Pics From the Premiere of BASKIN!

A dark and rainy setting for a dark and gritty horror film!

On a dark and stormy night, one of the bloodiest and most extreme movies to ever grace the Midnight Madness screen touched down at the Ryerson last night, eliciting more than a few uncomfortable squirms from the Midnight audience. By the time Baskin's end credits crawled up the screen, even a crowd that is more than used to this type of fare was left reeling at what they'd just witnessed.

Ian Goring snapped a few pictures of the festivities as the rain-soaked patrons of the Ryerson experienced the most shocking screenings of this year's lineup!

Baskin director Can Evrenol

Can Evrenol is one twisted dude.

Baskin lead actor Gorkem Kasal and Can Evrenol strike a pose on the red carpet!

Looking decidedly better than he did during most of Baskin, it's Gorkem Kasal!

Executive producer Muge Buyuktalas and Can Evrenol pose with programmer Colin Geddes, and Gorkem Kasal

Surf's up!

Power couple Can Evrenol and Elif Domanic

The Baskin crew!

Blogger Robert Mitchell interviews Kasal on the red carpet!

Can and Gorkem introduce Baskin

Can answers some questions from a perplexed audience!

Can has some awesome horror-themed tattoos! Gorkem Kasal finds this hilarious.

You have two more chances to check out Baskin!

BASKIN Screening Times:
Sun, Sept 13, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 13
Thu, Sept 17, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4

TIFF'S First Ever, Online-Only Digital Screening!

Are you ready for the future? You better be, because the future is standing right here staring us all in the eye because the future is psychic and communicates telepathically. And this is what the future wants you to know

For one 24-hour period, you will have the opportunity to participate in TIFF's first ever, online-only digital screening. It doesn't matter what city you're in. It doesn't matter what country you're in. Hell, if Space Ladies or Xenomorphs have the right technology they can listen from Venus or the Weyland Corporation's hidden interstellar research bases.

The Short Cuts Re/Mix screening is available for 24 hours only on September 16 (Eastern Time Zone). Tickets are $10 (CAN) and are available from Sept. 10-16. 500 lucky people will get to watch an amazing program of curated shorts at home, in an isolated cabin in the woods, in a volcano lair, on the International Space Station, wherever they are.

You mean we can watch Shortcuts from right here under this board? Yes! Yes, you can!

Or as TIFF.net puts it:

On Wednesday September 16, for 24 hours, TIFF is conducting an experiment: our first ever online-only screening. We've curated a selection of international short films that are playing at Festival. The screening will include an exclusive Q&A roundtable with the films' directors. But you don't have to be in Toronto to see it – just log in and be a part of Festival from wherever you are.

Click through for more details.

Wuh-oh! WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, TUSK, and BIG GAME are off sale!

We're only a day out from TIFF and I've been diligently checking the board at the box office to bring you lovely blog-readers the scoop from the chaos!

Unfortunately, today's update is a bad news/good news situation.  As of this writing, the midnight screenings of TUSK, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, and BIG GAME are currently listed as off-sale, meaning that advance tickets can no longer be purchased for them.  That's the bad news.

But fear not, Madness-o-philes, because my brown-terpart Sanjay has posted a helpful update about what off-sale means and the options for getting tickets for off-sale films.  You can find that post here.

Don't forget, as of this writing there are still advance tickets available for all the other Midnight screenings, and things are always changing, so snap those up while you can!

TUSK screening times:
Sat., Sept. 6th 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 7th, 9:45 PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Fri., Sept. 12th, 3:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 1

BIG GAME screening times:
Fri., Sept. 5th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 6th, 9:00 PM, SCOTIABANK 12
Sat., Sept. 13th, 2:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 12

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS screening times:
Fri., Sept. 12th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 13th, 9:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 12
Sun., Sept. 14th, 3:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

Hitfix's Drew McWeeny Says AFFLICTED Is One of TIFF's Best!

