Director, writer, and actor Joe Hollow’s new film is all about Jack Russo (Hollow), who suffers from a severe case of writer’s block that he hopes can be resolved by a retreat to the woods of Quebec and a trip to his family home with his wife, Sienna (Debbie Rochon). She may have cheated on him with his best friend, she may have ruined their marriage — he may have ignored her, to be fair — but she’s also gotten involved with the Death Dealer (also Hollow), a demon who sends a VHS tape — Violent Love — in the mail marked “Inspiration.” As a writer, I get it — I know what it’s like to not know what to write next, but I’ve never watched a snuff tape to get it together.

There are two other demons, Mr. Grimm (yes, Hollow), who has a mirrored face that resembles another Canadian film, The Mask, and the laughing harlequin called Livina (Adriana Uchishiba), who is also involved in this, as well as moments taken from Driller Killer. There’s also Vivienne (August Kyss), a woman who decides to take her own life — a theme throughout this — but is given one more chance at life or something like it by the Death Dealer.

It’s easy to dismiss microbudget horror as cheap and poorly acted. Sure, most of it can be. But when it’s something interesting like this film, these movies can transcend budget and allow you to fully see the vision that its creator had in mind, even with limitations. Sure, some of the bad guys’ voices are hard to decipher, the editing is a bit all over the place, and sometimes things look really well-lit and color-balanced, and at others, like a basic cable movie, but so what? Experiencing low-budget films means leaving your mind open and being a bit more understanding, just like when we used to watch regional horror films.

Flesh of the Unforgiven is now streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+. You can learn more at the official Facebook page.