When it comes to Indigenous horror and thriller films, the country I turn to is Canada. Their films are aggressive with thematic imagery (typically surrounding colonization), and they take advantage of their gorgeous setting while contradicting it with an unspeakable dread. While late director Jeff Barnaby paved the way for Indigenous horror films, director Nyla Innuksuk created her own path and derived from these tropes. Innuksuk’s debut film Slash/Back follows a more family friendly narrative while giving the representation spotlight to Indigenous teenage girls.
Slash/Back follows a group of teens within an arctic hamlet that soon becomes the center point of an alien invasion. The Skins, who are shapeshifting extraterrestrials, are never shown in their true form, as they hide within human bodies. As survival becomes the mission within the remote hamlet of Pangnirtung – Pang for short – the young Inuit team led by Maika (Tasiana Shirley) must overcome their paranoia and differences to fight against the invading foreigners.
While the premise of Slash/Back may sound similar to John Carpenter’s The Thing, it never once feels derivative. The film’s influences are overt as we even get one of the characters, Jesse (Alexis Wolfe), recounting the synopsis of The Thing. The iconic aspects of the film thrive within Slash/Back. The isolation and snowy setting is used to uncover a prominent theme for the protagonists’ character arcs. When Maika and some of the other girls daydream about leaving Pang and their culture behind, the remoteness is overbearing and suffocating. The isolation is framed as an inescapable dread and a reminder that Indigenous identity should be embraced. Whereas the shapeshifting aliens not only adds a layer of tension from paranoia, it cleverly displays the clear separation between the generations of Pang by the Skins preferred choice of who to inhabit.
Innuksuk utilizes the rural hamlet and the snowy environment of Pang to her advantage. With her past experiences with documentaries, one of which follows the square dancing culture within Pang, the first half of the film almost has a documentary quality to it. We get an ample amount of gorgeous frames centering around Pang as it nests in between the momentous mountains. But even in the presence of such stunning surroundings, some kids of the younger generation strive for a different environment. This leads to conversations and arguments between the four protagonists of the story with Maika and Uki (Nalajoss Ellsworth) butting heads for the majority of the film. Their acting, while stiff in certain areas, is believable to watch, especially considering that this was the majority of the cast’s first acting credit.
Once the action commences, the horror and other genre tropes come a plenty. While Slash/Back can be categorized as a coming-of-age film, it never forgets its horror roots. From the cold opening to the climax, scenes of disturbing body horror sequences, although extremely tame compared to The Thing, are abundant. Alot of the terror inducing sequences can be accredited to the body contortionist’s excellent work. The outstanding performance causes genuine fear for our characters as the film also isn’t afraid to show blood spatter beginning with the explosive first death.
The low budget does hinder some of the special and practical effects especially when the film displays the infected and aggressive wildlife. Fortunately it never once distracts from the narrative at hand. It’s easy to point out when a film’s budget limits certain aspects in filmmaking especially when it comes from a less experienced director. This isn’t the case with Innuksuk. Her creative vision and care for her story radiates from the screen. The way Slash/Back feels fresh as she weaves in both universal and Indigenous specific themes to a recurring premise in sci-fi horror films is impressive. Slash/Back is an entertaining genre film with plenty of subtext alongside representing a suppressed minority group. This makes me excited for the future of Indigenous horror industry, as well as the career of Nyla Innuksuk.
