SLASH/BACK

Do you know Pangnirtung, or literally “the place of the bull caribou”, in the province of Nunavat by the Arctic Circle? Nope? That’s normal. Nothing ever happens there. In summer it’s even worse, with 24 hours of daylight and non-stop boredom. Of course, to kill time, teenagers hang around the neighboring tundra to hunt little snow foxes or have a picnic. But one day (or night, go figure), Maika and her girl gang are attacked by an infuriated (bi)polar bear. A couple of bullets later, the beast is ready to be turned into a fashionable living room rug, but its strange behavior nevertheless troubles the girls. And they’re right to be suspicious. An extra-terrestrial entity just arrived at the Arctic Circle, with the adamant intention to possess all the bodies that it encounters. The problem is, all the adults are at the Solstice party getting wasted, leaving the rebel teens to deal with this alien invasion all by themselves. And they’re not exactly the commando type… The completely Inuit cast and setting is novel, but SLASH/BACK treads on the familiar territory of STRANGER THINGS, THE THING and ATTACK THE BLOCK. But director Nyla Innuksuk injects incredible know-how, a perfect dosage of special effects – prepare to get shivers! – and socially critical winks and nudges in what is impressively only her first feature!