, coughing and surrounded by her friends. We cut to a year later to find Madison terrified of all water; she takes her fluids intravenously and misses Hannah's wedding because it's raining outside. The girls are fed up with Madison's phobia, and decide to stage an intervention via an amateur medium named Cathryn (Clare Bastable). I hoped here that the remainder of The Drownsman was going to take place over the course of one night, in Hannah's house during this ill-‐advised seance. As the girls force Madison into the bathroom to find a tub filled with water and surrounded by candles, The Drownsman looked as if it were headed in a really tight, satisfying direction. Unfortunately, five minutes later, the girls are out the door and The Drownsman spirals outward for another hour and fifteen minutes of increasingly complex mythology and logic-‐defying turns. It's best, I know, to not get hung up on logic in any movie, and particularly not in a supernatural slasher. But the problem arises when The Drownsman doesn't follow its own, in-‐universe rules. After Cathryn summons the killer out of his watery grave from which he could reach only Madison, he's soon able to menace any of the girls if water is nearby. But then water starts appearing in unlikely places, like an elevator. How does that work? And while we're asking questions: how is Madison's hair so shiny if she hasn't bathed in a year? And more damningly: if the events of the film take place after the night of Hannah's wedding, where's her husband in all of this? What do any of these girls do for a living? What do they do when they're not chasing The Drownsman? Logic concerns are secondary to the real flaw here: knowing nothing about these women, seeing no other part of their lives, makes it impossible for us to care about them. We see Nancy Thompson and Laurie Strode at school; we see Alice Hardy making preparations at camp. All we ever see of Madison, other than those too-‐brief minutes at the party, is as the would-‐be victim of The Drownsman. Again, none of this would matter if the film took place over one night, in one location, but once it starts sprawling out over the town and a period of several days, we can't help but notice the sparseness of the characters and the narrative. The Drownsman feels like both the first and the fourth entry in a slasher series. It opens as the first -‐ the party, the seance -‐ but we're soon saddled with a silly mythology tying Madison more deeply into the history of The Drownsman, and it feels like the sort of infuriating ret-‐con that pops up in later entries, humanizing the killer in a way that no one wanted. It's clear that Archibald loves Carpenter and Craven -‐ in fact, the mental hospital in town is called "C.G. Craven Psychiatric Facility" -‐ and I like that The Drownsman has roots in those films that informed so many horror lovers over the past 36 years. But the film doesn't know its own strengths, and soon abandons its best parts for something much weaker.
Fantasia 2014 Review: THE DROWNSMAN, The Super Soaker Terror Gets Too Silly At Times Andrew Mack http://twitchfilm.com/2014/08/fantasia-‐2014-‐review-‐the-‐drownsman-‐the-‐super-‐ soaker-‐terror-‐gets-‐too-‐silly-‐at-‐times.html#ixzz3Boa0U7Pi
Madison has a fear of water. A year ago she had an accident and nearly drowned. When she was under, she was pulled into the lair of The Drownsman. Since then she will not go near water. She even misses the wedding of her bestie, Hannah, because it was raining that day. Her friends have had enough and they plan an intervention the next day. Screw the honeymoon! With the help of another friend who dabbles in the spiritual world, they attempt to make contact with whatever is terrorizing Madison. Turns out she made contact with Sebastian Donner, aka the Drownsman. Donner was a serial killer who would drown his victims and listen to their heartbeats as they died. Madison must solve the mystery of why the Drownsman is after her and her friends. Because once contact has been made, there may be nothing to stop him from taking them all to a watery grave. There is a lot to appreciate with one of Chad Archibald's latest films (he has two films at Fantasia this year). For one, there is that old-‐school stalker killer vibe that he tries to emulate here, and it works for the most part. One by one, the girls are picked off by the Drownsman. The first kill is probably the most akin to the slasher films of yore that
