Colin Geddes' "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit!

Last week, Colin and a few other programmers took on all comers for an ask me anything event over at Reddit. The entire conversation is here, but here are some highlights:

Reddit: What filmmakers have you truly discovered?
CG: Eli Roth; Alex Aja; Takeshi Miike; Adam Wingard; Tony Jaa; Hitoshi Matsumoto; Julien Maury + Alexandre Bustillo; Ryuhei Kitamura; Christopher Smith.

R: Please name a film or two that you're excited about. 
CG: I am super excited for ALMOST HUMAN, a first time film that I've selected in Midnight Madness. Great thriller by a promising young talent, Joe Begos! And my colleague Jane has programmed a film with Joel Eggerton called FELONY that I am stoked to check out

R: How many films do you watch in a year when looking for TIFF films?
CG: I lose track over how many films I watch that are considerations for TIFF, but this year I tried to keep a log and when it hit around 180 I stopped counting!

Almost Human

R: Is there a MM film that you could recommend in this year's slate that might not be classified as a 'horror' film, but is perfect for the Midnight newcomer?
CG: Good question! I always have to work against the misconception that Midnight Madness is just about horror and gore, but we screened BORAT and THE RAID! This year, maybe try to have them come to R100 (sexy kinky strange comedy from Japan by the country's biggest comedian) or WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL (slapstick with some ridiculous Kill Bill level action) or the madcap WITCHING & BITCHING. Check the TIFF website for trailers to see if your pals would like them!

R: Some of my favourite screenings over the years have been controversial ones. I'm thinking of one's that angered the audience, like Ken Park. I remember Larry Clark and Edward Lachman stood their ground and challenged the audience to get past yelling insults and have a discussion during the Q & A. Any moments like that to highlight?
CG: I LOVE screenings like that, but it can be daunting as a programmer who has to be a referee! Screenings that spark discussion are the best. In Midnight Madness we had a doc that had a fictional thread in it called S&MAN that disturbed the audience, but then was revealed in the Q&A. A memorable night!

Witching & Bitching

R: Do you have any favourite heroic stars/directors who showed up to all screenings?
CG: Always juggling schedules which makes the talent attendance at 2nd screenings hard, but this year I have some directors who are staying in Toronto for 11 days! They want to be part of each and every screening of their films. Troopers! And I have some Midnight Madness alumni who are showing up even though they don't have a film in the Festival this year!

R: What's the best "you're an ass for not selecting my film" phone calls you received?
CG: The "best"? Ugh. Never. Those calls are the worst, but luckily they are few and far between. Producers and directors must think long term and not short term. Often times if I can't pick a film, I still try and help the film and pass/suggest it to other festivals or people who can help. This year I've picked a film and in the past I had to pass on the director and producers previous films, but this year they delivered at last! Love their spirit!

R: There hasn't been a Martial Arts film in MM (other than The Raid) for several years. Where are all the good Martial Arts films???
CG: I KNOW! Sadly THE RAID 2 was only just completed. Fingers crossed I can get it for next year. I was waiting on the new Donnie Yen film, but it was not ready in time :( There is martial arts in WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL! And see you at the Ryerson b/c I think I know who you are! Continuing your annual TIFF film vacay from south of the border like usual!

Why Don't You Play In Hell

R: I'm a big fan of Ti West's previous films and would love to take a (albeit, sensitive) date to see his newest THE SACRAMENT. Just how brutal is it? What was Eli Roth's influence as producer?
CG: It is not brutal. More of a thriller. The Eli Roth stamp does not mean there is gore or brutality. Remember he did THE LAST EXORCISM which was not so gory.

R: If you could re-program one film that you selected over the past 10 years - perhaps one you felt didn't find it's audience or get distribution - what film and why?  
CG: I picked a film in 1998 for the Midnight Madness selection called HEAVEN from New Zealand by Scott Reynolds starring Karl Urban, Martin Donovan and Richard Schiff that didn't get the attention or release that it deserved. Seek it out!

R: Other than the French films, what are some movies with female nudity?
CG: Didn't you hear? France outlawed nudity this year in cinema.

