A Terrified Midnight Madness Audience Weighs in on OCULUS!

Well, that kind of came out of nowhere, didn't it? Mike Flanagan's understated OCULUS had at least one Midnight Madness audience member fleeing for the doors, and the rest absolutely transfixed by this tale of an evil mirror! Checking on Twitter after the screening, praise was universal and had everyone saying that "OCULUS is OCU-licious!" (no one is saying that).

"If IIIIIII ruled the world!"

Midnight Madness alum and YOU'RE NEXT co-writer Simon Barrett was scared too!

Join the cacophony of voices talking about Midnight Madness by tweeting your thoughts about the films and programme to the official Twitter account! You can also follow the conversation on Storify!

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

Intro & Q&A From Insidious Premiere

Normally by 4 AM I am happily snoozing away, anticipating the next day's screenings. Today was a 6 film day so I'm pretty whipped. Unfortunately film #6 was Insidious which was so heart-stoppingly chilling that it has me up waaay past my bedtime.

But my loss is your gain. Here are excerpts from the intro (featuring Jigsaw himself!) and the Q&A.





Insidious screening times:
Thursday, Sept. 16. 3:00pm AMC 9

Tickets can be purchased at the TIFF official site.

Clip from Insidious

Via both FearNET and Dread Central, a little look at Insidious creepiness to come.

Insidious screening times:
Tuesday, Sept. 15. 11:59pm Ryerson
Thursday, Sept. 16. 3:00pm AMC 9

Tickets can be purchased at the TIFF official site.

Insidious Premieres TONIGHT!!!

The last time James Wan had a film in Midnight Madness it spawned 6 sequals and the biggest horror franchise in history. Will history repeat itself? Find out with the rest of us tonight at the World Premiere of Insidious!

Insidious screens:
Tuesday September 14th. 11:59 PM RYERSON
Thursday September 16th 3:00 PM AMC 9

You can buy tickets from the official TIFF website

Midnight Producers Part 4: Jason Blum and Steven Schneider - INSIDIOUS

This the forth in the ongoing series, Meeting the Producers of Midnight Madness 2010.

When the news broke that the producing team behind the hugely successful Paranormal Activity and the writing and directing team of hugely influential genre film Saw were teaming up to work on Insidious there was obvious excitement from the horror community. These heavyweights of genre cinema decided their partnership together would be best suited outside of the studio system in order to best help James Wan bring his vision to the big screen.

Let me introduce you to Jason Blum and Steven Schneider, part of the producing team behind Insidious.

Jason Blum opened Blumhouse Productions in the fall of 2000. Throughout his career, he has cultivated a reputation as a tireless advocate of independent film, and as a skilled producer adept at securing compelling new material and cutting-edge talent and forging deep relationships with studio executives, agents, writers, directors and actors. Since opening his own company, Blum has produced six feature films that demonstrate his unique taste and creative sensibilities. With keen business savvy, and a sharp eye for art house fare, he is constantly striving to expand the Blumhouse Productions slate of films.

Could you talk about how and why you formed your production company Blumhouse Productions?

Jason Blum WHY -I loved making movies and one of my dreams in life was always to have a single purpose company that does just that. HOW- I spent the first ten years of my career working for people who were very successful and I used that time to learn as much as I could always keeping in mind that eventually I wanted to work for myself.

Looking at your filmography you have recently become a producer in the past couple of years, how did you become a producer? What attracted you to the job?

Steven Schneider I grew up in New York City reading comic books and watching horror movies. After ten years (!) of grad school working on various degrees in philosophy and film theory, I found myself missing pop culture more and more. So I started writing and editing books on genre cinema - in particular horror movies from around the world. But to that point I'd still never thought about transitioning into film production once. Then, in 2002, Roy Lee (producer of The Ring, The Grudge, The Departed, etc.) reached out to me because he'd seen some of my books and wanted to know if I had any ideas for horror remakes. After this initial phone call, things immediately started clicking into place. My long-term girlfriend had already begun a successful acting career, and I just wasn't feeling excited about my dissertation work anymore. So later that year, Katheryn and I made the move to Hollywood, and I've been producing full-time ever since.

I've read that you are a strong advocate for independent film. What draws you to producing projects outside of the studio system?

Jason Blum I like making movies for studios and independently equally as much but the two jobs are entirely different. Making studio movies the Producer for the most part answers to the studio first and goes from there. Independent movies allow the producer only to help the director realize his vision without any other factors. Both are fun complicated jobs.

What attracted you to producing Insidious? How difficult was the financing of the project?

Steven Schneider On the heels of Paranormal Activity's success last year, my partners on that movie (Jason Blum and Oren Peli) and I entered into a slate deal with Alliance Films. (The head of Alliance, Charles Layton, had previously worked with Jason at Miramax for years, so they already had a good relationship.) The basic idea of the Alliance "Haunted Movies" slate is to make a number of very scary horror movies on very low budgets; and to work with amazing filmmakers who are excited to trade bells & whistles for creative freedom. As for Insidious, James Wan and I sat down after Paranormal came out, and as soon as he pitched me the idea, I was in. Loved the concept, loved James' vision for it, and couldn't wait to get started. Fortunately Jason and Oren agreed, and Alliance was totally supportive. Insidious is the first Haunted Movies production, and the Paranormal Activity-Saw combination is lethal!

What for you are some of the keys to making a package to present to investors and/studio executives?

Jason Blum There are only 4: Script Director Cast Budget If your budget is low enough and you script, cast, actors are compelling even now there is money out there to make your movies.

What unique challenges did you face in bringing Insidious to the screen?

