Video: THE GUEST Complete Midnight Madness Premiere Intro/Q&A With Adam Wingard Simon Barrett Dan Stevens Maika Monroe

The Guest the new film from the directing, writing team Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett You're Next was the 2014 closing night film of the midnight madness programme of the Toronto International Film Festival. Actor Dan Steven and actress Maika Monroe -- who was also in the David Robert Mitchell film It Follows which premiered at this year's midnight madness -- joined Mr. Wingard & Mr. Barrett on stage. Here is the complete introduction and post-screening Q&A moderated by programmer Colin Geddes.

Social Media Buzz for THE GUEST!

When you're like Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett and you throw a bloody, gun-crazy, astounding action film up at Midnight Madness like THE GUEST, people are gonna talk.  And talk they did, on Twitter and Instagram after the Midnight Madness closer sent the Ryerson audience home happy.  Check out what folks were saying about the Dan Stevens thriller!

Sadly THE GUEST has finally packed his bags and left TIFF, but you'll be able to see Dan Stevens in all his cold-blooded glory starting September 17th in a theatre near you!

Video: THE GUEST Interviews With Adam Wingard Maika Monroe Simon Barrett Midnight Madness Canadian Premiere

The Guest was the 2014 closing night film at midnight madness. Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett returned to the Ryerson stage (You're Next). Here is Robert A. Mitchell's red carpet interviews with Mr. Wingard, Mr. Barrett and actress Maika Monroe who was also on the red carpet earlier in the week for her film It Follows which was the first time Robert had talked to the same actress twice for different films playing at Midnight Madness in the same year.

 

Pics From the Premiere of THE GUEST!

It's never been Midnight Madness' style to go out, Jason style, without one more kill and last night's screening of THE GUEST joins Festival closers like L'INTERIEUR, KILL LIST, and the original HOSTEL as the latest to end Midnight Madness with a bang (and several knife wounds). Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard's latest sent cheers through the Ryerson audience and it was pretty clear that a couple of people were excited to see THE GUEST himself, Dan Stevens, as well.  Ian Goring was, as always, there to capture the mayhem!

The most dedicated audience at TIFF lines up one last time for 2014!

The lovely Maika Monroe braves the cold for THE GUEST!

THE GUEST himself, Dan Stevens!

Spooooky!

Representing Canada in the cast, Brendan Meyer!

What what, director Adam Wingard throws it up!

Never let it be said that ten days of TIFF doesn't bring out the wacky in directors and stars alike.

I don't know what Adam Wingard is doing here other than 'beer'.  Simon Barrett seems equally perplexed.

What a charming pair - Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe.

The whole crew from THE GUEST!

Adam Wingard jumpkicks the invisible spooky mango tree that grows outside the Ryerson.

That did not end well.

Simon Barrett, Colin Geddes, and Adam Wingard in a rare moment of calm.

...which didn't last long.

I don't know why Adam Wingard was intent on killing his cast with jumpkicks.

Dan Stevens displays his superhuman genetically-superior strength in restraining Adam onstage.

The charming Dan Stevens takes questions from the audience.

And that's all folks!

TIFF is over, so you'll have to wait until THE GUEST drops in theatres to see it! Thankfully, that's two days from now if you're lucky enough to live in the US!

THE GUEST Final Screening!

Yes, Anna. Yes, we would.

The last Midnight Madness screening of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett's The Guest is tonight. Still not sure if you want to see it? Maybe we should just let the poster art do the talking.

 

THE GUEST's Big, Bold Badass and All Kinds of Awesome Final Screening:
Sun. Sept. 14th 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

THE GUEST: A Look At Bob Clark's Deathdream

If you've read the synopsis for The Guest, you already know what it's about. But if not, here it is:

Shortly after soldier Caleb Peterson dies in Afghanistan, his army buddy David arrives in New Mexico to deliver a farewell message to Caleb's family. The Petersons have never previously heard of the mysterious and devastatingly charming David, but they quickly warm to him - all, that is, except Caleb's sister Anna. Of course, it wouldn't be a Midnight Madness film if David were exactly who he appeared to be.

That got us thinking about another movie about war and a soldier who returns home: Canadian director Bob Clark's Deathdream!

Loosely based on W.W. Jacobs's 1902 short story "The Monkey's Paw," Deathdream is also known as Dead of Night. This 1972 creeper stars Richard Backus as Andy Brooks, a soldier who is killed in Vietnam. At least that's what his parents are led to believe when they receive a telegram stating as much.

