Taking viewers to the grim Canadian backwoods for some tense bar talk, director Cody Calahan and writer Peter Genoway come together to create a killer thriller with “The Oak Room”.

Set against the backdrop of a frigid blizzard, the film follows an even colder relationship as Stevie (RJ Mitte) returns home after being a drifter for some time in order to collect the remains of his father (Nicolas Campbell) from an angry bartender named Paul (Peter Outerbridge). Paul was best friends with Stevie’s father, Gordon, and was forced to take care of his funeral arrangements and cremation since Stevie was out “drifting” and never came back for the funeral. Even worse is that Stevie can only repay the major debt that he owes to Paul with a story. So, as he starts to tell his story about two men at a bar called “The Oak Room”, the details and meaning of the story start to resonate with Paul in a way that turns the night into a dark tale of mistrust that leads to shocking and violent conclusions. Continue reading Fantasia Festival Review: The Oak Room