Archibald was paying homage to in his film. It was some real Nightmare of Elm Street stuff there. The second one is not so bad, either, from the capture to when the Drownsman kills the second victim in his lair. Things get a little tepid after that, though. The Drownsman's lair looks great on screen, and lighting against the steam rising off the girls' bodies makes for some terrific visuals, in a totally creepy, but not staring at wet young girls creepy kind of way. Although it is never explained why Sebastian Donner transforms into the grotesque Drownsman, the makeup effects are cool. Canadian "Man of Horror," Ry Barrett, plays the super soaker terror, but has little to do other than moan a couple of names, then get clingy. But credit is due, because he has to do a number of water stunts with makeup and costume on, which I guarantee is heavier than Madison's cashmere sweater. Credit is also due to all five actresses who had to endure the various water traps on set. Everything is as practical as possible. I have to follow up with Archibald about this, but when we spoke about this film on the set back in the fall, the goal was to use as much practical effects (i.e. spill a little water here and there) when possible and try to minimize the number of special effects. So the film has to be awfully presumptive that water can just appear out of anywhere, as we will see later on. But for the first little while, everything remains fairly grounded and one can assume that the Drownsman can force his way through anything, even if it means turning on all the taps or causing refrigerators to defrost in an instant. The film takes a detour when Madison and the remaining friends go to the local psych ward to visit the only living survivor, Isabelle. It takes a preposterous turn when the staff allows the girls to see her, but they are asked twice if they are carrying anything flammable. Turns out, Isabelle likes to set fires to ward off the Drownsman. But heck, seeing visitors might be good for her, one of the staff reasons. Sure. Have at it. Then, on the elevator ride down, it starts to flood. The elevator. Twelve floors above ground. Starts to flood. From the roof. And his royal soppiness shows up and takes another victim. From the elevator. In the air. Up until this point all the water related activities have been great, allowing for some suspension of disbelief. However, the cables holding up my disbelief snapped right here. The film tries to right itself as Madison heads to the old home of the Drownsman (the one place that Isabelle did not set on fire) so she can find his lair. There she will confront him and hopefully kill him, ending his reign of terror (about 48 hours). Of course, as stalker slasher films go, she will defeat the Drownsman in the end. But does she really? Archibald's horror films started off great, and I think he succeeded in his homage to great stalker films from back in the day. For me, though, it succumbed to a bout of soaking silliness before the final act. Like a biscuit held for too long in a cup of tea, eventually we were going to lose a chunk of momentum. It made a valiant effort to bring itself around with strong visuals and a decent villain kill. It did not fully recover for me, but I still enjoyed the ride for the 'moist' part. The Drownsman had its World Premiere early on Saturday, August 1. The review came compliments of a screener provided by the director as my time at the fest had already passed.
Film Review: The Drownsman Revives ’70s-‐style Villain Posted on August 3, 2014. By Jeremy Lefebvre http://montrealrampage.com/film-‐review-‐the-‐drownsman-‐revives-‐70s-‐style-‐villain/
Hailing from Guelph, Ontario, Black Fawn Films a Canadian production company, brings The Drownsman a horror flick. Directed and written by Chad Archibald and co-‐ writer Cody Calahan, the two have been working hard to create a movie that will frighten you. Black Fawn Films hoped to create a ’70s type persona of a badass villain, something that has long been dropped by horror films and replaced by paranormal activities and zombies.
The Drownsman offers an interesting plot of a troubled girl named Madison (Michelle Mylett), tormented by visions of a creature whom drowns his victims. Paralyzed by hydrophobia, Madison flees any source of water until her friends bring in a conjurer. This hoax, unfortunately for our girls, turns horribly wrong, yet keeps us entertained. We follow Madison and her girlfriends throughout the story and one by one the inevitable happens as they meet their fate only to slowly find out that blood is not thicker than water in this flick. The artistic direction and mood set in this film is beautiful. Every scene amazingly crafted and well laid out, even when the choices are questionable. Who has a bathtub in the centre of their bathroom? It does happen, but not very often. The
Drownsman’s lair is awesome. There are a bunch of tanks where he drowns his victims and even –-‐ yes, you guessed it –-‐ a bathtub. Some things disturbed my enjoyment of the film. The story moved at a slow pace and there was the sudden coincidence of certain events. Most horror stories will try to make a viewer believe that this could happen to him and that all of this is real. The scenes where our victims are brought to the lair to be drowned are wonderfully executed but at the same time lacked realism. I won’t ruin anything but I sort of giggled when a nurse takes out her water bottle.