R: Colin used to program just Midnight Madness, but now he also does Vanguard, how did that happen? And can he program the rest of the festival too? I would go to an Everything Colin Likes Festival, and I'm sure he has nothing better to do with his time.
CG: Where is the LIKE button on this thing!?!?

R: Any plans to allow TIFF patrons the option of printing their own tickets?
CG: in 2020 we hope that you can print your own cinema on 3D printers.



ALMOST HUMAN Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 7:15 PM SCOTIABANK 3
Friday, Sept 13th, 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 9


R100 Screening Times:
Thursday, Sept 12th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 13th, 11:30 AM SCOTIABANK 9
Saturday, Sept 14th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

THE SACRAMENT Screening Times:

Sunday, Sept 8th, 5:15 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Tuesday, Sept 10th, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK 7

Friday, Sept 13th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 3

WHY DON’T YOU PLAY IN HELL Screening Times:
Friday, Sept 13th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Saturday, Sept 14th, 3:45 PM SCOTIABANK 1

WITCHING AND BITCHING Screening Times:
Saturday, Sept 14th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sunday, Sept 15th, 12:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

HERE BE CANNIBALS: A Brief History of Cannibalism in Cinema

As we here at Midnight Madness count down the days until the premiere of Eli Roth’s highly anticipated Green Inferno, we thought we’d take a walk down memory lane and take a look at cinema’s historical appetite for cannibal flicks.

Was it something I said?

Cannibal stories have been told since the age of colonialism, but the late 1970s saw a peak in popularity for cannibal films, ushered in by Mondo cinema and several Italian filmmakers who made enough of them to call it a subgenre. The most notorious of these was Cannibal Holocaust, directed by Ruggero Deodato in 1980. In a style that would come to be known later in horror circles as ‘found footage’, Cannibal Holocaust featured a group of anthropologists on a trip into the wild where they expect to observe and study the primitive ‘savages’. The irony of Cannibal Holocaust (and of several films of its ilk) is that the visiting whites often exhibit much more savage behavior than the natives do, which ticks them off and inspires an appropriately savage reaction.

Other noteworthy figures in the cannibal cinema subgenre include Jesus Franco (Mondo Cannibale - 1980), Joe D’Amato (Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals - 1977) and Italian b-movie kingpin Umberto Lenzi, who contributed Mangiati Vivi! (Eaten Alive!) in 1980 and Cannibal Ferox in 1981. These films drew censorship woes like flies to a dungheap, and the cannibal subgenre eventually fizzled into obscurity… until now.



You wanted yours rare, right?

Green Inferno director Eli Roth announced his plans to direct the film at Cannes in 2012, and has cited Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox as his major inspirations for the film. Does anyone else smell a resurgence cooking?

Green Inferno premieres Saturday, 11:59PM at the Ryerson.

THE GREEN INFERNO Screening Times:
Sat, Sept 7th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Mon, Sept 9th, 1:30 PM SCOTIABANK 13

Program Your Own Midnight Madness Retrospective!!

Torontoist wrote about the 25th anniversary of Midnight Madness and had the great idea to program their own dream retrospective of 18 of their favourite films from previous Midnight Madness line-ups.

Of all of the films that have screened at Midnight Madness in its 25 year history, which 10 would you show. Here's a handy list of every film to have screened to help you out.

Tomorrow I might pick a different 10, but here's my fantasy Midnight Madness retrospective to get the ball rolling.  Post your lists in the comments section.

 BORAT

 BRAINDEAD

 ONG-BAK

WILD ZERO

 FREEWAY 2: CONFESSIONS OF A TRICK BABY

 CLIP CULT and ELECTRIC DRAGON 80,000 VOLTS

 SWORDSMAN II

 DAINIPPONJIN (BIG MAN JAPAN)

 CREEP

INSIDE (A L'INTERIEUR)

p.s.
This was extremely difficult!!

Interview with the Directors of ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

Chris Sivertson (left) and Lucky McKee (right)

Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson, directors of 2013 Midnight Madness opening night film All Cheerleaders Die, were kind enough to grant the Midnight Madness Blog an interview in advance of their film's world premiere this Thursday, 11:59PM at the Ryerson. You can find their IMDB pages here: Lucky McKee; and here: Chris Sivertson. You can find Lucky McKee on Twitter here.

