One of the dark horse contenders in this year's Midnight Madness line-up is The Loved Ones. Only one audience has seen this before and that was at the recent Melbourne International Film Festival where they reportedly screamed, laughed and cheered - just what you want in a Midnight Madness film! It's the directorial debut by Sean Bryne and you'll be learning more about him in the days to come on this blog. And for all those goth gals, the lead actor Xavier Samuel is destined to blow up big as a teen heart throb due to his casting in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. 

Aussie film freak and Fangoria correspondant Michael Helms (the man who told me I HAD to check out last year's Acolytes) just published a chat he had with Sean about the film. Read all about it at Fangoria!

The Loved Ones screens at TIFF on: Sunday September 11, 11:59PM - RYERSON / Tuesday September 15, 3:30PM - SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2 / Thursday September 17, 6:30PM - VARSITY 4

Over the next few days you'll be seeing a number of posts by our Midnight Madness Audience Bloggers. These are a hand picked selection of devotees of the flicks that unspool at the witching hour. They are there to cover the goings on in the line-ups on the sidewalk and the screenings in The Ryerson. Expect a variety of fan-based viewpoints and information culled from the web on films not only in Midnight Madness, but tips and hints on other films that delve into the realm of the fantastic and the weird.

 Okay Team Midnight Madness Blog! On your marks! Get ready! POST!

Man it’s hot out, but not as hot as it is going to get in The Ryerson for ten days in September!Not only do we have the full line-up for Midnight Madness locked, but also the announcement of a new award - The Cadillac People’s Choice Award – Midnight Madness! This new awards will recognize the most popular popular film of the Midnight Madness programme, as chosen by audiences through a voting process that takes place at screenings throughout the Festival. The new award will be announced and given out at the Awards Reception on Saturday, September 19, 2009.

To see all the films, be sure to pick up The Midnight Madness Packagefor $156.51, and available to students and seniors for $100 (prices do not include GST, building-fund fee and service charges).  Purchase online at tiff.net/thefestival, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed weekends and holidays) or in person at the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square (Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week), located at 100 Queen Street West, in the white tent, west of the square. The 34th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 19, 2009. You might have already heard the news from the press release that went out on July 21st, but if not, here is the rundown on the line-up for Midnight Madness 2009! (And note that they are in order of the scheduled screenings).

Midnight Madness Opening Night!!!
JENNIFER'S BODY
Dir. Karyn Kusama
USA / World Premiere
Jennifer’s Body tells the story of small-town high-school student Jennifer (Megan Fox) who is possessed by a hungry demon and transitions from being “high school evil”—gorgeous (and doesn’t she know it), stuck up and ultra-attitudinal—to the real deal: evil/evil. The glittering beauty becomes a pale and sickly creature jonesing for a meaty snack, and guys who never stood a chance with the heartless babe take on new lustre in the light of her insatiable appetite. Meanwhile, Jennifer’s best friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), long relegated to living in Jennifer’s shadow, must step-up to protect the town’s young men, including her nerdy boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons). Written and executive produced by Oscar®-winner Diablo Cody (Juno).
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/jennifersbody

DAYBREAKERS
Dir. Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Australia/USA / World Premiere
Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill star in this sci-fi horror about a future populated by vampires where humans are the minority.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/daybreakers

 
GEORGE A. ROMERO'S SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD
Dir. George A. Romero
Canada / North American Premiere
Master director George A. Romero returns to his world of the undead, this time pitting two feuding clans in the middle of the fallout of a zombie epidemic.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/georgearomerosofthed

THE LOVED ONES
Dir. Sean Byrne
Australia / International Premiere
A troubled teen’s prom dreams are shattered by a series of painful events that take place under the mirrored disco ball, involving syringes, nails, power drills and a secret admirer in this wild mash-up of Pretty in Pink and Misery.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/lovedones