With such huge potential, the idea behind the film was amazing, the ’70s-‐take on horror film might have been what made me less afraid. Overall, I give it a 6/10. For me the story just didn’t cut it the right way. Again, not to spoil anything, the final showdown is quickly resolved and left me feeling a little cheated. More slapping in some instances would have been required and for good reasons. Black Fawn Films is one of those production companies that has been built like a family. With such artistic potential, I cannot stop cheering for these Canadian boys. The Drownsman premiered at the Fantasia Festival.
Fantasia 2014: Anchor Bay Canada and Breaththrough Entertainment Swim Away With The Drownsman By Steve Barton August 4th, 2014 http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/77610/fantasia-‐2014-‐anchor-‐bay-‐canada-‐and-‐ breaththrough-‐entertainment-‐swim-‐away-‐drownsman#ixzz3BoXVxYZi Some early distro news has come in for another flick which is playing as part of the 2014 Fantasia Film Festival, The Drownsman. Read on for the latest on this splashy new fear flick. Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada and Breakthrough Entertainment will release The Drownsman in the Canadian home market. Chad Archibald directs the film, which stars Michelle Mylett, Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson, Sydney Kondruss, Clare Bastable, and Ry Barrett, who plays the title character. Synopsis After almost drowning in a lake, Madison finds herself bound to a life of fear. Unable to describe what happened to her during the moments she was underwater, Madison begins to develop hydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. Crippled by her post trauma, Madison attempts to shut out the world around her, but her fear intensifies when she begins to be haunted by the vision of an evil figure. After watching her struggle for over a year, Madison's four friends stage an intervention in a desperate attempt to help. In doing so, they accidentally open a floodgate to a dark place where none of them are safe. As Madison and her friends dive deeper into the dark history of the evil that haunts them, they’re dragged one by one to a horrifying place from which they may never return.
Fantasia '14] ‘The Drownsman’ Acquired By Anchor Bay and Breakthrough Ent. (Exclusive) By Brad Miska August 4, 2014 http://bloody-‐disgusting.com/exclusives/3306352/fantasia-‐14-‐exclusive-‐drownsman-‐ acquired-‐anchor-‐bay-‐breakthrough-‐entertainment/
Some exclusive news out of the Fantasia Film Festival as Bloody Disgusting learned that Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada and Breakthrough Entertainment will release The Drownsman in the Canadian home entertainment market. This news lands just as the film celebrates its world premiere at the festival in Montreal and is part of a new wave of independently produced horror films. “After almost drowning in a lake, Madison finds herself bound to a life of fear. Unable to describe what happened to her during the moments she was underwater, Madison begins to develop hydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. Crippled by her trauma, Madison attempts to shut out the world around her, but her fear intensifies when she begins to be haunted by the vision of an evil figure. After watching her struggle for over a year, Madison’s four friends stage an intervention in a desperate attempt to help. In doing so, they accidentally open a floodgate to a dark place where none of them are safe. As Madison and her friends dive deeper into the dark history of the evil that haunts them, they’re dragged one by one to a horrifying place where they may never return.” The Drownsman was directed by Chad Archibald (Neverlost, Ejecta), written by Cody Calahan (Antisocial) and Chad Archibald, produced by Christopher Giroux (Dead All Night) and stars Michelle Mylett (Antisocial), Caroline Korycki, Gemma Bird Matheson, Sydney Kondruss, Clare Bastable and in the horrifying title role, Ry Barrett (Neverlost, Kingdom Come, If A Tree Falls).
