Toronto After Dark Lineup Announced – 3 weeks until showtime!

TAD11_Final_Films_Poster_Upd — Image from http://torontoafterdark.com/2011/

Showtimes and trailer links below!

It’s almost time for Toronto to usher in the Halloween season with the Toronto After Dark (TAD) Film Festival, eight nights of horror, sci-fi, action and cult movies. This the perfect type of festival for someone like me, as my interest in film lies with the mysterious and the fantastic. After the first wave of TAD films were announced, it became apparent that I would be spending a lot of time at the TAD venue, the Toronto Underground Cinema. Now that the complete lineup has been announced, I’ll just have to see if they have a room I can rent for eight nights.

The lineup for TAD looks amazing, and features a variety of ravenous undead, lonely astronauts, thirsty vampires, unfathomable futures, menacing ghosts, otherworldly secrets and pile-driving monsters, but this is just scratching the surface. Over the years TAD has garnered a reputation for their professionalism, and dedication to screening a wide variety of the best genre films from all over the world. This year will be no exception, and may just be the most exciting TAD yet!

Father’s Day (the latest from notorious Troma Entertainment, Inc.), VS (a bloody battle between four kidnapped superheros and their arch nemesis) and War of the Dead (a WWII zombie-action film out of Lithuania) make up the world premiere lineup. Highly anticipated festival circuit films include The Woman, which has been shocking audiences for a while now (check out this clip of a guy freaking out during a screening at Sundance), and The Innkeepers, the latest from Ti West, director of the creepy The House of the Devil.

In addition to these big name genre films are some that may not have as much hype, but still have me anxious for the festival to start.

The Corridor – A group of friends travel to a cabin for one last getaway before jobs, marriages, etc. make it impossible for them to do it again. The getaway takes an unexpected turn when the friends discover a spectral hallway in the middle of the woods. The corridor seems to be a harbinger of things to come and sparks negative emotions in the hearts of the men. If they hope to survive the weekend, they must face not only the corridor, but each other.

A Lonely Place to Die – From the UK comes a thrilling mountain chase film, in which a group of hikers discover a young girl trapped in the mountains. The girl turns out to be a kidnapping victim, and the hikers attempt to bring the her to safety but are tracked and attacked by the her kidnappers at every twist and turn. This film has been getting fabulous reviews and apparently must be seen on the bigscreen.

The Divide – The end of the world starts to occur just outside the windows of a towering apartment building. The tenants stampede to the secure basement in hopes of surviving the apocalypse, however, the first few to make it slam the door on the rest. The surviving group must now survive each other, as cabin fever, claustrophobia and the possibility of being the last surviving members of the human race begin to weigh heavily on the cellar’s new inhabitants. From Xavier Gens, the director of the graphic Frontier(s). Sci-fi or not, this one is probably not for the squeamish.

Redline (animated) – This animated film out of Japan is supposed to be Death Race 2000 on steroids. The plot is about a deadly intergalactic race that happens every five years, and apparently has some stellar sound effects. Let’s hope the TAD crew cranks the volume for this one!

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE (The official schedule will be announced on the 4th, when single tickets go on sale. I’m not sure when VS and War of the Dead will screen)

Click on a title to be directed to the trailer.

Thursday, October 20th

7pm – Monster Brawl

Friday, October 21st

7pm – Exit Humanity

9:45pm – Father’s Day

Saturday, October 22nd

4:15pm – Redline

7:00pm – DeadHeads

9:45pm – War of the Dead

Sunday, October 23rd

1:30pm – Some Guy Who Kills People