Bite (2015)

It’s Casey’s (Elma Begovic) bachelorette, and her besties Kristen (Denise Yuen) and Jill (Annette Wozniak) take her to Costa Rica for fun in the sun. Casey has pre-wedding jitters, but her friends reassure her that her fiancé Jared (Jordan Gray) is a great catch. Their partying attracts an overly friendly man who tells them of a secret swimming hole. The young women find a secluded pool with pretty green water, but there are strange eggs on the shore, and Casey is bitten by something. Back at home, she feels the pressures of marriage and impending parenthood that Jared, a bona fide mamma’s boy, desperately wants to embark on. Her trip makes her realize that she’s not ready for this big commitment, and she wants to call the wedding off. To make matters worse, Casey’s body is drastically changing and she’s spiralling with no one to turn to.

Everyone wants something from Casey and some flat-out take advantage of her vulnerability. Bite is a creepy tale of isolation and the fear of judgment created by Duo Jayme LaForest and Chad Archibald, who also wrote and directed The Heretics. Begovic shines with this great character study of a young woman succumbing to pressures and assault in a uniquely horrific way. It’s a great addition to the Canadian body horror tradition started by David Cronenberg, the king of gory body transformations.