The Drownsman and Miss Granny – 9to5 Goes to Fantasia International Film Festival August 5, 2014 at 2:25 am http://9to5.cc/the-‐drownsman-‐and-‐miss-‐granny-‐9to5-‐goes-‐to-‐fantasia-‐international-‐ film-‐festival/ It’s Monday! It’s a little later in the day than we were expecting but that was largely my fault for being at Osheaga all weekend, but we’re back! Jon watched the throwback classic 80s horror film The Drownsman and then he checked out the Korean pop-‐culture satire Miss Granny. Also, big news, we’ve watched so many movies that this podcast series is probably going to last longer than the festival itself. I know guys, I’m excited too. Link to audio: http://9to5.cc/?powerpress_pinw=3190-‐podcast
The Drownsman Movie Review Simon Rother Aug 9th, 2014 http://www.horror-‐movies.ca/2014/08/drownsman/ A supernatural killer in the likes of Samara Morgan (The Ring) is darkly present in “The Drownsman”, making its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival. Madison is deathly afraid of water. Whether it be a lake, a sink full of water, or even a glass of this natural liquid. You see, Madison nearly drowned a year ago by bumping her head before falling into a lake. While she was out, she had visions of a creepy, menacing man with long, wet, dark hair, hanging limp over his face. The terrifying visions were interrupted when she was brought back on ground and spat out the water that would now frighten her deeply. Today, she is terrified of water and visions of a mythical
“Drownsman” have invaded her life, even preventing her from showing up as the bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding because of the rain. Her friends have had enough and attempt an intervention on Madison in hopes to rid her of her aquaphobia. Things go wrong, however, as the Drownsman begins to haunt each girl with an unquenchable thirst (get it?) to claim their lives. The movie has a nice “Ring” (okay, I’m done with the puns) to it: individuals being gradually haunted by a creepy, supernatural character with drooping, damp hair; water dripping here and there; and a main character running around for clue after clue to develop the story and come to a solution for these hauntings. The Drownsman himself is eerie with his imposing structure and posture. Plus, the storyline progresses well. However, even if the Drownsman uses different techniques to finish off his victims, the process of getting them to their final demise gets quite repetitive and predictable. In addition to this, quite a few of the actors and actresses don’t play their role very good as you sometimes notice them lacking emotion in some scenes or totally overplaying it. These fine details can sometimes be quite annoying when viewing this film. It’s worth a watch if you decide to, but if you choose to pass, you won’t miss the movie of the year, either. “The Drownsman” deserves 3 stars out of 5.
THE DROWNSMAN Warns: Watch Out for the Killer in the Water! [Review] Marina Antunes Aug, 28, 2014 http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2014/08/THE-‐DROWNSMAN-‐Warns-‐Watch-‐Out-‐for-‐the-‐Killer-‐in-‐the-‐Water-‐ Review
I love seeing horror movies that feature strange objects either directly or indirectly killing people. Be it Death Bed (a killer bed), Ringu (a killer video), Exte (killer hair extensions) or even the crazy The Happening (killer trees), I can't help but get excited at the prospect of people dying because of otherwise innocuous things. The latest movie to jump in on the action is The Drownsman. Directed by Chad Archibald and co-‐ written by Archibald and producing partner Cody Calahan who last year directed Antisocial (which featured social media killing people – sort of (review)), The Drownsman takes on more of an urban, supernatural approach. Scream queen in the making Michelle Mylett re-‐unites with Calahan and Archibald this time playing Madison, a girl who, after nearly drowning in a lake, is paralyzed by water; she stays indoors when it rains and she consumes all of her liquids via a tube in her arm. Turns out that Madison isn't just afraid of water because of her near drowning. She also believes someone is trying to kill her through the water. Her friends all think she's crazy and when she misses her best friend's wedding because of her fear, her friends stage an intervention that ends up going terribly wrong. Now rather than Madison being the sole target, all of her friends are too. As the story progresses, The Drownsman evolves into a supernatural mystery about a girl facing her fears and trying to save her girl friends. Sometimes it gets completely
ridiculous (sorry, no pillow fights) and if you over think the premise, the entire thing falls apart (its never explained how Madison keeps herself clean) but as an excuse to capture gorgeous under water scenes, you could do worse than this set-‐up. It's clear that the titular Drownsman is conceived as a boogie man that could possibly spawn a franchise and though the character has an interesting design and adequately strange back story, the really impressive thing about The Drownsman is that it features a group of female leads who don't simply sit back and expect someone to save them. Madison, as terrified as she is of water, takes on her worst fear to save herself and, in the process, herself. It's refreshing to see a group of women take on the big bad guy head on. Thought the supporting characters are mostly vacant and the performances bland, the two leads of Mylett as Madison and new-‐comer Caroline Korycki as Madison's best friend Hannah, make up for it with their great chemistry and onscreen appeal but this is really Mylett's juicy role and she aptly manoeuvres through the scenes with great intensity. Though I didn't find The Drownsman particularly scary, I did find myself engrossed by it. Not only is it a really great looking movie, it's fun to watch, particularly with a loud crowd. The Drownsman is currently making its way around the festival circuit.
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Images from the World Premiere can be found on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97627695@N03/sets/72157646219793663/
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