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

French Faces of EVIL

Yeah, I'm aware he's not French, but Vincent's setting the tone for this museum of True Evil!

<Spoilers Warning Yellow... these are slightly older movies, catch em  quick if you missed em!>

Over the past decade or so, the French could populate a whole wing of Batman’s Arkham Asylum with the over the top villains they’ve created. That is... if we saw a lot more incest, cannibalism and general dismemberment in the world of Batman. 

Let’s take a Midnight Madness Comments Poll of which bad guy YOU think is the most badass, or downright disturbing! ...Or to put it another way, who would you least want under your bed? Tell us why!

And now... take a tour of the French Gallery of Villainy!

Film: Martyrs
Director: Pascal Laugier

She's a good listener, but a terrible sharer

Villain: Mademoiselle

Motivation: To inspire visions of God in others

Most heinous deed: How she goes about this, and the fact that she selfishly all keeps the results to herself.

Other crimes: Skin exfoliation taken to abusive new levels

Memorable Quote: “Keep doubting.” 


Film: Haute Tension aka High Tension aka Switchblade Romance
Director: Alexandre Aja

What I love about this guy, he comes through the front door!

Villain: Trucker Dude Killer (menacing performance by I Stand Alone’s butcher Philippe Nahon)

Motivation: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say repressed sexuality

Most heinous deed: Severed head blow job

Other crimes: Works for the federal “bureau” of decapitation

Memorable Quote: “You can’t escape from me, bitch.”

Film: Inside aka À l'intérieur
Directors:  Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury 

 Her version of The Shawshank Redemption's rock hammer 

Villain: The Woman

Motivation: Revenge

Most heinous deed: Manual C-section

Other crimes: Running with scissors

Memorable Quote: (slow burn off her cigarette as she watches through the outside window as she broods, simmering in her own vile hatred)

Film: Calvaire aka The Ordeal
Director: Fabrice Du Welz

He just wants hugs, really

Villain: Mr. Bartel the innkeeper

Motivation: Seeks Companionship

Most heinous deed:  You have to wear his wife’s polka dot dress

Other crimes: His taste in local entertainment

Memorable Quote: “Why do you leave, now you’re back? You want to step on my heart again?”

Film: Frontier(s)
Director: Christophe Gans

Table manners are about the only thing this guy has going for him

Villain: Le Von Geisler

Motivation: War criminal who heads up a family of fascist psychopath cannibals

Most heinous deed: Tie between bolt cutter snip of foot tendons and slow baked person

Other crimes: Chances are you ARE the grits at this bed and breakfast.

Memorable Quote: “Hang them up! And skin the fat off of them.”

Film: Sheitan aka Satan 
Director: Kim Chapiron

A retina searing smile 

Villain: Joseph the house keeper (gleefully performed by the one and only Vincent Cassel)

Motivation: Preserve a pact with the devil

Most heinous deed: Spawning the devil incarnate

Other crimes: Casual racism and unsanitary use of delicious goat milk 

Memorable Quote: <censored racial slur>--but its even more appalling from this grinning goat herder!

Don’t forget to voice your vote, or make a case for someone awful that I’ve missed!

Look out for new additions to the gallery of French horror villains in The Incident (where an asylum is literally turned loose) and Livid (the directors of Inside return with their highly anticipated film inspired by Dario Argento’s Suspiria!)


Screening times:

LIVID

Sun., Sept. 11th, 11:59PM, RYERSON

Tues., Sept. 13th, 5:00PM, AMC 7

THE INCIDENT
Mon., Sept. 12, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 16, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Sun., Sept. 18, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2