It's a little strange then, when Andy shows up at their doorstep in full uniform. Only he's not exactly the Andy they remember. He spends an awful lot of time in a rocking chair staring at the wall. He essentially refuses all human contact and when he is finally persuaded to go on a drive-in date with his girlfriend things don't end well. Then there's that whole "killing the dog" thing and breaking into medical facilities to steal blood and inject himself with it. With his mother in denial and his father terrified of his own son, things don't go very well for the Brooks family.

One of the earliest movies to comment on the horrors of the Vietnam War and even PTSD, Deathdream is genuinely eerie and unsettling, with an ambiguous, yet tragic ending.

Is David from The Guest a reanimated, blood-ingesting, dog-killer like Andy? Well, you'll have to go see the movie to find out.

For more on Deathdream, check out the article on the film from the Canuxploitation blog.

THE GUEST screening times:
Sat., Sept. 13th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

THE GUEST Premieres Tonight!

The Guest the latest film from Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (A Horrible Way To Die; You're Next) premieres tonight! It has been getting great buzz: "Adam Wingard's The Guest feels like a lost [John] Carpenter film from the director's golden age. The picture effortlessly moves between a nerve-wracking mystery to a gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it even mixes the two together." --Collider

You can read more reviews from fellow blogger Leslie's post here.



THE GUEST screening times:
Sat., Sept. 13th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

THE GUEST: More Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett Collaborations

When was the last time you dusted?

Sometimes patience is its own reward. Eh, on second thought, screw that. The reward for patience at this year's Festival is The Guest, the last-but not the least-of the Midnight Madness movies.

If you've been a Midnight Madness fan for a while, you've likely seen at least one of the collaborations of Adam Wingard (director/writer/actor) and Simon Barrett (writer/actor). But what about those Midnight Madness n00bs who don't think The Guest sounds like a very exciting title for a movie? That's what we are here for. Here's a look at a few of Wingard and Barrett's other collaborations.

NOT an episode of Storage Wars.

A Horrible Way To Die (2010)
Screening at Midnight Madness in 2010, this claustrophobic thriller lives up to its title and then some. Sarah is just trying to make it through her AA meetings when she finds out her serial killer ex-boyfriend has escaped from jail. Like the best horror movies, there's a level of emotional drama in the backstory that makes this film exceptionally unsettling and compelling.

I can have a three-way, with myself!

Autoerotic (2011)
Wingard and Barrett contributed on this movie with Former Unofficial Vanguard Blog Mascot Joe Swanberg! Autoerotic is series of vignettes about the sex lives of several twentysomething couples in Chicago. Swanberg's frank and unflinching eye informs the movie as does a fair amount of humor. Amy Seimetz, who played Sarah in A Horrible Way To Die, also shows up.

What Fun We Were Having

What Fun We Were Having (2011)
Another series of vignettes about sex, this time on various permutations of rape. If that sounds heavy, you're right, but the movie is not exploitive, preferring to examine the insidiousness of rape in our every day lives. And there are genre elements, too. And look, there's A.J. Bowen from A Horrible Way To Die! And Joe Swanberg (again)!

Here's to YOU, Joe Swanberg.

You're Next (2011, released 2013)
This was another Midnight Madness selection that didn't make it to theaters for a couple of years due to a bidding war and the merger between Lionsgate and Summit. It's an incredibly gory, suspenseful, hilarious, and feminist take on the revenge slasher, with Sharni Vinson as a bona fide badass. It also features Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Ti West (The House of the Devil), and scream queen Barbara Crampton.

Even with a robotic eye, that is one ugly bathroom.

V/H/S "Tape 56" and V/H/S 2 "Phase I Clinical Trials" and The ABCs of Death "Q is for Quack"
Wingard and Barrett love their short films! For the first installment of the V/H/S series, they provide the wraparound story about where the infamous tapes come from. "Phase I Clinical Trials" is a sci-fi supernatural yarn about the dangers of robotic eyes and actually stars Wingard. He and Barrett also star in one of the funnier segments of often-sobering The ABCs of Death (which screened at Midnight Madness), poking fun of themselves in a refreshing way.

Wingard and Barrett can do horror, drama, and comedy very well--especially all at the same time--and The Guest takes that blending of genres to another level. Don't miss it at the Festival!

THE GUEST screening times:
Sat., Sept. 13th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

THE GUEST: Sundance Film Festival Buzz

I'M BY UR MANTELPIECE PLOTTING UR DESTRUCTION

For those of us who are big fans of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, but were not able to attend Sundance this year (ahem), it was kind of a bummer because their new movie The Guest screened at the festival.

