Woods, Cubes, and Hills: 5 Best Canadian Escape Thrillers

Canada is kind of a scary place. No—really. We’re not all polite mounties and adorable moose. Our country is vast, and full of dark corners. This place is mysterious! All you have to do is look at Canada’s film legacy to know that our countrymen have got a seriously dark edge—and a fear of getting stuck in any number of terrible situations.

Have you seen The Revenant? Sure, it’s not set in Canada, but we all know it is Canada (Kananaskis Country in Alberta and Squamish, BC, to be exact). Need we say more? It’s a scary place.

In fact, this entire country could be considered an escape game, given the right situation. Whether thriller, horror, or drama, the Canadian films below certainly have escape on the mind. It’s simply an anxiety that comes with living in a sprawling, unknowable, unpredictable country.

Krakit’s Five Favourite Canadian Escape Thrillers

1. Cube (1997)

What began as a Canadian Film Centre First Feature Project has turned into one of sci-fi’s most beloved cult films. Six strangers wake up in a maze made of a series of interconnecting cubes. Unfortunately, some of the cubes are death traps just waiting for some unlucky soul to crawl into their centres.

2. Backcountry (2014)

Here is Canada in all its glory: the great outdoors. But in this case, the outdoors ain’t so great. Two campers—who come from the city, of course—get lost in one Canada’s many provincial parks. Unfortunately, the bear that’s tracking them knows the woods a whole lot better than they do. Even better: Montreal-born director Adam MacDonald based his film on a true story.

3. Silent Hill (2006)

The video game may not be Canadian, but the creepy, nightmare-inducing film version is the work of Flin Flon’s own Roger Avary (who also works a lot with Quentin Tarantino). In the search for her daughter, a woman enters the deserted town of Silent Hill—then finds herself desperately trying to escape it.

4. The Captive (2014)

Vancouver-born Ryan Reynolds—currently the darling of both Hollywood and the Internet in general—stars in fellow Canadian Atom Egoyan’s recent crime drama. A little girl goes missing, locked up against her will and unable to escape. It’s eight years later, and her father, Matthew (Reynolds), begins to experience strange events that suggest she’s still alive.

5. Prisoners (2013)

Celebrated Quebec director Denis Villeneuve helms this offbeat thriller, which sees a troubled cop (Jake Gyllenhaal) and an anguished father (Hugh Jackman) go head-to-head as they try to track down the man’s missing daughter and her friend. Things quickly spiral out of control as desperate men take desperate measures. This film is not advised for people afraid of small spaces.


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