Festivals - Fantasia 2020 : The oak room, World Premiere

By Mulder, 12 august 2020

The oak room is a very different project from director Cody Calahan (Antisocial, screened at Fantasia in 2013) and his various horror colleagues at Black Fawn Films. Written by Peter Genoway based on his play, the script creates tension through dialogue, character nuances and timely revelations rather than forces from the beyond, explicit villainy or bloodshed. From its long opening scene, The oak room is both a captivating neo-noir and a meditation on the nature of storytelling, and how we shape the personal narratives we reveal to others - or, as Paul puts it, "in search of truth". RJ Mitte (Walter White Jr. in Breaking dad) and veteran actor Peter Outerbridge engage in a fascinating pas de deux spoken before the film begins to really jump into the facts and memories of the past.

Synopsis:
On a snowy night in a small Canadian town, Paul (Peter Outerbridge) is trying to close down his bar when a young man named Steve (RJ Mitte) walks in - with lots of luggage. A common episode in the two men's story creates a great deal of tension before Steve finally says he has one hell of a story to tell. It's about another bar, The Oak Room, another snowy night, and another bartender visited after hours, this time by a stranger. There is a story in this story too... and as each mini-story unfolds, it brings Paul and Steve closer to a truth that will have serious and irreparable consequences.

The oak Room
Directed by Cody Calahan
Produced by Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan, Jeff Maher, Ari Millen
Written by Peter Genoway
Starring Coal Campbell, Nicholas Campbell, Amos Crawley, Avery Esteves, David Ferry, Ari Millen, RJ Mitte, Peter Outerbridge, Martin Roach
Music by Steph Copeland
Cinematography : Jeff Maher
Edited by Mike Gallant
Release date : August 24 2020 (Canada)
Running time : 89mns

(Source : Fantasia 2020 official website)