BITCH SLAP
Dir. Rick Jacobson
USA / World Premiere
In this campy action comedy from the creators of Xena and Hercules, three hot-blooded women try to uncover some booty in the desert using feminine charms, fists and machine guns.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/bitchslap






[REC] 2
Dir. Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza_Spain
North American Premiere
In the follow-up to the acclaimed [REC], a SWAT team enters the old apartment to control an epidemic with terrifying results.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/rec2







SOLOMON KANE
Dir. Michael J. Bassett
United Kingdom / World Premiere
From Robert E. Howard, the legendary creator of Conan, comes this tale of a savage mercenary in sixteeth-century Century England who owes the devil his soul and seeks to redeem himself by fighting evil.
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/solomonkane

SYMBOL
Dir. Hitoshi Matsumoto
Japan / International Premiere
Japanese comedy superstar Hitoshi Matsumoto (DAINIPPONJIN) stars in and directs this absurd and outlandish comedy about a man trying to escape a unique dilemma.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/symbol

A TOWN CALLED PANIC
Dir. Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar
Belgium/Luxembourg/France / North American Premiere
An outlandish animation style captures the absurd wit and surreal adventures of plastic toys Cowboy, Indian and Horse.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/towncalledpanic

ONG BAK 2: THE BEGINNING
Dir. Tony Jaa
Thailand / Canadian Premiere
Martial-arts superstar Tony Jaa stars in and directs this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. Featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants, this prequel takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial-arts styles – while proving him to be a promising director as well.
http://www.tiff.net/filmsandschedules/films/ongbak2





Midnight Madness is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Cineplex Entertainment LP.

On the Tuesday, the day before the Festival started, all the TIFF programmers who had arrived early got together for a meeting to share where we each are in our film selection process. TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey lead us through discussion as we explained the new works we have seen and what we are anticipating seeing in the market and in the various sections of Cannes. Noah Cowan also brought us up to speed on some of the developments with Bell Lightbox. More...

In the process of selecting films, many of the big decisions get made in Cannes. Not in the Cannes that you read about in the papers with the red carpets, the stars, the premieres, etc., but rather in the "Marche" or Market. Underneath the glitz and glamour in Cannes is a frenzy of film screenings for buyers and sellers of cinema, where films get shown for the first time and the bidding for various internationals rights begins. This is where I reside. Don't ask me about the new Jane Campion or Ken Loach or Pedro Almodovar unspooling in the main Festival in Cannes, cause I'm not interested at the moment. I'm on the hunt for the wild and grisly goods for Midnight Madness. More...

Dave Alexander, the Managing Editor of Rue Morgue magazine (easily the smartest horror mag around and it's Candian, eh!) returns this year with his choices for Midnight Madness. His taste is in tune with what we offer at Midnights as as he curates Rue Morgue's CineMarabre nights at The Bloor and they have just announced their screening for September - REC! And be sure to read his postings on The Abattoir, The Official Rue Morgue blog.

Martyrs
Anyone who caught last year?s Midnight Madness screenings of Inside and/or Frontier(s) knows that currently the French are the Archbishops of Atrocity. When it comes to horror and gore, they?re ruling the scene, making beautiful, technically proficient and extremely transgressive works too intense for North American theatrical release. And there?s been a lot of buzz about Martyrs (another Francophone fright flick starring a young woman covered in blood) upping the ante, and I?m hoping that it delivers in rivulets of red. Although Pascal Laugier is a relative newcomer as a director, he has worked with one of my favourite filmmakers, Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill), so I?ll be there for this one, clutching my blood-stained beret and screaming for sang.

The Burrowers
As an unabashed fan of the western, and obviously a horror fan, for me J.T. Petty?s The Burrowers has the potential to be cinematic chocolate and peanut butter (or maybe shotguns and boogeymen?). We?re going to be seeing more horror-western mash-ups, and hopefully this one will give the upcoming trend a good name. Plus it?s got Tom Cruise?s cousin in it, William Mapother, who was wicked-creepy in T.V.s Lost. Petty has made some interesting forays into the genre (Soft for Digging, S&MAN), so it?ll be interesting to see how he plays with conventions this time around. I've got my fingers crossed that we'll see a were-horse.