Monday night's screening of Afflicted caught a lot of us by surprise with its fresh take on found footage horror and two completely riveting leads that held nothing back. Over at Hitfix, well-known critic Drew McWeeny (who, incidentally, appears in TIFF selection Jodorowsky's Dune) proclaimed the Canadian production one of the best in the entire Festival.  High praise!

Derek Lee and Clif Prowse managed to wring new life out of one of the most over-used horror concepts, and it's entirely because of how smart and slick their debut feature is. They co-star as themselves in the film that takes place during a year-long trip around the world, and when they run into a supernatural horror, they find themselves trapped in a nightmare that feels all the more real thanks to the clever way they've shot the film and the exceptional stunt and effects work. This is a canny debut from guys who seem ready for Hollywood to discover them, and I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about them and "Afflicted" in the future.

 Let's hope that Drew's right and we see some new work from these talented new voices in horror very soon.  Might I suggest an all-isopod remake of Rosemary's Baby?

Check Out the Scary Pics From the OCULUS World Premiere!

If Mike Flanagan's goal was to scare the bejeesus out of the entire Midnight Madness audience (and I'm pretty sure it was), then he certainly accomplished that with the absolutely spine-tingling OCULUS. With actors Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane (in his third Midnight Madness appearance!), James Lafferty, and Brendon Thwaites in tow, Flanagan surprised and shocked the Ryerson with his tale of a haunted mirror, and photographer Ian Goring was there to capture all the creepiness!

Actor James Lafferty, casual in the face of ancient evil.

Costar, Brenton Thwaites, chipper in the face of ancient evil

Director Mike Flanagan, looking sharp.

Producer Trevor Macy and Director Mike Flanagan.

Rory Cochrane

Getting steamy in front o the TIFF wall

Katee Sackoff, also looking sharp.

Intrepid MM blogger Rob Mitchell on the scene!

James Lafferty, fans, and a man who doesn't want to be in the picture.

All they need is the evil mirror!

The world is but a toy to Midnight Madness!

Director Mike Flanagan explains that you should all cover your mirrors.

"Really, cover them right now," Katee Sackhoff

Q & A

"We got rid of the mirror, right?"

Carol here: Usually, Sachin uploads the photos himself, but I received a mysterious email providing me with the photos and the his text and asking me to post this for him while he dealt with "that cursed mirror!" I can only honor what I hope is not his last request and hope for that he has not entered some terrible Phantom Zone...

Anyway, thanks to everyone who came out. If you missed the premiere, there are still two more screenings of Oculus!


OCULUS Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sunday, Sept 15th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 11

Play TIFF Bingo!

This is for the diehard festival goers -- a bingo card for the Toronto International Film Festival. Using the hashtag #TIFFBingo on Twitter, you can compete with other audience members for bragging rights. See Bruce McDonald walking down King in his trademark chapeau? That's a point. Fall asleep during a screening? Well, yes, that was basically a $20 nap, but at least you get a point for that too!

For clarification's sake, this is an unofficial game that coincides with but is not sponsored by the Festival. Also, please note that we in no way condone sneaking food into the Ryerson! You will be reprimanded by very, very vigilant ushers.

Permalink: http://bit.ly/TIFFBingo

Single Tickets On Sale September 2!

Don't be sad, film-goer!

Missed out on the Midnight Madness ticket package? You can still get the films you want. Single tickets go on sale Sunday, September 2! 

Buy them online at:  http://tiff.net/thefestival

Purchase them on the phone at:  416-599-TIFF / 1-888-599-8433.

Or you buy tickets in person at a box office:
The Festival Box Office is located at 225 King St., W Metro Center, Concourse level.
Festival Members can use a separate box office location in Metro Centre.
Festival Patron Circle Members have a box office location at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Festival box office and phone hours are:
September 2:  10:00am – 8:00pm  <--Single Tickets On Sale!September 3:  7:00am – 7:00pm
September 4–5:  10:00am – 8:00pm
September 6–16:  7:00am – 7:00pm

TIFF Bell Lightbox Hours: 10:00am – 10:00pm daily
TIFF Bell Lightbox Building Hours:  8:00am – 12:00am daily

During the Festival you can also buy tickets at venue box offices. These open one hour before the first screening of the day and close one half hour after the final screening of the day. (You can buy tickets for any film at any of these box offices).

