Toronto After Dark Film Festival Summer Screening Announced!

Toronto After Dark Film Festival Summer Screenings Announced: Wed June 27 & Wed July 11, 2012


Toronto After Dark Film Festival Summer Screenings Announced!

Does it feel like October is way to far away to enjoy Toronto After Dark goodness? Then you are in luck as the festival recently announced they are heading up 2 nights of double bill mayhem at The Bloor Cinema this summer! On Wednesday June 27, 2012 and Wednesday July 11, 2012 we will have Cuban zombies, haunted houses, slasher comedy and a compilation found-footage film frenzy to enjoy. Sounds like an awesome selection to me! Here are the film and screening details:

Wednesday June 27, 2012: Juan of the Dead (7 pm) and The Pact (9:45 pm)
Cuban zombie film Juan of the Dead / Juan de los Muertos and haunted house flick The Pact

Juan of the Dead / Juan de los Muertos
Writer/Dir: Alejandro Brugués (Personal Belongings)
Cast: Alexis Díaz de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andrea Duro
Cuba/Spain
trailer, website and IMDb Page

The Pact (2012)
Writer/Dir: Nicholas McCarthy - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Agnes Bruckner, Mark Steger, Haley Hudson, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Sam Ball
USA
trailer and IMDb Page

Wednesday July 11, 2012 Detention (7 pm) and V/H/S (9:45 pm)
Slasher comedy Detention and a compilation found-footage film V/H/S from directors including Adam Wingard, Ti West (The Innkeepers) and Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead).

Detention
Dir: Joseph Kahn - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke, Dane Cook
USA
trailer, website and IMDb Page

V/H/S
Dirs (various): including Adam Wingard, Ti West (The Innkeepers) and Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead)
Cast: Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard, Hannah Fierman, Sophia Takal, Joe Swanberg, Joe Sykes, Drew Sawyer, Jason Yachanin
USA
trailer, website and IMDb Page

And for the filmmakers out there, remember Toronto After Dark Film Festival call for entries is now open! Regular deadline is June 29, 2012, the Final Deadline is July 20, 2012 and the Extended Final Deadline (exclusive to Withoutabox.com users) is July 27, 2012. See more about the call for entries here.

See more information at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival website or Buy Tickets to the Summer Screenings Here.

Fright Night (2011) Review 2-Disc BluRay Combo Pack with BluRay & DVD

DVD/BluRay Review of the coming of age vampire horror comedy Fright Night starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots and David Tennant


Dir: Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, Mr. Woodcock)
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Toni Collette
USA/UK, 2011

Reason to see: Vampire Films are pretty much always a go, plus the casting is awesome

Going into Fright Night (2011) I was hyped to see a vampire film, but not having seen the original I didn't have much more than that to go on other than hesitation as recent track record for horror remakes have not been. Low and behold, I am happy I took the plunge and dived in as the film is fabulous! It has a great story, charismatic characters and an insightful look at power dynamics and relationships. All of that set in outside-Vegas suburbia, giving it a prime opportunity to play into high school insecurity drama and lots of beautiful people.

The film follows Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin of Star Trek, Terminator Salvation & The Beaver) who is a pretty average guy for all intents and purposes, but gets trapped in between social crowds of his new girlfriend Amy (Imogen Poots) and trying to avoid his old geek friends including Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Kick-Ass), who suspects neighbour Jerry (Colin Farrell of In Bruges, Triage) of being a vampire. I was honestly already sold at the 'possible vampire neighbour Jerry', but as an added bonus we get a complex dynamics of social groups, awkwardness and power dynamics on many levels. I loved the power play in the film which is present at all times, especially between Charley and Jerry, the tense yet subtle negotiation as well as dancing around predator behaviour at every step.

The cast really makes the film a cut above. Anton Yelchin & Colin Farrell play off each other very well in creating the power struggle between their characters, which is something I didn't expect but also adds a great coming of age quality to it. We've actually seen several male coming of age stories in film this year with Stake Land & Bellflower, but those both lost me somewhere and Fright Night kept me in at every moment. Perhaps it's the comedic elements, and considering it's written by 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' veteran Marti Noxon was the magic touch as that show always finessed that beautiful balance between horror, comedy and pop culture. Another huge highlight of the film is David Tennant (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 'Doctor Who') as Vegas illusionist Peter Vincent, whose performance alone is worth seeing the film as he's over the top in all the right ridiculous ways. I also loved that even though it has lots of comedy in it, it still is a true horror film where horrific things happen. I was literally shocked several times during the film, which isn't an easy feat, and they were all true to story or character moments - no pop scare or no cheap shots, but all truly great moments.

Overall it's a great vampire film, horror film and coming of age film and it's got a great sense of humour as sensational performances. Fright Night (2011) will definitely be one of my faves of 2011.

DVD Extras:

• Bloopers (3 minutes) includes practical goofs & mishaps, flubbed lines, extended reaction shots and lots of brilliant & awkward moments.
• Squid Man – Extended & Uncut (2 Scenes, 3 minutes) Awesome footage home video style of the superhero/role-playing of Adventures of Squid Man, Kid Comeback and Gladiator Boy full on with practical effects and creative editing.
• Kid Cudi Music Video (uncensored version) “No One Believes Me” (5 minutes) movie tie in video set in the tone and setting of the film.
  

