The heaviness of current world events can feel like we are living in a simulation, a sort of “hell on earth” scenario. This real-life recurring feeling of hopelessness for humanity tees up audiences for what to expect in writer-director Ryan Guiterman’s animated sci-fi horror film, Canvas. This film doesn’t offer respite from the horrible atrocities that seem all too commonplace nowadays; instead, Guiterman uses society’s most vulnerable characteristics as the catalyst for his arthouse horror film. If you’re ready to embrace even more doom and gloom, then buckle up and let Canvas take you for a ride.

Canvas had its World Premiere at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in 2022 and Gravitas Ventures secured worldwide rights shortly thereafter. In this midnight movie, a demon known as “The Painter” (Ell Peck) comes to Earth with a gruesome mission—to create new spawn from chaos and death. The omniscient godlike being speaks in a baritone rumble, in Latin, which is in stark contrast to the protagonist of the film, George Rohan (Steve Key). George is an FBI agent who has been assigned a special place within the “Painter Defense Agency” to keep the demon at bay and civilization safe. No one is to know the existential threat that “The Painter” poses for fear of total chaos and unmanageable uprising, and so it is George’s job to keep things close to the vest. Meanwhile, journalist Reila Martin (Isabel Ellison) is hard at work attempting to expose George’s growing web of lies. But secrets this big can only be kept for so long until they burst at the seams, at which point it may be too late.

The impressionistic art style combined with its use of animation, live-action, and motion capture gives Canvas a sense of individuality among its animated peers. The Mortal Kombat-like font and use of heavy blacks and dark colors throughout are good indicators that this film is not family-friendly, or easily digestible for the average consumer. However, it doesn’t seem like Ryan Guiterman is concerned with pleasing the masses. The target audience for this film is open-minded cinephiles who appreciate the art of graphic novels and respond to thinly veiled political subject matter.

What we see on screen looks like a comic book come to life, the merging of artistic mediums makes for a visually captivating watch. At times though, scenes are colored too dark and prove challenging to decipher what is happening in detail. The score, while appropriately dark and disturbing, seems to have been the victim of a poor mix job. There are moments when it is too overpowering and loud, which drowns out the dialogue in key scenes, making it challenging to understand.

Despite its technical obstacles, Canvas is a bold and pointed debut by a clearly gifted storyteller. The film ends on a note that seems to entertain the idea of a sequel. If Canvas 2 becomes a reality, I’m all in.