JCVD
Whether it?s John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Bruce Willis in Oceans Twelve or Bruce Campbell in the upcoming My Name is Bruce, actors playing themselves for laughs is almost always funny as hell. Horror loyalty aside, who can resist the concept of Jean Claude Van Damme playing himself as a troubled, aging action hero, warts ?n? all? More interestingly, though, is that, JCVD is being played just for laughs; it?s also seemingly a thoughtful deconstruction of The Hero ? the kind of thing Clint Eastwood has spent the latter half of his career doing (e.g. The Unforgiven). So, while Steven Segal continues his transformation into the William Shatner of action heroes, it?s nice to see Van Damme kicking his own ass and taking names.

Check out the great Rue Morgue magazine cover issue for last year's MM hit, Inside.

We are getting a stream of excited emails from Midnight Madness supporters who we have asked to give their top 3 picks from this year's line-up. Adam Lopez, Festival Director and Head Programmer of Toronto After Dark Film Festival chimes in with his picks:

Sexykiller
"I just love the idea of a female serial killer, and the fact that it's from Spain probably means it'll have a little extra Euro flair to it. Plus nods to Taxi Driver? Count me in for this ride!"

The Burrowers
"The fact that this film is a part-Western, part-monster movie mash-up, from the director of another cult midnight flick (S&Man), already got me interested. Then I read something comparing this film to one of my favourite critters in the countryside films, Tremors, and that got me hooked! Can't wait to see what these beasties look like, and what they do the poor folks on the range."

Eden Log
"Vive La France! Wow the French sure are really making some of the most interesting genre films these days. While I'm sure a lot of my peers are picking the horror flick Martyrs as the Midnight Madness flick they are all juiced for, for me the Franco film I'm most buzzed about is Eden Log. Sci-fi horror is probably my favourite sub-genre of all. I just love dark visions of the future and this post-apocalyptic nightmare flick seems to be right in that zone, with references to some of my favourite filmmakers who cary a very distinctive sense of style with their genre films - Jeunet & Caro (City of Lost Children, Delicatessen), Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain) and Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element). Can't wait!"

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival - 8 Nights of New Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies which runs this October 17-24 at the city's Bloor Cinema. For more on Toronto After Dark, visit the official website here: www.torontoafterdark.com. PLUS THIS JUST IN! Watch their new trailer showing scenes from TADFF 08 picks! 

Every year I see more than my share of horror films. Most are middle of the road(kill), only a handful give me a genuine shock or jolt but I love it when they do. I witness lots of gore effects without solid plot and maybe this constant barage of revolting images has worn me down. Then a film like Martyrs comes along and smacks my head. HARD.

I had been tracking Martyrs as a Midnight Madness contender after the folks at Wild Bunch, the sales company representing the film, showed me a promo for the film back in Cannes 07. From the few scenes and conceptual art, it looked dark and menacing, but it was not ready in time for MM 07 following a mishap where an actress was injured during the film's production.

I got to see the completed version of Martyrs in Cannes this year and granted, it was the third intense and violent horror film I had seen that day, so by the time the projector started to whir, I was already weary from the cinematic pummelling that I had gotten earlier in the day. When the lights came up, I must have looked like I just got punched in the stomach with brass knuckles wrapped in barbed wire. Martyrs is a powerful excursion into horror.

After the screening, debates were raging amongst the members of the fantasy film circuit (Stiges, Fantasia, Brussels, Austin, Fright Fest, etc) about the extremes the film reached and the intent behind the director's vision. The images in Martyrs are harsh and the ordeal that the female protagonists go through is harrowing, to say the least. Personally it was a film that I had to talk through with many of my peers in order to fully appreciate it (thanks to Michael Lerman and Tim League for holding court). Just the nature of these charged discussions proved to me that there was something special about Martyrs as it is rare that a horror film comes along which sparks this level of debate. There certainly was not this much talk about the Prom Night remake or The Ruins.

