My quick rating – 5.4/10. Canvas presents itself as a visually striking arthouse experience, blending rotoscope-style animation (reminiscent of A Scanner Darkly) with live-action elements. Directed by Ryan Guiterman, the film follows FBI agent George Rohan (Stephen R. Key) as he attempts to cover up the murders of a demonic entity known as “The Painter,” while journalist Reila Martin (Isabel Ellison) works to expose the truth.
The animation style is undeniably one of the film’s strongest aspects, creating an eerie and surreal aesthetic that effectively blurs the line between reality and nightmare. The occasional use of live-action interviews is an intriguing touch, though the execution is marred by poor sound mixing—making much of the dialogue difficult to hear. This issue is further compounded by “The Painter” speaking in a foreign language, requiring subtitles to grasp its true intentions.
Despite being categorized as horror, this flick lacks the necessary tension or scares to justify the label. The story feels muddled, with scattered religious references and an overarching narrative that never fully comes together. While the film offers some intriguing ideas and strong visuals, the lack of coherence makes it easy to lose interest. Ultimately, Canvas is a stylish but flawed experiment—more of an artistic showcase than a compelling horror story.
Amazon and a few other streamers have this one to check out.