Happy film-goers with pre-ordered single tickets to all the films they want!

The Creators of LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM Get STAGE FRIGHT!

If you attended a film festival in the past two years or so (including this one), you may have seen The Legend of Beaver Dam, the twisted lovechild of writer/director/songwriter Jerome Sable and his collaborator Eli Batalion.  This crazy little musical blew the roof off the Ryerson when it premiered here at the Festival ahead of the raucous FUBAR 2 back in 2010.

Well, Sable and Batalion are back and are at the helm of their very first feature - Stage Fright - which is set to start shooting right here in Ontario on Sept 6, according to Deadline (by way of Twitch).  Described as a "story of a snobby musical theater camp terrorized by a blood-thirsty masked killer who despises musical theater' (I'm thinking Glee taken to its logical, ultraviolent end), this project is drawing major talent, including the likes of Minnie Driver and Meatloaf.  

If Legend of Beaver Dam blew you away back in 2010, you'll definitely want to check out Stage Fright!

The Kindness of Strangers--A Heartwarming Tale

While the Midnight Madness crew is usually more interested in chilling you to the bone or scaring you into unconsciousness, sometimes we come across a nice little story that reminds us that our audience is the best in the world and it warms the cockles of our long-dormant hearts.  Over on Reddit, a user named 'Etheo' has such a story and wanted to pass on a little good Karma to the TIFF volunteer that helped him into the Midnight Madness screening of Smuggler:

Here be the story to celebrate a man who was almost our hero that fateful day, but we will remain forever grateful for your action. For those of you who don't care, please do not waste your time reading this and move on with your life.

So last week during the last week of TIFF event... my girlfriend and I went down to see Smuggler at the midnight launch event. We bought these groupon coupons that are essentially 2for1 ticket, and didn't know that we had to redeem these coupons prior to seeing the film. It sucked, but we sucked it up and lined up at the rush line to see if we could get in.

After 1.5 hours of lining up, while I went to retrieve my car to park closer to the theater, my girlfriend had a rude awakening from the staff at the line and was told that our coupons would not be redeemable at the rush line as well. It was rather unimpressive to know we had lined up for so long for nothing.

Fortunately, behind her, you stood out as a shining statue of human being in the form of a Jamaican friend (which I could only assume due to the strap he was wearing). You casually gave her a voucher that was given to TIFF volunteers only, letting her know that your friends ditched you and you have no use for the voucher. My girlfriend was taken aback at your gracious offer, and hesitantly let you know that I was also in line so the voucher would be useless to her. You, being the amazing altruist that you are, casually gave her another voucher in strides.

When I returned to the line she let me know of the situation, and I believe we humbly thanked you (at least I hope we did--we're too reserved to know how to handle these situations and thank people properly). Since we had no cash with us on our persons, we offered you coffee, tea or food from Starbucks as it was the only currency we had. We were sadden that you did not take our offer as you don't like coffee and weren't hungry. There was not much else we could have offered. We stood in line awkwardly as I thought of every possible way to make it up to you for your kindness.

When we were able to get into the theater, we tried to use our coupon at the ticket booth, and fortunately they had accepted the coupons in exchange for the admission tickets. I had to survey through the entire theater, but I was successful in finding you and returning the vouchers to you. You, again, casually took the vouchers and thanked us. And then we parted ways and proceeded to wait another hour for the movie to begin.

So thank you, random TIFF volunteer, for your kind acts towards 2 total strangers at the rush line. Your friends were asses to ditch you for the movies. You're the man.

TL;DR GF and I went to line up for TIFF, after waiting for hours we were almost told to leave the line but a random TIFF volunteer behind us gave us free vouchers for the movie. We end up didn't use the vouchers and returned, but he was a pretty nice guy.

Just wanted to let people of Toronto know that chivalry and human kindness are not dead, and there are pretty awesome people in Toronto too, not just jerks.

Edit : Smuggler was awesome. Can't hide the smell of fear.