I am now being cautious of building the film up too much, but I want to make the distinction between last year's MM hit À l'intérieur and Martyrs which many who have not seen the later are quickly drawing parraells to. I describe A L'Interior as a thrill and chill packed roller coaster, where with Martyrs, you start out on a similar ride, only to look down and realize that the tracks have disappeared...

Since Cannes, Martyrs has been steeped in controversy when it was given a rare French 18 rating due to its extremely violent content. The film has since been re-rated to a lesser 16 rating, but there was an outcry of censorship from French directors over this decision. Read more about it at Twitchfilm.

Looking forward to unleashing Martyrs to our Midnight Madness fiends and very excited to have the director, Pascal Laugier there for what might be a chaged Q&A and also working on getting a confirmation on the attendance of the two lead actresses, Morjana Alaoui and Mylène Jampanoï! Check out the trailer and more links below.

Interview with the director Pascal Laugier over at Bloody-Disgusting

Rodney Perkins' review at Twitchfilm

Todd Brown's review at Twitchfilm

Bloody-Disgusting review

Being an avid horror fan, TIFF?s Midnight Madness has become THE place to check out the best upcoming independent/foreign horror films on the market. Every year I find new gems and never feel let down or disappointed. Midnight Madness can be credited with the revival of French horror cinema after blasting audiences with the world premiere of Alex Aja?s Haute Tension back in 2003 and bringing heavy attention to the film, which would later be released by Lionsgate in the States. In 2004 audiences were treated to Fabrice Du Welz?s Texas Chainsaw Massacre inspired Calvaire.  (who is back to the Festival this year in the Visions programme with his latest shocker, Vinyan - Colin). Last year, I was blown away with Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury?s Inside, while also being treated to Xavier Gens? classic horror homage, Frontier (s).

With that being said, this year?s Madness is guaranteed to give you that bang for your buck with Pascal Laugier?s Martyrs, the fest?s latest French entry. We?ve already had a chance to see the film at Bloody-Disgusting, but to get the full experience we need to see this fierce beast of a film not only on the big screen, but also with 1,000 screaming gore hounds. Even though I have already seen the film, Martyrs is still my most anticipated film of the 2008 festival.

Midnight Madness isn?t just about foreign horror, as there have been plenty of discoveries over the past few years. One of the biggest genre moments came in 2006 when the Weinstein Company spent an entire night negotiating for the rights to Jonathan Levine?s incredible teen-slasher, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane. This little indie film won the hearts of the audience and Bloody-Disgusting alike, showing just how good independent cinema can be. I think that Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel?s Deadgirl is going to be this year?s Mandy Lane and will be one of the most talked about MM titles in years. I?m quite excited to see what happens in the film, which is teased as a coming-of-age horror story (aren?t they all?).

Also, back in 2006, Midnight Madness held the world premiere of J.T. Petty?s S&Man, which has become a popular underground cult film in the horror-verse. This year, Petty returns with his first studio feature, The Burrowers, which will be released via Lionsgate sometime next year. I become a Petty fan a few years back and came across the screenplay for this film. The Burrowers is a horror-Western, which features underground monsters feasting on unsuspecting travelers. I personally have been dying to see a good horror-Western and have high hopes that Petty will deliver?

All will soon be revealed when we take a trip to Toronto this September.

 

One of the biggest thrills is to welcome back Midnight Madness alumni and this year I am excited to have the WORLD PREMIERE of The Burrowers, the new film by JT Petty, who shocked (and punked) audiences with S&MAN in 2006. That film was easily one of the smartest films that I selected that year and I am sure that those who were in the charged Q&A at Midnight would agree.

I love horror films that are set in time periods that you would not expect to find chills and thrills in. Films like Ravenous, Dead Birds and The Devil's Backbone all play in this area. Now reading the synopsis of The Burrowers, you might think of another film with a threat that lurks from underground...

