Over the last thirty years, movie viewers have had to deal with numerous writer-directors attempting to be the next Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino. They give us films where the characters talk so much, that the film could be over for thirty minutes and there’s still dialogue coming out of the speakers. The characters go on rambling monologues that barely have anything to do with the plot let alone making us think the people on the screen have a resemblance to actual people you’d encounter in these places. It’s like filmmakers don’t get that sometimes people don’t talk 24/7. Sometimes guys hang out and say a few things. The Maiden is about two high school friends who aren’t jabbering a mile a minute.
Colton (Marcel T. Jiménez) and Kyle (Jackson Sluiter) are wasting an afternoon doing what teenagers enjoy doing: skateboarding, wandering, trespassing and causing a bit of destruction. They smash up a TV set. At one point the duo go into the basement of a house under construction. They find a dead cat on the floor. Instead of being vile, the boys put the cat on a raft and send it down the river. It’s a perfect day for the duo. However something horrible happens and Colton finds himself dealing with an unexpected situation. Can he cope without Kyle around? We’re also dealing with the disappearance of Whitney (Hayley Ness) who went off into the countryside and never came back with her glittery purple backpack. These stories cross paths in eventually.
The Maiden feel very real. Best is the drama teacher that raps out the plot to a Shakespeare play to be hip with the kids. There’s also the fully realized nightmare of shop class when one kid has an extreme accident involving the table saw. Who didn’t have that fear when forced to take that class? This is not some exciting action filled Hollywood studio movie. It has the pacing of a teenagers life. Little events and a whole lot of dread. None of the teenage actors are busting from the screen like they’re in glee club. You sense their quiet nature is part of a teenager’s desire to not stick out and yet appear to be part of a pack. How they deal with grief is a natural reaction and not an exercise designed by a high school guidance counselor.
While the film was made in Calgary, you might think this takes place in Texas since so many kids at the high school have cowboy hats and one morning they have Texas donut day. What is a Texas Donut? It’s about three times the size of a normal donut. It’s like a magical donut. Which makes sense since this is a bit of a magical story as the end reveals. The Maiden is film that seems like it would be emotionally crushing, but finds moments of quiet beauty in the lives of high schoolers.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The films was shot on 16mm so it has a nicer texture capturing the Canadian woods and neighborhoods. The Audio is 5.1 DTS-HD MA. The mix brings out the subtle nature the film. There’s a lot of quiet moments with the cast. The movie is subtitled in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German.
Illustrated Booklet with an essay by Saffron Maeve and photographs of the actors by Mark Peckmezian.
Commentary Track with Cast & Crew has them talk about the prop cat. They paid $5,000 for it so in the river scene, the producers had to get in the water to catch the cat or they’d pay even more. Turns out that Marcel and Jackson were pals before they got the roles. So they didn’t have to do much “work” to establish their relationship. “That’s Calgary for ya,” as one says on the track.
Deleted Scenes (27:51) opens with the end of a take so you can see the cast and crew involved in the shoot. You can see the flash to know it really was shot on 16mm film.
Behind the Scenes Featurette (18:46) shows what they went through during the shoot in the summer of 2021. There’s a lot of skateboarding, train and river footage. One person gets double cake for their birthday.
Original Trailer (2:12) mixes footage with praise from various critics. They let us know of the film’s pace instead of hyping us to think this is a teenage horror flick.
Altered Innocence presents The Maiden. Directed by Graham Foy. Screenplay by Graham Foy. Starring Jackson Sluiter, Marcel T. Jiménez, Hayley Ness, Kaleb Blough, Siena Yee, Charlotte Clarke, Dustin Whetton and Clem Martini. Running Time: 117 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 26, 2025.