Midnight Madness Blog: We recently posted an article about how All Cheerleaders Die is actually a remake. Can you tell me a little bit about the making of the original film? Also, what was it about the concept that made you want to revisit it?

Lucky McKee & Chris Sivertson: We made the original ACD about a year after graduating from USC Film School. We were walking down the street one day after buying some indie movie magazines and were talking about these b-movies that were being shot on video and edited on PC's. Chris said, "Why don't we do one of these?" So we wrote up a script, got a tiny amount of money from our parents and shot the thing over two four day weekends in Lucky's hometown. Our first feature. It made us feel ten foot tall and bullet-proof.

The new and improved All Cheerleaders Die

We decided to tap back into that initial impulse of doing a wild, fun, comical, sexy movie but with all we've learned from our solo careers. After making such heavy movies over the last ten years it has been a delight to work on something so tonally different than what we're known for.

MMB: Several of Lucky's films – May, The Woods, “Sick Girl,” The Woman – have focused substantially more on female characters than most horror films do. All Cheerleaders Die appears to continue this tradition. Can you talk a little bit about the draw of complex female protagonists?

LM/CS: There's just so much uncharted dramatic territory for female characters within the genre.

MMB: The little that we know about All Cheerleaders Die makes it sound like somewhat of a changeup for you guys tonally. The title itself has a playful vibe to it. Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes describes the film as “hilarious.” Lucky in particular is coming off of a film that elicited strong visceral reactions from audiences in The Woman. How does the tone of All Cheerleaders Die fit in with the your previous work?

LM/CS: The film is funny, but it's not a comedy. The situation is so wild that a lot of humor comes from it being so outlandish. This isn't a Lucky McKee movie. It's not a Chris Sivertson movie. It's a McKee/Sivertson film and it's what happens when two old friends get hooked on an idea and poke and prod each other to get it up to a level that's entertaining as hell. When we hang out, we don’t talk about heavy shit all that often. We mostly joke around and have a good time, so it’s only natural that feeling would find its way into any collaborations between us.

MMB: With all the credits between the two of you on the film versions of The Lost, Red and The Woman, you guys have set up a really interesting filmmaker-novelist relationship with author Jack Ketchum. How did this relationship begin? And are there plans to continue? Do you have more Ketchum projects in the works?

LM/CS: Between the two of us and our producer, Andrew van den Houten, we’ve been behind all of the Ketchum movies produced thus far. It’s been a lot of fun spreading the gospel of Jack around the globe. Lucky wrote another novel with Ketchum called I'm Not Sam that he would very much like to get on film, as well as a short story called Squirrely Shirley that would fit nicely in an anthology if that opportunity ever comes up. They'll probably write a new book in 2014 if the time is available.

MMB: Your time at the Festival is no doubt going to be very busy, but will you get a chance to actually see any films? Are there any films in Midnight Madness or elsewhere in the Festival that you guys are particularly excited to see?

Vanguard North American premiere The Sacrament directed by Ti West

LM/CS: Very excited to see Ti West’s and Eli Roth's new babies [The Sacrament and The Green Inferno, respectively]. Also been hearing great things about Almost Human. Our colorist worked on both Ti's film and Almost Human, so we're curious to see what his work with other artists looks like. Ti and Eli have gotten stronger as filmmakers with every film they've made, so it's just plain exciting as a fan to see what they've cooked up next. Also excited about The Double. Avi Korine is a gifted writer and just a good person who deserves tons of success. And Horns. First Joe Hill adaptation to hit the big screen! Beyond that, we'd like to see as many films as time allows! We finished our film six days before the festival, so what better way to celebrate than watching as many films as possible? You guys put on a hell of a show.

ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE screening times:
Thu., Sept. 5th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 6th, 3:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 15th, 9:30PM, SCOTIABANK 11

THE GREEN INFERNO screening times:
Sat., Sept. 7th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 9th, 1:30PM, SCOTIABANK 13

ALMOST HUMAN screening times:
Tue., Sept. 10th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 11th, 7:15PM, SCOTIABANK 3
Fri., Sept. 13th, 2:30PM, SCOTIABANK 9

THE SACRAMENT screening times:
Sun., Sept. 8th, 5:15PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Tue., Sept. 10th, 9:45PM, SCOTIABANK 7
Fri., Sept. 13th, 8:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

HORNS screening times:
Fri., Sept. 6th, 6:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 8th, 1:00PM, SCOTIABANK 4

TIFF Midnight Madness 25th Anniversary T-Shirts Now Available!

For the past 24 years of the Midnight Madness program, if you wanted to be able to identify a fellow Midnight Madness devotee during the day, unless they were wearing a horror or action movie shirt, your odds of guessing weren't very good.

This year, TIFF is removing the guess work and have put out an official Midnight Madness 25th Anniversary t-shirt, designed by Kagan McLeod. You might know Kagan's work from his kung-fu comic book epic, Infinite Kung-Fu, or from his many illustration work that he's done for The National Post, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, and The Hollywood Reporter.

As of Tuesday, these beautiful navy blue t-shirts are available in unisex t-shirt sizes XS - XXL in a limited edition for $30 (+ tax) at the TIFF Shop (at TIFF Bell Lightbox) and at the TIFF Shop pop up location at the Festival Box Office at Metro Centre.

Look how dashing you're going to look in your new Midnight Madness shirt!!

The Devil's in the details.

So pick up your shirt and let everyone at that 9AM screening know that you're running on less than 5 hours of sleep.

How To Kill A Vampire

Midnight Madness is a whole secret organization of ne'er-do-wells, ancient evils and scholars who delve too deeply into forbidden knowledge while working in the shadows to bring The Madness to you every year. Now one of the secret scribes has stepped into the light with a new book. Liisa Ladouceur helps keep MM Programmer Colin Geddes in check as his MM programme copy editor. (She's also helped him at ActionFest). She's also a scholar of all things gothic and macabre.

Liisa's new book, How To Kill A Vampire: Fangs in Folklore, Film and Fiction, came out on September 1, just in time to help you survive The Madness this year. RIGOR MORTIS clearly has some kind of vampire situation going on. And Colin's being cagey about what happens in THE AFFLICTED, so you should probably read it before then. In fact you can even order a signed copy directly from Liisa right now!

And if you survive this year's programme, there's also a book launch and signing, on Tuesday, September 17. Of course, it's after 8pm for the convenience of the undead.

And while you wait, listen to Liisa talk about vampires with the CBC's Karen Gordon and check out Liisa's picks for this year's Midnight Madness and Vanguard Programmes.

THE AFFLICTED Screening Times:

Monday, Sept 9th, 11:59 PM RYERSON

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9

RIGOR MORTIS Screening Times:

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 11:59 PM RYERSON

Thursday, Sept 12th, 12:45 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2

Friday, Sept 13th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

THE STATION: 10 Isolation Horror Films

The monsters will keep you company at The Station

Hola masses of Midnight Madness Marauders! 

Looking forward again to another depraved year of horror and psychotronics?! I sure am.  

To kick things off, explore some ISOLATION horror films -- films where the characters find themselves in an inescapable and utterly desolate predicament, either emotionally, physically - or both.

To mix it up a bit, I came up with some rules. I'm into complex rules for everything.

• Try to avoid home invasion sub genre
• Try to define it as main characters who are in bad spot
• Try to avoid prisoner movies

(MM) denotes the Midnight Madness alumni!  

Spoiler level:  Mostly concepts (so to mid movie) No end game spoilers.  

Here's my picks - in no particular order!

There's a Spider-head in the hallway. Maybe let's go around the other way.

1. The Thing (1982) --  Carpenter remake. So imagine this, you're doing routine work in a remote Antarctic region. There's the slow realization that your group has been infiltrated by an terrifying organism bent on assimilating every life form on earth. Looking at their faces, you can't help but wonder who's already been turned. They act the same -- except when they're alone with you.  In which case, they'll eat you with fangs and tendrils. What makes this one great, is there's so many questions. You're never sure who or what form it will take on next, and psychotic acts of paranoia are completely justified.