Edit² : Also I witnessed a few people in TIFF giving up their tickets to people waiting in the rushline as well--some were selling, but some were giving. You guys made TIFF pretty cool.

So next time you luck your way into an extra ticket and think about selling it, why not brighten someone's day by helping them out? You might just find yourself immortalized here on the Midnight Madness blog, with all the parted velvet ropes and champagne bubble baths it affords.

And now back to your regular hammer-shots to the face and head.

If Ya Smelllll.....What THE DAY Is Cookin'!

Good news for fans of The Day and also for those who didn't get to see it when it screened at Midnight Madness or any of the subsequent screenings! It seems that WWE Films (yes, you read that right) has acquired the distribution rights to the post-apocalyptic siege movie.  Dread Central has the full report.

Now, WWE Films doesn't exactly have the strongest track record for its properties, which, up until this acquisition, have all featured professional wrestlers like Triple H, Kane, John Cena, and Stone Cold Steve Austin in prominent roles.  Here's hoping that The Day marks a turnaround for the distribution arm of the most successful sports-entertainment company on the planet and that Vince McMahon won't be digitally adding The Big Show into the background (please, please do me a personal favour and never watch Knucklehead).

The last screening of The Day is TONIGHT!
Saturday September 18  9:45pm Scotiabank Theatre

@thesubstream - Midnight Madness '11 Ep. 02: God Bless America!

Bobcat Goldthwait directs a dark comedy about people who are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore! Plus, our buddy Tom attends his first ever Midnight Madness. thesubstream.com's coverage of the best program of films at TIFF continues...

@thesubstream - Midnight Madness Review - THE RAID

When Colin Geddes - TIFF programmer and one time originator of Toronto film-geek institution Kung Fu Fridays - selected an Asian martial arts film to open the Midnight Madness programme this year, clever heads took note. For the past few years Geddes has programmed either raucous Canadiana like 2010's opener Fubar 2 or huge-profile films like Borat or Jennifer's Body. So when that coveted slot is given over to a film that's square in his personal geek-out wheelhouse, you know you're likely gonna get something special.

Thankfully, Welshman Gareth Huw Evans' Indonesian action epic The Raid is that something special. It's a gnarly, frantic freakout launched on the flimsiest of premises - a team of SWAT-types (including star Iko Uwais) try and storm the castle of a local crimelord, who resides on the 15th floor of a decrepit building filled with assorted bad dudes and rude crudes itching to gain their boss' favour by delivering him a cop's head. There's fighting. A lot of it.


What makes the film work is the combination of the native Indonesian martial art (silat, which seems to have been designed to brutally answer questions like "why do kung fu guys flap around so much when they could just pick a dude up and smash his dome on the ground nine times?") frenetically and liberally applied by a talented performer, and a director who knows not only how to stage his intricate action pieces, but how to cut them together, as well.

It's delightfully old-fashioned, seeming to come from a distant much-loved time before the Jason Bourne movies turned the beloved genre institution of two dudes wailing on each other in a room into the confusing, nauseating shaky-cam action sequences that fill up too many mainstream action movies recently.

The film is divided into a series of discrete battles - my screening partner and I both individually were reminded of the Nintendo classic "Double Dragon" - each staged in a space whose dimensions are clear - no wobbly asymmetrical battlefields here.

The action is fast, furious, breath-taking and designed to be entertaining, to be the point, as it were, rather than stylish, confusing chaos. Which is a complicated way of not quite managing to say it's hilariously violent, fast and furious and innovative as hell in the ways that dudes get to dispatching each other. If you've ever liked a kung fu movie, you'll like this. As if my recommendation was worth a tenth of the maestro Geddes'.

Full coverage and reviews at www.thesubstream.com

Single Tickets for TIFF 2011 Now on Sale!

Eye of the Tiger! We Are The Champions! Another One Bites The Dust! Fight to Survive! Knowing is Half the Battle! Get yourself focused on the prize--reared up and ready--'cause festival time starts in less than a week and single tickets are now on sale for Midnight Madness! (Also, all the other films at TIFF).