"A horror take on John Ford's The Searchers unfolds across the isolated and expansive Dakota Territories, where a search party is forced to come to terms with the fact that what took their friends and loved ones was no mere band of Indians, but a sinister predator that stalks them from below the grassy plains."

Tremors? Not quite, but it's an easy assumption. Not too many other horror films with that premise, although I am surprised nobody brings up The Ruins...

With winds blowing across the sweeping and desolate landscape, JT crafts an unsettling atmosphere where his protagonists struggle with a threat beyond their imagination. The Burrowers is JT's 3rd narrative feature and it proves that he is a director to keep your eyes on! And if you dig into his bio, you'll learn that he was the writer of the Splinter Cell and Batman Begins videos games, as well as being a childrens' book author with his Clemency Pogue series.

And for fans of sci-fi and fantasy and Sponge Bob Squarepants, the casting of Clancy Brown in The Burrowers is a plus! Yes, the voice of Mr. Eugene H. Krabs! Not to mention other animated characters like Mr. Freeze and Lex Luthor. However, if you can't get a visual on him, watch his roles in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption, Starship Troopers (in pic below) and Brother Justin Crowe in the HBO series Carnivàle (which had many episodes directed by Canada's own Jeremy Podeswa).

For a review of The Burrowers, see what the lads over at Twitchfilm had to say. Here is an interview by Scott Weinberg over at Cinematical when JT was in Toronto for S&MAN . And over at Shocktilyoudrop.com, Ryan Rotten talks to JT about his new film.

Come on down, all you ghouls and ghosts, to Rue Morgue magazine's annual Festival of Fear and Fan Expo, Canada's biggest Fan Event, this weekend, Aug 22-24 at t Toronto's Metro Convention Centre.

Besides the special guests including WES CRAVEN (Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street), TOBE HOOPER (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), SID HAIG (House of 1000 Corpses), BRAD DOURIF (Child's Play), RUGGERO DEODATO (Cannibal Holocaust), TURA SATANA (Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!), JOHN SAXON (Black Christmas) and Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead), check out the TIFF 08 MIDNIGHT MADNESS booth, where we will be running trailers for this year's line-up.

AND!!! As a bonus, we will be SELLING single tickets for all the Ryerson MIDNIGHT MADNESS shows! Be sure to get your seat to some of the hottest films at this year's Festival, before they go on sale to the general public on September 3, 2008. Tickets are $19.29. We will also be selling The Midnight Madness Package which gets you a single ticket for each screening. It is $156.51, and available to students and seniors for $100 (prices do not include GST, building fund fee and service charges). Details on the films including the Ryerson screening dates can be found here.

DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED ? buy your tickets in advance and make the most of the Festival!

The event runs Friday, 4-9PM, Saturday, 10AM-9PM, and Sunday, 11AM-6PM. Tickets and passes available in advance and at the door. Complete details for the Festival of Fear and the Sci-Fi, Anime, Comic Book and Gaming Expos, can be found here.

Lots of other fun booths for other cool folks like the generous sponsors of Midnight Madness, Space and Maple Pictures, Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Vagrancy Films, Suspect Video, Troma's Lloyd Kaufman, and artists Kagan McLeod (Infinite Kung Fu), Attila Adorjany, Rob Coughler, Ray Fawkes, Joseph O'Brien, Ramon Perez, Cameron Stewart, Steve Manale, and more!

Check out the floor plan and other exhibitors.

Here is a little vid that I put together of our adventure there last year. Hope to see you there! Say hello and let me know if you read this!

