Earth to Colby (Canada, 2026)
Official Synopsis
An aspiring vlogger discovers a notebook detailing hidden portals in her hometown, leading her on a journey to discover the city’s supernatural history. After paranormal vlogger Colby vanishes, a documentary crew digs through her content and recovered footage to uncover the truth. What they find is her growing obsession with a strange coil-bound book and the escalating hauntings that followed. As Colby searches for a sign from her late father, friends and family reveal the chilling descent that led to her disappearance.
Review
Director/cowriter/cinematographer/editor Rino Mioc serves up an intriguing high strangeness faux documentary with Earth to Colby. Saylor McPherson gives a thoroughly engaging star performance as Colby, a young woman so fascinated with the paranormal that she centers her life around her vlog on the topic, despite the skepticism of her best friend Derrick (Casey Coston) and her mother Denise (Anne Hawthorne, McPherson’s real-life mother).
Mioc, who cowrote the screenplay with Stephanie Kvellestad, combines interview footage, vlogger contents, and “unused/behind the scenes” vlog footage to strong effect. The ensemble cast members — which also include Elisa Collard as vlog collaborator/self-proclaimed witch Maxxie and Kevin Morrison as Maxxie’s on-again, off-again boyfriend and prank vlogger Bryce — all give terrific turns.
At the heart of Earth to Colby is Colby’s hope to connect with her deceased father, who was the main influence on her initial interest in the supernatural. It’s the drama of her relationships between her, those who care for her, and those who have ulterior motives that drive the plot, leading to viewers being fully invested in Colby so that her fate hits hard.
The Killing Cell (U.S., 2025)
Official Synopsis
Five friends break into an abandoned prison hoping to document proof of the paranormal. What they find is worse. It’s the summer of 2006 and local police have discovered one of the most horrific crime scenes in Georgia’s history. Teenagers Zack, Dan, Jeremy, Sadie, and Shawn head out to the long-abandoned River’s Edge Penitentiary, which is rumored to be haunted. As they explore the place, they discover that what inhabits it is much more dangerous than the paranormal.
Review
I need to state up front that I’m a hard sell on found footage fear fare that relies on the tropes of the subgenre without adding much new. With The Killing Cell, cowriters/codirectors/producers/stars James Bessey and Karsen Schovajsa deliver a feature that is heavy on the shocks and has plenty for it to be recommended, but that sticks closely to what has proven tried and true in previous found footage horror offerings.
The performances are overall very solid, with Bessey and Schovajsa as the leaders of a group of online supernatural vloggers. Erin Caitlin Collins, Jordan Whitley, and Luc Sabatier round out the team. For me, annoying characters bickering does not equal good drama. That said, if the filmmakers set out to write the character Shawn as wholly unlikable as possible, they absolutely nailed it, as does Sabatier in the role.
The atmosphere and set decoration of the abandoned penitentiary convey a properly dread-filled feeling throughout. SFX Makeup Department Head Brooke Gillespie, Key SFX Makeup Artist Kayla Kelley, and Special Makeup Effects Artist Omar Sfreddo all craft admirable gruesome work that will have some viewers turning away from the screen while others won’t be able to take their eyes off of it. The big reveal of the evil presence in the penitentiary feels somewhat rushed but makes sense as a surprise.
Although The Killing Cell pretty much follows the expected beats of most well-done found footage horror films, there is a good deal of talent on both sides of the camera on display. Devotees of the subgenre and gorehounds should find plenty to enjoy.
Earth to Colby and The Killing Cell screened as part of Calgary Underground Film Festival, which ran April 16-26, 2026. For more information, visit calgaryundergroundfilm.com.
