Film
Rufus
Rufus is a quiet coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist: its protagonist happens to drink blood. It's a character study dressed in horror's clothes, thoughtful about isolation and the masks we wear. For viewers who want their genre films introspective and their monsters human.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like coming-of-age horror that treats a lonely kid's secret appetite with a straight face, letting unease build from small quirks rather than gore.
Skip it if you want fast scares or a sharp genre pulse, since this is a slow, mostly quiet drama where the horror arrives in small, scattered doses.
What it asks of you: Patience for nearly two hours of unhurried storytelling that lingers on loneliness and everyday routine, letting the menace accumulate slowly rather than arriving on cue.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Let the Right One In2008
A vampire story that's actually about loneliness, friendship, and the cost of survival. Atmospheric, genuinely moving, and proves the genre works best when it's intimate.
But Subtitled and deliberately paced. If you want action or jump scares, this patient Swedish film won't deliver them.

The Outsider2020
A troubled outsider in a small town, slowly revealing a terrible secret while everyone circles closer. Expertly built dread and real sympathy for an unlikeable protagonist.
But Ten hours long and deeply bleak. The horror is existential and stays with you in ways that can feel exhausting.

Ginger Snaps2000
A teenage girl's body horror transformation becomes a perfect metaphor for adolescence itself. Clever, darkly funny, and genuinely affecting under the genre mechanics.
But Early-2000s Canadian production values and a tone that shifts between earnest and jokey. Some might find it uneven.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rufus
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
A Dark Song2016
Both are character studies hiding inside genre. Both focus on an isolated protagonist with a secret—internal in Rufus, external here—and ask what happens when someone finally stops hiding.
A woman hires an occultist to conduct a dangerous ritual in an isolated house. It's a two-hander about grief, faith, and transformation that uses horror language to explore genuine spiritual longing.
But Quiet, slow, and emotionally heavy. Nothing jumps out. If you need plot momentum or clarity, this will frustrate you.

More like this (8)
The Witch2016
Isolates a family and slowly reveals the cracks in their faith and bonds. Atmospheric folk horror that trusts the audience to understand dread.
But Deliberately slow with minimal plot momentum. The dialect-heavy dialogue can be hard to parse.

Under the Skin2014
An alien in human form moves through Scotland observing us. Art-house sci-fi that's visually stunning and conceptually haunting.
But Glacially paced and deliberately obscure about plot. Some will find it pretentious or boring.

Carrie1976
A lonely teenage outsider discovers power and what it costs. Kinetic direction, genuine sympathy for the protagonist, and visceral filmmaking that influenced everything after.
But Mainstream and widely seen. You probably know this already. The climax is famous enough that surprise is gone.

It Follows2015
A curse hunts a group of teenagers with relentless logic. Treats its high-concept premise seriously and builds real tension from simple rules.
But The 80s synth score and style choices feel affected to some. The plot, stripped down, is fairly thin.

Goodnight Mommy2015
Austrian horror about twins and a mother's mysterious bandaged face. Unsettling atmosphere and a third-act twist that recontextualizes everything.
But Genuinely disturbing and violent toward children. The twist can feel gimmicky on reflection.

The Babadook2014
Grief manifests as a monster stalking a widow and her son. Psychological horror that's really about trauma, motherhood, and what we can't control.
But The horror is internal and metaphorical rather than visceral. Some want monsters to be monsters, not symbols.

We Need to Talk About Kevin2011
Both examine a young person whose difference feels monstrous to others. Both ask: is he evil, or has the world made him that way? Both refuse easy answers.
A mother reckons with her son's terrible act through fractured chronology and unsettling visual language. Raw, brutal, and philosophically devastating about nature, nurture, and maternal love.
But Graphic child violence and extreme emotional bleakness. Deliberately provokes discomfort. Not cathartic, and some will feel manipulated.

Tusk2014
Both feature a protagonist whose physical difference isolates them and changes how the world sees them. Both locate horror in transformation and what we become, rather than in external threats.
A podcaster becomes imprisoned and surgically transformed by an eccentric recluse. Bizarre, audacious body-horror comedy that's genuinely unhinged and comes from a real place of creative chaos.
But Grotesque and strange in ways that will alienate most viewers. The horror-comedy balance fails for many. Based on a podcast prank, which some find gimmicky.

People
Cast
Rory J. SaperRufus
Christina JastrzembskaLouise Kettle
Tom CareyChet
David James ElliottHugh Wade
Kelly RowanJennifer Wade
Merritt PattersonTracy McCay
Richard HarmonClay Huxley
Kim CoatesAaron Van Dusen
Kristina HughesReceptionist- Rob RoyJoe Pryor
- Tom LiskeButcher
- Dave BrownTrucker
Directing
- Dave SchultzDirector
- Gerry DubbinScript Supervisor
Writing
- Dave SchultzWriter
Production
- Candice ElzingaCasting
- Rhonda FisekciCasting
- Anand RamayyaProducer
- Bruce HarveyProducer
- Dave SchultzProducer
- Kelly BalonProducer