YAGA

Carson (Clark Backo, The Changeling) is a local detective, at once weary and protective of the small coastal town she serves and its inhabitants. After the disappearance of commercial fishery heir and local party boy Henry Park (Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry), Carson begrudgingly partners up with Rapp (Noah Reid, Cardinals, TIFF ’17), a private investigator hired by the Park family. Rapp arrives on the scene with a bemused swagger and a personal connection to the case that immediately raises Carson’s hackles. When their initial lines of questioning lead them to an enigmatic and seductive university professor (Carrie-Anne Moss, The Matrix franchise), it becomes clear that it’s going to require all hands on deck to uncover the truth hidden underneath these shrouds of secrecy.

Adapted from the hit stage play of the same name by writer and showrunner Kat Sandler, YAGA is infused with a preternatural air: the feeling that no one is giving a straight answer, everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden, and something uncanny and monstrous might just be lurking in the shadows. With a strong ensemble cast of Canadians, and a powerfully subversive story, YAGA blends elements of horror and whodunnit, conjuring an ancient magic to examine our modern myths — why they persist, and who benefits from their continued survival.

GEOFF MACNAUGHTON

Content advisory: strobing effects, coarse language, nudity