BluRay Extras
All DVD extras of Bloopers, Kid Cudi Music Video (uncensored version) “No One Believes Me” and Squid Man – Extended & Uncut (noted above) plus:

• Peter Vincent: Swim Inside My Mind
• The Official “How to Make a Funny Vampire Movie” Guide
• Frightful Facts & Terrifying Trivia
• 5 Deleted Scenes with intros by Director Craig Gillepsie (Ride to School; Neighborly; Once A Freak, Always A Freak; Midori & Kerosene; and Back at the Penthouse)
  

Fright Night (2011) is available on DVD as of December 13, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll watch it again, repeatedly
I highly recommend it to vampire film fans and horror comedy fans

See also: Fright Night Review on the Movie Moxie Podcast, All 2011 Films Reviewed, All Film Reviews and DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2011

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (DVD Review)

DVD review of the bombastic & hilarious horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil starring Tyler Labine & Alan Tudyk

Image: Courtesy of Alliance Films
Legal Line (C) 2010 T&D Productions Limited. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Dir: Eli Craig - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss
USA/Canada, 2011

Reason to see: Huge positive buzz from my genre buddy friends

Every once in a while a film rides a wave of enthusiasm from genre fans and I have a conflicting set of emotions going in being both excited to finally get to see a film that has great buzz but also a moment hesitation of hoping it's as good as everyone says. That's exactly the energy I felt behind going into watching Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and honestly I was hoping it would be as good as everyone says used to be just because not only did I wanted to see a good film but also I hate dealing with the backlash if I have a different point of view. Good thing that with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil I won't have to deal with that as it's a hilarious and wonderful film. This is exactly the kind of in-your-face with sugar on top nod to genre that I love, it plays with the slasher film genre of the often used story of bunch'o'college kids go to woods/cabin/swamp/outdoors-wherever and then craziness ensues (see Friday the 13th (2009), Hatchet II, Creature, and so many more). And wow, this has craziness ensuing but it's a whole new deck of cards. I was totally enraptured by this film, it won me over pretty freaking quickly as I would imagine it would for any genre fan. They know all the right beats and all the stereotypes and play with them in such an earnest and heartfelt way.

It's funny, because I often comment that I don't like comedy that much but I almost always love film that parody film genres, especially when there is an enjoyment and understanding of the genre at the heart of it and that certainly is the case with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. I'm sure it must have looked ludicrous on paper (and from the feature commentary with director/co-writer Eli Craig and actors Tyler Labine & Alan Tudyk confirms this!), but they totally pull it off. Hilarious scenarios, brutal gore but at the heart of it is true & honest friendship and beautiful, lovable characters. I loved Alan Tudyk & Tyler Labine as Tucker & Dale, and was also Jesse Moss as Chad, one of the college kids, I'll be keeping my eye on what he gets up to in the future because he was fantastic here.

All & all it was a hilarious horror/comedy that shakes up and takes on the sub-genre of slasher films and has a lot of heart. And blood.Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is an absolute MUST SEE for genre film fans.

DVD Extras:

• Feature Commentary with director/co-writer Eli Craig and actors Tyler Labine (Dale) & Alan Tudyk (Tucker) a very enthusiastic & entertaining commentary with a conversational style and a mile-a-minute pace chatting in of the moments in the film from cracking jokes and giving alternate lines for the characters and moments, all over the placer chatting about film influences/references, nods to genre films, the music, when during the film it wins over audiences & when they knew it would work as a film, the effects including noting CGI vs practical effects in the film, drinking game suggestions, hilarious continuity notations and decisions/discussion on what should/shouldn't be on the DVD (hilariously doesn't match up to what is on the extras...) and nepotism shout outs.
• Featurette: Making of Tucker & Dave vs. Evil (12 minutes) film clips, behind the scenes and interviews with director/co-writer Eli Craig, co-writer Morgan Jurgenson, producer Rosanne Milliken, production designer John Blackie, actors Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden on what the film is about, how the idea & film came together, the hilarity of the premise, the amazing chemistry between actors Tyler Labine & Alan Tudyk, the character of Dale and Tucker, the importance of casting the Allison character, working together and especially working with first time director Eli Craig.
• Featurette: Tucker & Dale ARE Evil - The College Kids POV (16 minutes) hilarious re-cutting of the film from just the college-kids perspective, full on with creepy sound effects and eerie transitions.
• Outtakes (7 minutes) lots of great outtakes, mostly with Alan Tudyk & Tyler Labine as Tucker & Date but also some college kid action and ranges the gambit from missed lines, repeat takes, improvs, stunts, effects and more. Tons of fun to watch.
• Storyboards a slideshow of 97 screens of storyboards for the film
• HDNet: A Look at Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (4 minutes) film clips,interviews with director/co-writer Eli Craig, co-writer Morgan Jurgensonm actors Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk and Katrina Bowden on the premise of the film. Lots of clips from the film and added quotes from reviews, but all the interviews are from the Featurette: Making of Tucker & Dave vs. Evil.
• Theatrical Trailer
  

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is available on DVD as of November 29, 2011. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I loved it
I'll watch it again, repeatedly
I highly recommend it to genre fans

Return to Film Reviews or see more DVD Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2011