You can buy them online at: http://www.tiff.net/festival

You can purchase them on the phone at: 416-599-TIFF / 1-888-599-8433.
Phone box office hours are:
September 3 and September 8-18:  7am-7pm
September 4-7: 10am-7pm

Or you can pick up tickets in person at a box office.
The Festival Box Office is located at 225 King St W Metro Center, Concourse level.
The Festival Box Office hours are:
September 3 and September 8-18:  7am-7pm
September 4-7: 10am-7pm

During TIFF you can also buy tickets at venue box offices.  These open one hour before the first screening of the day and close one half hour after the final screening of the day. (You can buy tickets for any film at any of these box offices).

Check Out the Poster for THE DAY

Next time you are on facebook make sure to check out the page for The Day. You'll find all sorts of promotional material (like the stylin' poster above). While you're there don't forget to like the official Midnight Madness Fan Page as well where you can win cool prizes like tickets to The Raid!

THE DAY screening times
Thurs., Sept. 15th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 16th, 3:00PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
Sat., Sept. 17th, 9:45PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 11
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/day

THE RAID screening times
Thurs., Sept. 8th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 10th, 12:15PM, AMC 2
http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/raid

Three Things You Didn't Know About Bobcat Goldthwait

Anyone who grew up in the late 80’s – early 90’s probably remembers Bobcat Goldthwait as Zed from the Police Academy movies. But, did you know…

1. If you were at Midnight Madness 2010, he was probably nearby. Goldthwait was scouting Toronto locations last year and took in a few Midnight Madness screenings. He also caught Adam Wingard’s A Horrible Way to Die, which inspired him to make his Midnight Madness Entry God Bless America.

2. He knows how to entertain people late at night. Goldthwait is a highly successful television director whose credits include Chappelle’s Show and The Man Show. Plus, during his time directing Jimmy Kimmel Live ratings rose to over 2 million viewers a night.

3. He really knows how to fire up late night TV. In the 90s he had a penchant for going on late night tv and trashing the sets. The most memorable incident was when Goldthwait was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and he set a chair on fire! NBC has made sure the clip is impossible to find online but here’s a pic to prove it.


GOD BLESS AMERICA Screening Times:
Fri., Sept. 9th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 1tth, 1:30PM, AMC 6
Fri., Sept. 16th, 6:30PM, AMC 7

YOU’RE NEXT Screening Times:
Sat., Sept. 10th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 12th, 6:30PM, AMC 7
Fri., Sept. 16th, 4:00PM, TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2

Torontoist Excited About LIVID

Torontoist.com named its top 11 picks for TIFF 11. Devoted midnight maniacs will immediately recognize four of the names on the list:

Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo who showed us all how much damage a simple pair of scissors could do in À l'intérieur (Midnight Madness 2007).

Pen-ek Ratanaruang who presented 6ixtynin9 at Midnight Madness 2000.

And Johnnie To who brought us the GREATEST. ACTION. MOVIE. EVER: Fulltime Killer (Midnight Madness 2001). That is an indisputable title which I am allowed to confer because I'm a blogger. Don't believe me? Go watch it... Now... See, told you!

Here's some of what they had to say about their films at TIFF11:

Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s Livid ...promises some of the same claustrophobic indoors tension of Inside. And if it’s even half as tense and pants-shittingly gnarly, then all you sicko gorehounds out there are in for a treat.

Johnnie To’s Life Without Principle ...is a heist caper and mini–morality drama involving a bank teller, a small-time crook, and a cop. Sounds promising.

Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s Headshot ...is about a cop who gets double-crossed and shot in the head, then wakes up three months later to find that he sees the whole world upside down. ...sounds amazingly trippy and inventive...

Livid Screening Times
Sunday September 11 11:59:00 PM RYERSON
Tuesday September 13 5:00:00 PM AMC 7

Life Without Principle Screening Times
Monday September 12 9:00:00 PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Wednesday September 14 3:30:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1
Saturday September 17 8:30:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3

Headshot Screening Times
Sunday September 11 9:00:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
Monday September 12 5:30:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
Saturday September 17 3:00:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1