SOUTHBOUND: Complete World Premiere Post-Screening Q&A With Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Radio Silence, Patrick Horvath, Brad Miska

Here is the complete Southbound world premiere introduction and post-screening Q&A featuring Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Radio Silence, Patrick Horvath, Brad Miska as well as many of the cast. Moderated by programmer Colin Geddes.

Take a Ride With SOUTHBOUND!

One of the best things about Midnight Madness, and TIFF in general, is that you often get to see a cut of a film, or a film itself, that is off everyone’s radar.  That’s the case with Southbound, the new film from the creators of V/H/S.  I don’t have a trailer, a poster, or much of anything besides a couple of screenshots to convince you that this is going to be one wild ride, but I like to think that you and I have something of a rapport, Midnight Madness fan, and I wouldn’t lie to you would I?

A creepy hallway! This is one of the only images we have from Southbound.  

Anyway, we do have a few scant details about Southbound which should convince you to come on this gnarly road trip with us.  We know that, like V/H/S, this is an anthology piece and all the segments of the film take place on a dusty stretch of highway. We also know that here’s an intriguing slate of directors on board. Here’s the rundown:

The lovely leading lady from Bruckner's Amateur Night

David Bruckner - Though he wrote and directed the chilling "Amateur Night" for the first V/H/S anthology, a lot more people have learned Bruckner’s name since he’s been tapped to direct a new installment of Friday The 13th.  There’s also the feature-length version of "Amateur Night" called Siren which should see release next year. If there are horror director’s rookie cards, I’d hold onto my mint-condition Bruckners.

Roxanne Benjamin is a producer on the creepy cult movie, Faults

Roxanne Benjamin - Benjamin is making her directorial debut here, but has been a producer on V/H/S, Midnight Madness 2015 feature Devil’s Candy, and on Faults, one of my favourite films from last year. Her entry into this anthology is a complete unknown, but if you’re watching an anthology horror, or a Midnight Madness movie in general, and aren’t expecting to be surprised, you’re doing it wrong, friends.

One of Patrick Horvath's surreal illustrations. No followup questions, please

Patrick Horvath - If 2012’s harrowing Entrance didn’t convince you that Patrick Horvath is the real deal, his sequel to The Pact from last year should have. Also under Horvath’s belt is one of the only films, horror or otherwise, whose title alone has made me spray beer out of my nose. Horvath is also a hilarious, awesome illustrator who often tweets out his creations.

Radio Silence's bizarre pregnancy horror

Radio Silence - The directors of the "10-31-08" segment in V/H/S as well as last year’s haunting pregnancy horror Devil’s Due are back with...Well, we don’t really know what they’re back with. Like I said, details are scant, but you’re not going to want to miss whatever they’ve come up with this time around.

Not gonna lie, I don't see this road trip ending well.

With the talent at the helm of Southbound, there’s all the makings of a solid anthology that, like this post, will keep the Midnight Madness crowd guessing at every turn!

Southbound screens: Wed, Sept 16, 11:59 PM RYERSON Thu, Sept 17, 9:30 AM SCOTIABANK Fri, Sept 18, 12:45 PM SCOTIABANK Fri, Sept 18, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK Sun, Sept 20, 3:30 PM SCOTIABANK

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