Werewolf Romance Film ‘Shiver’ Frozen in B.C. as Insolvency Leaves Hundreds of Canadians Owed Millions

A much-anticipated fantasy film shot in B.C. has been frozen mid-production — not due to supernatural forces, but financial collapse.

Shiver, based on the popular Wolves of Mercy Falls romance novel, filmed across Vancouver last year with an international cast and crew. But the production company behind the movie, Mercy Falls B.C. Inc., is now under creditor protection after a funding dispute with the U.S. studio that owns the rights to the book. As a result, over $6.6 million in unpaid invoices — including to Canadian workers, vendors, and even the City of Vancouver — remain unresolved.

“Shiver was a major production,” said James Joyce, who supplied snow and ice effects for the movie and is owed over $24,000. “People spent their own money to work on this — and now they’re being left behind.”

The film stars Maddie Ziegler and Levi Miller in a human-werewolf romance set in snowy Minnesota, re-created on B.C. sets. Principal photography wrapped in December 2024, but post-production stalled shortly after when the studio allegedly failed to deliver the full $20 million in promised financing.

In court documents, producer Jeanette Volturno said the funds often arrived late or in fragments. “The production has no access to the cash required to pay its vendors or continue operations,” she wrote, warning of an "imminent crisis."

The production now depends on a court-appointed monitor to oversee finances while the company attempts to restructure. Meanwhile, the U.S. studio — led by director Ryan Hamilton — claims ownership of all intellectual property and opposes the protection plan, accusing Volturno of withholding information about provincial tax credits and mismanaging the project.

Court filings show the unpaid bills span across industries, including $43,000 to a moving company that staged homes for filming, $22,480 to the film’s award-winning director Claire McCarthy, and $17,500 to the Canada Revenue Agency. Even minor vendors, like those handling set clearances, say they were repeatedly misled.

“In all my years in the film business, I have never come across such blatant lying and stealing,” wrote one creditor in an email to the studio. “Shame on you all.”

Hamilton insists the studio plans to complete the film and is the only realistic source of future financing. But for now, hundreds of Canadian cast and crew are left waiting — not for a release date, but for a paycheck.

“You do the work, you expect to be paid,” said Mark Hirschi, whose company helped stage filming locations. “When that trust is broken, it shakes your faith in the entire industry.”