But wait! All is not lost. The Guest will be screening at this year's Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness programme!

What is The Guest about anyway? After Caleb Peterson dies in Afghanistan, his army pal David pays Caleb's family a visit. Sounds tender and heartbreaking, right? WRONG. David is not who he appears to be and things turn creepy with a quickness.

Now why should you care? That's where this blog comes in. Here are some juicy tidbits from the Sundance reviews of The Guest that will leave you hungry for more.

"A concept hatched after an accidental double-feature of The Terminator and Halloween, The Guest is the perfect synthesis of Cameron, Carpenter and Cannon [Films] and one of the most fun films at this year's Sundance Film Festival."
--Indiewire

"Played in a key of macabre black comedy that's deadpan save whenever all hell breaks loose," The Guest is "nasty fun."
--Variety

"Barrett and Wingard haven't lost their ironically humorous touch, as most of the film's uneasy laughs revolve around upending typical thriller expectations."
--The Hollywood Reporter

"Adam Wingard's The Guest feels like a lost [John] Carpenter film from the director's golden age. The picture effortlessly moves between a nerve-wracking mystery to a gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it even mixes the two together."
--Collider

"The Guest is a modern movie, but one that has a sensibility that feels a bit like a return to a lost form. It's tight and smart and often very funny..."
--Badass Digest

"The Guest is genuinely great filmmaking... a crafty crowdpleaser that's still intelligent enough to warrant real consideration about what it's saying about the contemporary culture that gave birth to it, through both style and substance."
--Crave Online

"Equal parts creepy, slow-burn horror and bloody, balls-out actioner, Wingard and Barrett again prove that best kind of genre movie is the one with which you can have the most outright fun."
--Twitch

"This is a ninety-minute thrill-ride that fits right in with the very best genre fare of that era. Big thrills, big laughs, and tons of carnage--The Guest has it all and deserves to be a real crossover hit for both Wingard and [actor Dan] Stevens."
--JoBlo.com

So let's review: John Carpenter, retro yet modern, black comedy, and creepy slow-burn horror. I think I'm in love with The Guest. Don't forget to get tickets to a screening.

THE GUEST screening times:
Sat., Sept. 13th, 11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

THE GUEST: First Look Poster and Trailer

This Ain't Downton Abbey, People!

Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, the powerhouse creative team behind genre favorites: A Horrible Way to Die and You're Next are back with THE GUEST. Check out Dan Steven's creepy stare in the poster as well as the recently released trailer below.



THE GUEST screening times
Sat. Sept. 13th,11:59 PM, RYERSON
Sun. Sept. 14th 6:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

YOU'RE NEXT Filmmakers Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett: "We are the horror audience."

Midnight Madness Alumni Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett talk about their film You're Next with The Los Angeles Times.

You're Next had a rollicking world premiere in 2011 as part of the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival that had the audience on its feet cheering during the screening.That first showing has become part of the film's lore, a signal of its effect on audiences. It opens Aug. 23 around the U.S.

"We came to realize that the best way to deconstruct horror nowadays is actually just to make a really great horror movie," Wingard, 30, said recently in East Hollywood, not far from where he and Barrett live on the same block. "You don't have to sell the reference thing or be that clever. Recognizing all the horror tropes and playing off audience expectations is kind of the new deconstruction."

Though the film is full of spiky scares and elaborate bloody kills, it is also driven by a sharp wit[.]

"We went into the recesses of our minds and said, 'What got us into filmmaking?'" noted Wingard. "And we realized it's fun, action-y horror stuff geared toward having a good time."

Read more here.

Pics From The Premiere of THE ABC'S OF DEATH!

Friday night was the equivalent of a marathon as the Midnight Madness audience was subjected to an unprecedented 26 films about death in The ABC's Of Death!  Ian Goring captured all the mayhem at what had to have been one of the most fun experiences in the Midnight lineup this year!

Midnight Madness fans about to learn their ABC's all over again

An absolutely titanic line-up of directing talent!

"MAT" spells producers Marc Walkow, Ant Timpson,  Tim League with MM Programmer, Colin Geddes.

Kaare Andrews

The ABCs of Death co-producer Todd Brown interviewed by Robert Mitchell

'U' is for Unexplained Levitation

The dynamic duo, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett!

Marcel Sarmiento

'R' is for 'RUINING THE RED CARPET BACKDROP AT THE RYERSON'

Ahhhh! Yoshihiro Nishimura!

Well this can't possibly end well...

Sometimes it sucks to be right.

Colin Geddes or Jay-Z? It's almost impossible to tell!

Talk about an entrance!