Steven Schneider I think everyone involved would agree that the biggest challenge with Insidious was just making sure we could help enable James and Leigh (Whannell) achieve their amazing, ambitious vision for the movie given the relatively miniscule (by Hollywood standards) budget. But with the help of an incredible, passionate crew of true professionals - including Albert Cho, Aaron Sims, John Leonetti, Jeanette Brill, Rick Osako, Annie McCarthy, Jennifer and Tom Spence, Kristin Burke, and all of our wonderful actors (Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye and many others) - we were fortunately able to achieve it. At least we think we have - you tell us after the premiere!

Insidious screens:

Tuesday September 14th. 11:59 PM RYERSON

Thursday September 16th 3:00 PM AMC 9

You can buy tickets from the official TIFF website

James Wan Talks Insidious!

Insidious, the haunted house creep-out premiering on Tuesday, September 12, signals James Wan's return to Midnight Madness after the premiere of Saw back in 2004.

Wan took some time to answer questions submitted by Midnight Madness Blog contributors Darryl Shaw, Robert Mitchell and Sanjay S. Rajput.

Q: What inspired you to take on the supernatural subject matter, and how did you prepare to tackle it?

A: I've always loved ghost stories and haunted house movies. Ever since I've known Leigh, we would exchange ghost stories to try and scare each other, or inspire one another to come up with scary scenarios. And so, we decided to write a haunted house movie with a twist on the convention, and basically drew from scary events that have happened to our friend or families. So technically, I can say Insidious is based on true events. Pretty much all the really creepy stuff in the film are drawn from friends and families' experiences…and they're stories that would send chills up your spines.

Q: In an interview earlier this year you said you didn’t want blood and gore in this film. Did taking those tools out of your “horror toolkit” make it harder to convey the shocks audiences are used to?

A: Well, it forced me to be more creative with my shocks and I think it allowed me to come up with things that are actually scarier. I've always said it's a lot harder to achieve creep than it is to shock with blood and gore, and with Insidious, I wanted to make a horror movie with a creepy vibe that permeates the whole film.

Q: Anything spooky happen on set?

A: Uh, not really. Thank god, cause I get scared very easily! Now, the poor boy, Ty Simpkins, who played the comatose son in the movie was constantly terrified of the lipstick-face demon character. And I felt so bad for Ty because the makeup-FX, done by Justin Raleigh and Kelly Golden, was so frightening looking that not even the crew wanted to be around it…and Ty's character is haunted by it, and therefore has to share a fair few scenes with this 'creature'.

Q: Does the success of the Saw franchise allow you more creative freedom within the studio system or do you have to continue to make your films largely on your own to get your visions fully onscreen?

A: After Saw, I've only made one studio film. Everything else have been independent. I like the creative freedom that independent films afford….and i didn't want Insidious to be a movie made at the studio. This movie is actually way cheaper than SAW! And SAW cost twenty dollars.

Q: How did Oren Peli get involved and how did his involvement help the production?

A: Leigh and I met Oren and Jason Blum through Steven Schneider. We all hit it off together. i love those guys and knew i wanted to make a picture with them. They've been very supportive, and like Leigh and myself, are just pure genre film nerds!

Q: In this age of the internet it seems as soon as contracts are signed, films are already being talked and written about. There is the obvious need for publicity for a project but how do you try to keep a film still a surprise for audiences?

A: I've worked very hard to not say much about this film. I haven't released any trailers or stills (except to TIFF), I want the audience at Midnight Madness to experience the movie without much knowledge (or expectation) and be a clean-slate to enjoy the film! That's how it should be.

Q: Insidious re-teams you with your long term writing partner Leigh Whannell. Has the screenwriting process changed for you and Leigh and if so, how?

A: Nothing has changed, in terms of our passion and excitement for a project that we cook up together. We still geek out and go giddy over an idea that we love. The only thing that has changed is Leigh has matured dramatically as a writer and gotten stronger.

Insidious screens:
Tuesday September 14. 11:59PM Ryerson
Thursday, September 16. 3:00PM AMC 9

Insidious: A Haunting in the Ryerson

For the most part, mainstream horror is filled with faceless indestructible slashers hacking up hapless teenagers. That can be fun but the formula is getting a little bland and a good old fashioned haunted house flick is just what doctor ordered for this rebooted, remade, and refried lanquishing genre.

Think back to great haunted house flicks that made the hair stand up on the back of your neck: Poltergeist, The Shining, The Amityville Horror and even sci-fi flicks like Alien and Event Horizon. The sheer prospect of genre innovators James Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Oren Pelli working on a haunted house flick should have everyone thinking twice about ever going indoors again.

The last time James Wan and Leigh Whannell were in Toronto they kicked off the Saw series which went on to become the most lucrative horror franchise in the history of the genre. Saw and Hostel, which Eli Roth premiered at TIFF in 2002, mainstreamed graphic torture based horror. This year Wan & Whannel have teamed up with producer Oren Pelli, the creative force behind last year’s breakout horror hit Paranormal Activity, are in Midnight Madness with the supernatural haunted house flick Insidious. If hauntings are the next big thing in horror movies then Insidious is on the forefront of the coming wave.

If you dig around the internet for details on Insidious you’re likely to come up empty handed. There is this interview over at MTV where star Patrick Wilson (who played Nite Owl II in Watchmen) drops a few hints on what to expect.

Insidious screening times:

Tuesday, Sept. 14. 11:59pm Ryerson

Thursday, Sept. 16. 3:00pm AMC 9

You can purchase tickets from the official TIFF website.