Ithaqua had its world premiere at Tubi FrightFest on Saturday afternoon – a rainy August day in London, a full house, and the first time the film had met an audience anywhere.
It was the crowd you want for a first screening. Laughs, gasps and shocked sighs in all the right places, and a round of applause for the trailer for our 4K restoration of Dracula, which was a lovely thing to sit in the middle of.
The first reviews landed overnight.
SciFiNow gave it five stars, with Anton Bitel calling it “bloody and grotesque, but also creepy and ambiguous, this tale of madness and murder in extremis exposes its characters to the country’s (and their own) nature.”
FILMHOUNDS also went to five stars. Matt Goddard called it “an inventive, grossly engrossing and impressively built horror that grows with confidence” and “packed with standout performances” — Kevin Durand having “a whale of a time”, Michael Pitt rising into “a soaring manifestation of evil”. His verdict: “a strong statement from the legendary name in horror.”
Eye for Film’s Jennie Kermode gave four and a half, and picked up on the care taken over the Algonquian folklore the story draws on: “Made in close consultation with the people whose ancient lore it borrows, this is a film rich in detail, so solidly grounded and astute in its observation of real world horrors that viewers will find it easy to accept its more fantastical aspects.” She finished: “You will not forget Ithaqua.”
UK Film Review’s Jason Knight made it four, praising the period work — “the mise-en-scène is impressive, establishing an early nineteenth-century environment.”
Kim Newman placed the film in the tradition of the “Northern”, alongside Ravenous and Ginger Snaps Back, and read its arrival at Hammer as a genuine fit — somewhere between The Abominable Snowman and Let Me In.
The Hollywood News’ Kat Hughes was cooler at three stars, but still called it “firm and sturdily made, ensuring that it can weather the sands of time.”
Credit where it’s due: to Casey and his fellow producers, to the cast, to a crew who built 1821 out of a Canadian winter, and to the team that got it to a festival screen. Saturday belonged to them.
A cinema release is expected further down the line, with Kaleidoscope Film Distribution handling sales. More when there’s something firm to share.
