John Allison had always dreamed of a genre film festival occurring in Saskatoon. However, instead of just hoping and praying for one to come here, he actually started one.

Now in its second year, the Dark Bridges Film Festival is Saskatoon’s only annual genre film festival. Running from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, this year’s festival will feature films about everything from post-apocalyptic vampires (Stake Land) to samurai warriors (13 Assassins) to hillbillies battling a group of enraged college kids (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil).

Allison has always been a big fan of genre film festivals like Toronto After Dark, but thought it was a problem that they did not occur anywhere in Canada between Toronto and Calgary.

“I get tired of having to go to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or Calgary to see these movies. I want them to show up here,” he said while sipping an iced coffee at the Broadway Roastery this past weekend.

Allison loves genre movies — or B-movies as they used to be known — and the impact they can have on audiences, but he saw the lack of venues where people could see these sorts of films as a real barrier.

“I used to go to Place Riel Theatre and I’m very bitter still about Place Riel Theatre no longer being there,” he said. “I remember I used to go see the Jackie Chan movies there. I’m trying to recreate some of that. It’s a combination of bringing fun stuff in and trying to expand people’s horizons.”

Last year, Allison made his dream a reality. The Dark Bridges Film Festival, of which he is the founder and chief organizer, occurred at the Roxy Theatre in late September featuring films like Centurion and The Good, the Bad, the Weird.

The Dark Bridges Film Festival wasn’t the first event in Saskatoon to spread a love of genre film. Bad Monster Films has been showing B-movies monthly for the past few years at their ever-popular Midnight Madness screenings at the Broadway Theatre. Allison hoped to capitalize on the perceived popularity of genre film in Saskatoon and to bring the excitement present at other film festivals or at Midnight Madness to his festival.

“I was at Human Centipede [at Midnight Madness] and that was crazy and that’s the fun a festival can be,” he said. “When the audience wants to participate with the movie, that’s a lot of fun.”

However, despite his hopes, last year’s Dark Bridges festival didn’t break even. Although there were individuals who stayed for every single movie, many films playing went largely unseen. Such is the difficulty of running a fledgling film festival.

Through his personal contacts with other genre festival organizers and relentless pursuit of Canadian distributors, Allison tries to pull in movies from wherever he can. However, the festival organization just doesn’t have the funds to bring in all the movies they wish they could.

“We get a few films that do come back and say they want like a thousand, two thousand dollars for a movie and we’re like, ‘Thank you, we’re Saskatoon!’ In five years from now, hopefully when we have the money and 200 people sitting in for each movie, then yeah.”

Nevertheless, Allison is optimistic about this year’s festival.

“I have a feeling that this year will be much better.” Allison believes moving the festival to the Broadway Theatre will do much to bring in more audience members.

The festival’s move from the Roxy to the Broadway Theatre was necessitated by a controversy this past spring over two films Dark Bridges was screening at the Roxy. Posters for grindhouse satires like Dead Hooker in a Trunk and The Taint brought some very vocal complaints against the Roxy, which caused Magic Lantern Theatres, the company that owns the Roxy Theatre, to cancel the film screenings and limit what sorts of films Dark Bridges could show in the future. This form of censorship didn’t sit well with Allison so he switched the festival to the Broadway Theatre, which has no limitations on what types of films can be shown as long as they are legal.

Although he encourages a public dialogue about the films he screens, Allison stands by his decision to show Dead Hooker in a Trunk and The Taint.

“I will never program a movie just for the sake of offending someone. But I have no problem with bringing in a movie that will challenge people and that does push buttons if it’s good and has a meaning to it,” he said. “I will show what I think people want to see. And if I think Saskatoon won’t want to see something, then I don’t want to show it.”

Allison’s intentions are not to “trick someone into coming in and seeing Texas Chainsaw Massacre when they’re expecting to see a Disney movie” but merely to “bring the movies to an audience.”

The Dark Bridges Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Broadway Theatre. Events throughout the weekend include a practical effects discussion with filmmaker Kenneth Cran, director of The Millennium Bug, and a Zombie Walk on Saturday evening. In addition to the features, short films precede each screening.

Although it seems like a lot for one man to organize, John Allison has no desire to slow down or stop building up the Dark Bridges Film Festival.

“Anyone with time and energy can do something like this. It’s just a lot of time and energy.”

The Dark Bridges Film Festival runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 at the Broadway Theatre. For a complete screening schedule, visit darkbridges.com.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf