Toronto After Dark Film Festival (TAD) 2011 Preview

Oct 18 2011 –  You hear there is a film festival in town for the next few days, you go to the festival’s home page to read the description, you see the following overview:

8 Nights of the World’s Best New Horror, Sci-Fi, Action & Cult Movies!

SWEET!!!

From October 20-27 at the Toronto Underground Cinema, Toronto plays host to yet another great film fest. The big boy of film fests in Toronto is of course the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which features many world premieres and early Oscar favorites in its programming. A hidden gem at the TIFF is the Midnight Madness program which had some great movies this year such as You’re Next, Livid, Smuggler, and Kill List. The Toronto After Dark Film Festival takes the concept of Midnight Madness one step further dedicating its entire movie roster to what we consider the best genres in cinema, namely –  Horror, Science Fiction, and Action flicks. The TAD is now in it’s 6th season and we will be attending it for the first time and bringing you reviews of all the movies we see. Lets take a quick look at the films that will be showing this year (start times in brackets):


THU, OCT 20

• (7.00 and 9:45) MONSTER BRAWL – Frankenstein, Werewolf and Lady Vampire fight it out to see who’s the greatest monster of them all, in this wickedly fun new horror action comedy.

Monster Brawl anyone?

FRI, OCT 21

• (7.00) EXIT HUMANITY – A young man finds himself battling a deadly zombie outbreak following the American civil war.
• (9.45) FATHER’S DAY – In the vein of HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN and MACHETE, a ruthless vigilante stops at nothing to track down a depraved serial killer in this awesomely ultraviolent and sleazy cult horror action film.

SAT, OCT 22

• (4.15) REDLINE – Award-winning and electrifying new Japanese animation, hand-illustrated and 7 years in the making, about a thrilling, deadly, race that takes place on a futuristic alien planet.
• (7.00) DEADHEADS  – After they get turned into the undead, two forced-together friends embark on a mad cap road trip adventure in this crowd-pleasing festival circuit hit zombie comedy.
• (9.45) WAR OF THE DEAD – Thrilling World War II set zombie action film about a group of Allied soldiers sent to investigate a secret Nazi bunker, only to find themselves under attack from an unstoppable undead army!

War Of The Dead Zombie Film

SUN, OCT 23

• (1.30) SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE – From producer John Landis comes a hysterical cult horror black comedy about a serial killer and the inept police officers trying to track him down.
• (4.15) LOVE – Following an apocalyptic event on Earth, an astronaut finds himself trapped in space, in this stunning sci-fi in the mould of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY,
• (7.00) THE THEATRE BIZARRE – Cult favourite Udo Kier stars in this outstanding new anthology film featuring six terrifying tales from six iconic filmmakers.
• (9.45) MIDNIGHT SON – A terrific, dark and gritty new urban horror thriller, about a young man who finds himself slowly turning into a vampire and dealing with an insatiable need for fresh blood.

MON, OCT 24

• (7.00) ABSENTIA – In this original and utterly scary festival circuit hit, two sisters uncover a dark, supernatural force connecting the many people who have gone missing in their neighbourhood.
• (9.45) A LONELY PLACE TO DIE – A terrifying new British action thriller in the mould of THE DESCENT, about a group of young mountaineers who suddenly find themselves the prey of a team of deadly hunters.

Absentia – Horror Thriller – Dont look back!!!

TUES, OCT 25

• (7.00) THE DIVIDE – A power struggle amongst a group of apocalypse survivors threatens to tear them apart in this riveting dark sci-fi horror from Xavier Gens.
• (9.45) MANBORG – A dead soldier finds himself reanimated as a cyborg killing machine in this cult-tastic throwback to 80s sci-fi action films like ROBOCOP and THE TERMINATOR.

WED, OCT 26

• (7.00) THE CORRIDOR – In this award-winning new sci-fi horror film, five long-time friends uncover a mysterious energy force in the woods that makes them feel euphoria at first but then transforms them one-by-one, into something much darker.
• (9.45) VS – KICK-ASS meets SAW in this terrifically dark and twisted tale about four young super heroes forced by their arch-nemesis to complete a series of deadly challenges in order to save innocent lives.

THU, OCT 27

• (7.00) THE WOMAN – The outrageous new horror film from Lucky McKee that caused a storm at Sundance, about a suburban family that decides to ‘domesticate’ a woman found living in the wild with dark consequences.
• (9.45) THE INNKEEPERS – Two young employees at an old hotel encounter a series of spooky events during its last weekend of operation, in this acclaimed new supernatural thriller from Ti West.

The Innkeepers – Closing Night Gala Thriller!

Verdict: We can’t wait to see these films!!! Based on the trailers and the descriptions our top 3 picks are:  The Divide, VS, and The Woman

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival, 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action, and Cult Movies runs Oct 20-27, 2011 at the Toronto Underground Cinema. For complete festival info visit www.torontoafterdark.com and follow @TADFilmFest 

Author: T-Mak