BITS is probably one of the few festivals championing web series as part of their content. And it’s nice to see filmmakers using the internet to tell their stories. Most of these work well in that format and in their respective visual methods.

Robin Hunters’ Mystery Trackers has a pompous TV host. He’s pretending to exorcise ghosts from the property of unsympathetic real estate owners. The janky animation is a rough start for the showcase. I also hope Mystery Trackers’ confines its problems in its pilot.

The showcase follows itself up with another pilot. Khizer Khani’s To No Man’s Land is actually a misnomer. It already asks us to juggle several characters and their convoluted drama. That said, I’m a sucker for an unconventional lead like Andrew Ravindran. And this sci-fi also perfectly incorporates nature, which is always good to see.

Unlike To No Man’s Land, Brodie Spaull and Paul Krysinski’s Dark Before Dawn confines itself into small spaces. Or at least that what it shows in this episode, where two survivors (Spaull and Krysinski) get into a caravan. Too bad the one person that our two heroes is a stereotype.

Courtney James’ Raveage is probably my favorite in the showcase. I saw four episodes, all of which show a different side of the techno world. Most of these episodes focuses on a woman, Serena (Miranda Millar) stepping onto that scene. The show uses its time to depict smart characters that audiences care about. And Daft Punk!

All of Matthew Campbell and Jason Fischer’s Demon X is available online. The two sexy priests in here will make you forget about Andrew Scott. But this series is mostly about a woman (Cassandra Ebner) discovering and grappling with her past. The tone here is also excellent in anticipating wicked presences. Osric Chau also appears in the series.

The showcase, lastly, treats us with Matthieu Laprise’s Utukku. It’s very mindful of both social and racial institutions as it tells the story of Vielda (Leanne Desilets). She deals with her bully through a voodoo doll. It then explores the dynamic of a white girl dealing with Haitian magic and its ensuing difficulties.

For more information on the rest of the BITS lineup go to https://www.bloodinthesnow.ca/