2. Cabin Fever (2002, MM) -- Teenagers VS. a thriving strain of Flesh Eating Bacteria in a masterful movie that launched director Eli Roth's career, right here at Midnight Madness!  Looking forward to his new one (link), which could very well be on a future isolation horror best of list - but if you haven't seen it already, Cabin Fever is wall to wall insanity.

3. Bug (2006) -- A kind of a gem. Slower paced and positively itch-inducing.  Ashley Judd and a then lesser known Michael Shannon do a sort of self-imposed isolation, chronicling their increasing paranoia as "BUGS" have gotten deep underneath their skin. Other things to worry about too.

Okay, you know what, let's just go back to the Spider-head hallway.

4. Alien (1979) -- Space craft. Crew full of victims with nowhere to run.  A salivating razor- lined mouth to feed. Executed to perfection. 

5. Ravenous (1999) -- Man, I love this movie.  Somewhere cold, American civil war era. This movie has a very interesting and monstrously cunning villain that keeps you guessing. 

6. Day of the Dead (1985) -- Yeahhhhhh. Now that's what I like. A bunch of poor souls hiding out in a military bunker… during the zombie apocalypse. A George Romero original. Now, as much as I love Dawn of the Dead, I feel this one edges it in the claustrophobia department.  Pretty much a nightmare scenario, seeing as much as we have rotting hordes building at the above ground gate, and underground; along with all the survivors, there's a well-intentioned scientist running experiments inside with "live"-undead. Maybe he's on to something? Now add in an ultra jerk military leader, and you got yerselves a ticking time bomb.

7. The Descent (2005, MM)-- Bunch of lady friends go spelunking!  Soon they are trapped with each other along with their built-in friend dramas. But they're not alone…  some other bump in the night things are crawling up and down the walls…  Result: ultra gore. Really though, for me, it was one entirely relatable shot that landed this on the list. The one where she gets… 

8. Stuck (2007, MM) -- Stuart Gordon's opus about the TRUE STORY of a man who's hit and run by a nurse.  Okay to get technical, he's hit and run, and stuck halfway through her car windshield.  This situation might have then been corrected. Instead he's stored in her garage as he slowly bleeds out in the dark, pleading - why?  I'm sure they took some creative liberties with this one, but man, it does not end pretty.

Church security systems: Don't build em like they used to.

9. The Church (1989) -- This is a late night movie; the kind you're supposed to find when you're a kid, and the your parents are sleeping - that you really shouldn't watch.  Because it's filled with everything they've warned you about, and really, you won't understand it.  I still don't understand it!  Granted I just saw it for the first time this year, but I'm young at heart.  So some peeps are trapped in an archaic church when an accidental ritual unleashes a horde of imprisoned evil, and the local demon detecting device puts the building on perma-lockdown.  The imagery is truly eye-popping, everything about this movie is like remembering dream - and the Keith Emerson score is one of my favorites - ever, totally zany and lavishly delicious.

10.  Alive (1993) -- Now is this an isolation horror movie… Or is it a super inspiring true story about using cannibalism to survive unbelievable odds? Cop out pick? Well, the scary thing, this could (and did) happen. Not sure how much was changed, but I don't remember second guessing anything that I saw; the stuff nightmares are made of.

Honorable mentions:

Isolation (2005) --another MM alumni. The pocket-sized mutating predatory farm creatures are among the last things you'd want to be stuck with.

Cast Away (2000) -- That poor sentient volley ball!  Trapped with Tom Hanks - nothing's scarier than a nice guy slowly going nuts.  Except maybe a sentient volley ball. Add in some head exploding powers, and we coulda had a real contender here.

What did I miss? 

Only a million great movies…. Feel free to share your own lists below, and to satiate your own isolation horror fix be sure to check out THE STATION…  

THE STATION Screening Times:

Friday, Sept 6th, 11:59 PM RYERSON

Sunday, Sept 8th, 2:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14

Friday, Sept 13th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9

The First Review of ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

The first review of Midnight Madness 2013 opening night film All Cheerleaders Die is in--and it's from Rian Johnson, director of Brick, The Brothers Bloom and 2012 Toronto International Film Festival opening night film Looper. Check out Rian's tweet from this past Saturday:

Don't miss the world premiere of All Cheerleaders Die this Thursday, 11:59PM at the Ryerson.

ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE screening times:
Thu., Sept. 5th, 11:59PM RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 6th, 3:00PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 15th, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 11

Eli Roth on the Italian Cannibal Films that Inspired THE GREEN INFERNO

Eli Roth brought Umberto Lenzi's 1981 film Cannibal Ferox to the TIFF Bell Lightbox in July 2012 and sat for a hearty Q&A moderated by Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes. Use the following links to hear that Q&A, which includes Roth's thoughts on several of the Italian cannibal classics that inspired Midnight Madness 2013 world premiere The Green Inferno: Q&A Part 1 and Q&A Part 2. Credit to YouTube user TheHorrorSection.

If you want to test your stomach before the world premiere of The Green Inferno, seek out Cannibal Ferox (if you're intrigued by the film's alternate title Make Them Die Slowly, you won't be disappointed) as well as the other films Roth discusses. Just one note of warning: These movies are sick. Seriously.

Mountain of the Cannibal God, a.k.a. Slave of the Cannibal God (dir. Sergio Martino, 1978) is plenty gross, but not quite as disturbing as later Italian cannibal offerings mainly because it has actors you'll recognize (Stacey Keach and Ursula Andress). May be a good place to start.

On the other hand, Cannibal Holocaust (dir. Ruggero Deodato, 1980) is the Mother of All Cannibal Films and one of the most disturbing films of any kind ever made. Deodato was famously required to have his actors appear in court in order to prove that he hadn't made a snuff film. Note: The film-within-the-film that the characters are making is called The Green Inferno.

THE GREEN INFERNO screening times:
Sat., Sept. 7th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 9th, 1:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 13

Don't mess with the directors of THE AFFLICTED!

Despite my best efforts to find all you info starved Midnight Maniacs the inside scoop on THE AFFLICTED, I've come up empty handed. Apart from Colin's description on the TIFF site there is just nothing out there. There's more information out there on Makinov than there is on THE AFFLICTED, or its directors: Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse.

I did manage to stumble upon this short the duo directed called, Snakehead. The main character, who goes all "John Rambo meets Bruce Lee" in the short, is Derek Lee. So try to keep you comments polite during the Q&A, okay?





THE AFFLICTED Screening Times:
Monday, Sept 9th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Midnight Madness Memories: CABIN FEVER

"Catch it! Fall 2003"

Check out a piece of Midnight Madness history. Midnight Madness Programmer Colin holds one of the surgical masks from the world premiere of Eli Roth's Cabin Fever in 2003. Cabin Fever was Roth's first film at Midnight Madness. Roth's Hostel played Midnight Madness in 2004 and Roth was back last year starring in (and producing) Nicolás López' Aftershock.  Roth is returning to Midnight Madness this year with Green Inferno.

And I'm sure that the test results will reveal that stain is nothing to worry about...

THE GREEN INFERNO screening times:
Sat., Sept. 7th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 9th, 1:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 13

The Legend of MANDY LANE

It was Midnight Madness 2006. We'd had quite a ride already, between the infamous aborted Borat screening on Thursday and the North American premiere of Bong Joon-ho's creature feature The Host on Friday. Some of the audience had already been introduced to the Borat character via Da Ali G Show, and we'd all been hearing about The Host since its Cannes premiere the previous May. But Saturday night brought a total question mark. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane had no poster, no trailer and no familiar cast or crew. All we knew was that Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes had granted it the coveted opening weekend Saturday slot.

In the Festival note, a fired up Geddes wrote, "Taking a hammer to the polished image of Hollywood teen horror, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane rips apart all the glossy mallrat stereotypes. Welcome to the post-Columbine world of dead teenagers as envisioned in this impaled, slashed and twisted take on the genre." The only image the Festival book offered was a close-up of the title character:

What the capacity crowd at the Ryerson got that Saturday was a unique take on the teen slasher genre that I won't spoil in case you (like many) have not yet had an opportunity to see the film. What I will say is that the film received a robust Midnight Madness approval from the audience. The following morning brought news that the film had already locked North American distribution via sale to the Weinstein Company. The future looked bright for Mandy Lane. And then, well, nothing happened. Or really, all this happened:

The Wall Street Journal: "Why It Took 7 Years to See 'Mandy Lane'"

Now that Mandy Lane is finally coming out, the Wall Street Journal has detailed every twist and turn that kept the film without a North American release for the past seven years. It's required reading for all Midnight Madness fanatics.

