A dusting of dry Canadian humor adds a little sparkle to Mind Leech, a short creature feature filmed outside of Toronto.

Industrial waste dumped in a rural lake leads (as anyone who has ever seen a 1950s horror movie could predict) to a monstrous mutation, in this case a meter-long leech. Pulled from its watery abode by an ice fisherman, the creature attaches itself to his head and sends him into a murderous frenzy. Will the local cops be able to stop it? And if they do, will anyone believe them?

Even at barely one hour, Mind Leech feels padded, though the largely improvised dialogue exchanges between various cast pairings are the best part of the movie. Co-creators Chris Cheeseman and Paul Krysinski sprinkle the movie with Canadiana—it takes place on Boxing Day, and one of the characters is named Craig Hoser. It mostly plays like a sketch filmed to raise investors for a full length feature, with an unsatisfying conclusion and set-up for a sequel. Call it a time waster for when you don’t have a lot of time to waste.