Acolytes first came on to my radar when I got an email in April from someone who I had known back in the day when I was heavily involved in film zines, including publishing one of my own, Asian Eye, dedicated to, surprise surprise, Asian cinema. One of my favourites to get was Fatal Visions, from Australia which covered a wide array of offbeat and cult films, including a great column on Hong Kong cinema. It had been ages since I had thought about it and took a double take when I got an email from the FV editor and Fangoria contributor, Michael Helms:

"Hey Colin,
I just want to recommend a twisted Australian serial killer thriller Acolytes to you. Could be worth your while to check it out.
Cheers,
Michael Helms"

And that's how it all started. Michael and I caught up breifly, but cut straight to the topic at hand:

"Acolytes was directed and co-written by my good friend Jon Hewitt but it's not an act of nepotism to contact you because it's surprisingly good. Jon actually rang me as I was reading the All The Boys Love Mandy Lane Fango piece so I was a bit freaked when he said, "Do you know a guy called Colin Geddes'! Maybe it's meant to be..."

Intriguing! I quickly tracked a screener of the film down and it quickly made my list, but it was still early and I had lots more to see. Over a month later when in Cannes, I got a call while from director Jon Hewitt and we got to meet on the sunny Riveira. It was great to put a face to the few emails that we had traded and we shared stories from the days of the zine age.

Then flash to July when I was able to officially invite the film and got the following in my inbox from Jon:

While last year in Midnight Madness, we had some works from vets in the genre, the real treat is introducing new voices to our audiences. This is Jon's 4th feature and I am sure is it is going to impress, plus it makes a great compliment to the doc on Aussie genre cinema, Not Quite Hollywood that we are screening the night before. 

Not Quite Hollywood chronicles a history of blood, boobs, car crashes, that came from down under, with hilarious view points shifting back and forth between those in the industry, from actors, directors (including 'Ozploitation' devotee Quentin Tarantino) and producers. There are even the critics who would dismiss the sex and violence filled trash cinema, only to sheepishly admit, that without it, there would be no Australian film industry. Easily a delight for film buffs who revel in the cinema of thrills and excitement, for every film you have heard of, I am sure you will be jotting down two more you haven't heard of! It's a fast moving journey through Australian genre cinema of the '70s and early '80s - a forgotten cinematic era unashamedly packed full of pubes, boobs, tubes... and kung fu.

This film is going to look and sound great at the Ryerson, possibly making you forget some of the crappy VHS dubs of these films we were used to seeing, back in the day. When the song kicks in during the part of the NSFW trailer where QT talks about the Aussie knack for making cars look awesome, when that song is about to cue up in the movie, I will make sure the tech rep at the Ryerson is going to pay close attention to the levels of the house sound system!

Be sure to get over to the official website for Not Quite Hollywood, jam packed with tricks and treats, including an amazing trailer page with original trailers for 21 of the films featured in the doc, including: Turkey Shoot, Fantasm (NSFW!!!), Stone, The Man From Hong Kong and more!

Not Quite Hollywood recently had its debut at the Melbourne International Film Festival and check out the reviews:

***** "Forget all that "worthy" cultural torture - this is Australian cinema... As important as any history of "legitimate" Australian cinema - and 10 times the fun - it's a shot to the heart for anyone who thought Down Under was only capable of dreary, culturally relevant filmmaking." - Luke Goodsell - EMPIRE

***** "The best Australian movie in years? hilarious, jaw-dropping and important? If you?re Australian, see it. If you love movies, see it. If you?re an Australian movie lover, see it twice. If you?re a Kiwi, see it anyway? Beyond awesome." - FHM

**** "One of the most irreverent, insolent and impudent documentaries imaginable. Confident, assured and scholarly, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD keeps its tongue firmly in cheek. Which is were it belongs, right?" - MCV

?My only criticism? It ends. Had the film been twice as long, I doubt anyone in the audience would have complained. It?s just that good. But it?s not simply entertaining. It?s essential viewing? It is a perfect film, and, regardless of your country, if you consider yourself a fan of film, you simply must see it.? - Aintitcoolnews.com

Check out this review over at In Film Australia. Maybe a little biased, but still... ; )

And if you can't get up to Toronto to see it at Midnight Madness, you can also check it out at the Austin Fantastic Festival.

Here are two trailers, the 1st is PG BUT the 2nd is NSFW!