RIGOR MORTIS Gets US Distribution Through WELL GO USA!

Some people will do anything for distribution.

It's always great to see one of the smaller films at Midnight Madness get distribution love, and one of the most exciting films in this year's lineup has done just that.  ShockTillYouDrop.com is reporting that Rigor Mortis, which features one of my favourite trailers of the year, has landed a US distribution deal through the great folks at Well Go USA Entertainment and will see a North American release in early 2014, though I'm sure you'll be biting every neck that gets between you and the Midnight Madness premiere on the 11th!

Well Go USA is one of the few female-run distribution companies, under the watchful eye of president Doris Pfardrescher, who has a fantastic taste for genre flicks.  The Texas-based distribution company has championed such films as Herman Yau's Ip Man: The Final Fight and  Johnnie To's Drug War, which is currently enjoying a run at TIFF Bell Lightbox. You can follow them on Twitter at @wellgousa or find them on Facebook here. To quote our editor Carol Borden, "sisters are distributin' for themselves!"

RIGOR MORTIS Screening Times:
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Thursday, Sept 12th, 12:45 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2
Friday, Sept 13th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

THE GREEN INFERNO and the MPAA

Our American friends like to get specific with their film ratings. 2013 Midnight Madness world premiere The Green Inferno just received its R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America and it comes with an impressive list of "reasons." See the official rating below for an indication of how far director Eli Roth went with the cannibal carnage in the film. It doesn't sound like it will be boring.

"The Green Inferno - Rated R for aberrant violence and torture, grisly disturbing images, brief graphic nudity, sexual content, language and some drug use."

Check out Roth's past MPAA scorecards. His violence started as "strong," then went to "brutal," then "sadistic," and finally to The Green Inferno's particularly evocative "aberrant." That's called "growing as a filmmaker."

"Cabin Fever - Rated R for strong violence and gore, sexuality, language and brief drug use."

"Hostel - Rated R for brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use."

"Hostel Part II - Rated R for sadistic scenes of torture and bloody violence, terror, nudity, sexual content, language and some drug content."

THE GREEN INFERNO screening times:
Sat., Sept. 7th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 9th, 1:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 13

HORNS & WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL: Between Vanguard & Midnight Madness

 Director Alexandre Aja's Haute Tension pulverized the audience at its North American premiere at Midnight Madness 2003. Since then, Aja has directed several more horror films including The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and Piranha 3D (2010). This year, he returns to the Toronto International Film Festival with the world premiere of his new film Horns--not to Midnight Madness, but to its cousin programme, Vanguard. What does this mean? Well, it means that Horns is still a hard-edged, genre-tinged film, but it's not so much of a meat grinder that some of the general citizenry can't appreciate it alongside Midnight Madness fans. In short, it's a film that the Festival doesn't have to wait until the witching hour to unleash.

On the other hand, director Sion Sono is apparently getting crazier the more films he makes. His film Cold Fish was in Vanguard 2010. Likely the bloodiest film in the Festival that year, it blurred the line between Vanguard and Midnight. It had the viscera to satisfy the Midnight crowd, but its 144 minute runtime made for a pace better suited to viewings not, well, in the middle of the night. Sono is back this year with the North American premiere of Why Don't You Play in Hell? and this time he's full on Midnight Madness. We can take this to mean that the director's work has reached the point at which it's no longer safe to exhibit in a non-Midnight situation where it could harm a casual filmgoer.

HORNS screening times:
Fri., Sept. 6th, 6:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 8th, 1:00PM, SCOTIABANK 4

WHY DON'T YOU PLAY IN HELL? screening times:
Fri., Sept. 13th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 14th, 3:45PM, SCOTIABANK 1