“The Legacy of Cloudy Falls” is set in Niagara Falls, Canada, you know the “better side” of the Falls!
They say the best part of Las Vegas is leaving it. The same may be said, but in a more compelling fashion, about the town Niagara Falls, Ontario. Tacky and seedy may be a polite description of it.
Add a seemingly endless parade of bizarre characters living in and about a soon to be demolished apartment motel in Niagara Falls and you either have a horror movie or a deep dive into the quirky.
Rita (Susan Berger) is an elderly red-haired, arthritic and raspy voiced custodian of the apartment motel providing a glib, sardonic and sarcastic commentary on the tenants and on the town of Niagara Falls and after 18 years on the job is aware of the delicate “ecosystem” of the complex.
Be prepared for cavorting and shy homosexuals, physics, tarot card readers, compulsive liars and shoe shiners, unsuccessful YouTube debunkers, wannabe actors suffering from horrendous stage fright, gossips, thieves, fraudsters, cantankerous old men and obese naked men in the apartment hotel’s small swimming pool.
The film is a prime example of character development with perhaps little more purpose than lighthearted entertainment and it over-succeeds in that regard.
Each character introduces a subplot which thank goodness the film does not dig too deeply into as the focus for me was the stream of the odd characters and the surf music on steroids score by Adrian Ellis and Walker Grimshaw.
Each character represents a gem, perhaps stereotypically at points but isn’t that a cornerstone of comedy?
Susan Berger as Rita, very much reminiscent of Dale Dickey in the film “G”, is the glue that drives the film. Robert Nolan as the fraudster psychic Walter Pryce, Amanda Martinez as a sullen sharp tongued compulsive liar Riley and as Grace Glowicki as Brigit deserve special mention for their performances. The entire cast is solid and delightfully eccentric.
“The Legacy of Cloudy Falls”, directed by Nick Butler, is a Canadian film which might have been titled ‘Fear and Loathing in Niagara Falls, Canada”.
Watch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/1046852891
Theatrical release in Toronto on 6June2025 followed by a VOD release near the end of June.
RKS 2025 Film Review Rating 92/100.
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