I love the films that come out of the blue.

It starts with a tip or a hint that I get from reading one of the film trades like Screen Daily or from a film sales agent, talent scout, producer or fellow film fiends around the world who are either in the biz or on the friinges. And that's how Deadgirl came about.

In between screenings at the European Film Market that takes place during the Berlinale in February, I was catching up with Nate Bolotin, a sales rep who I had come to know over the years who shares my tastes in oddball cinema. He told me the plot of this new film he had seen that was off of everyone's radar and this one sounded... different, to say the least. The plot seemed so lurid and extreme, it was clear that in the wrong hands, this film could go off the rails and get mired in sleaze and exploitation. Yes, Nate had my attention. And that film was Deadgirl.

Later in June when I was in LA, I met with the directors of the film, Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel who had set up a screening of the film, which was in a rough, but almost completed edit. There is always a pressure for a festival film programmer when in this situation, as opposed to directors simply sending a DVD to our offices. Following the screening, one has to be very diplomatic when talking to the director (let alone two directors, as in this case), despite whether what was shown was a masterpiece or a stinker. If it's a rough cut, most directors and producers are eager to hear constructive criticism, but sometimes there are films were even friendly advice is hard to give. If the first thing that gets praised is the remarkable use of extras or the lush score, rather than the captivating plot or intense performances, that film might not exactly be a fit for the programmer. Luckily, with Deadgirl, I didn't have to be polite and I just gave them a piece of my mind - I loved it!

A thriller with a rather odd supernatural angle, Deadgirl is about two teenagers who make a shocking discovery that not only threatens their friendship but also their lives. In a forgotten room of an abandoned asylum, they find what they think is the corpse of a beautiful woman tied to a bed, and soon come to realize she is anything but dead. Sarmiento and Harel describe Deadgirl as a coming-of-age horror hybrid, but I'd take it further, calling the film the bastard child of John Hughes and David Cronenberg.

I should have known that the film would be creepy, unsettling, funny and kinky, because Sarmiento and Harel were incredibly nice, polite young men ? exactly the unassuming types who would be described by their neigbours as, quiet and never causing any trouble, when interviewed after some tragedy involving a body count. In fact, in April they were selected as "Beautiful People" by Paper Magazine along with a variety of LA fashion, music and movie stars incluing Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), British comedian Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

Subsequently, after inviting the film, there has been buzz around the Festival offices when staff heard the quick plot taglaine ? "a tale of two boys who find a dead girl who turns out to be not so dead and the actions that follow." Whispers of "Scandalous!", "Controversial!", "Horrific!", or just simply, "I ain't seenin' that one! It's not for me!", drifted down the halls of the office. This is the plus of getting a film from out of the blue - nobody knows what to expect.

On this blog over the next few weeks, we will leak some more info about Deadgirl and its directors, but for now we are going to keep this corpse in the "blue".

To cut to the chase and find out what kind of audience members these are, I thought I would ask one crucial question:

"Where is the best place to grab a quick snack or meal to eat when you are waiting in line for Midnight Madness?"

Robert Mitchell: "The Big Slice at Yonge and Gerrard because as the name implies it's one big slice and background for the incredible Hulk!"

Sanjay Rajput: "Any of the cuilinary masters who run the hot dog carts around the Ryerson. Though La Maison du Croissant on 385 Yonge used to be the best hands down!"

Carol Borden: "I'm all about getting advance snacks at grocery stores and eating themin line. There's Rabba at Yonge and Charles and Sobey's at Yonge and Wellesley, but my favorite is P.A.T. Central Market at Manning and Bloor for pocky, shrimp chips and the like."

Jeff Wright: "Hoops (just north of College on Yonge)!! Don't even think of eating there if you're a nerd though." (ps - check the link of EACH letter)

Darryl Shaw: "The problem isn't in finding a good place to eat Toronto at quarter to midnight-- but in leaving the line at all! And what's the point of fancy eating if you're just going to violently vomit it up during the film? (if the film is good)"