PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The closing night film at Filmfest 2026 was the Western horror film directed by Casey Walker (Home Bodies): Ithaqua. The film stars Luke Hemsworth (Beast), Kevin Durand (Abigail), and Michael Pitt (Funny Games).
Synopsis
As a brutal winter grips the Canadian wilderness and the fur trade begins its collapse, the isolated inhabitants of a remote trading outpost enlist Cole Franklin, an American mercenary haunted by his past, to investigate the silence that has fallen over a nearby Indigenous settlement. What he discovers is a scene of unimaginable terror and an overwhelming sense that something ancient and unnatural still lingers in the wilderness.
As fear spreads back to Fort William, an unseen presence begins to take hold. Paranoia, hunger and violence consume the isolated community, driving neighbor against neighbor as reason gives way to madness. With the fort descending into chaos and survival hanging by a thread, Cole must draw upon his military experience to lead a desperate band of survivors against a force that cannot easily be understood – or escaped.
Check out the trailer below:
Casey Walker took home the award for Best Director – Feature! The full list of award winners and nominees can be found here.
