Toronto After Dark Film Festival Day 6 - Tuesday October 25, 2011

It's amazing that Day 6 started of as a grey, wet and dismal looking day and then turned into the most exciting and awesome day of Toronto After Dark so far. I won't lie it is a lot in part to the fact that after seeing The Divide I had a chance to interview two of the stars: Michael Biehn (Bereavement, The Terminator, Aliens) & Michael Eklund ('Intelligence', Hunt to Kill, Tactical Force) and I am huge fans of both of them. I had also been really looking forward to the lo-fi awesome energy of Manborg from Astron-6 and it delivered on every front and played to an amazingly enthusiastic crowd. All and all, the day was so wonderful that I barely even noticed being rained on during my way home.

Rather watch than listen? Check out my Day 6 Vlog! See also videos from festival Intros and Q&A's over at the Movie Moxie Facebook FanPage.

Blind Spot
Dir: Matthew Nayman
Canada, 6 minutes

Dark and comedic look on the odd juxtaposition of priorities, convenience, customer services and a greater whole of the world. Explores and exposes the chaos of the individual experience and the ability to completely black out the bigger picture. Really great thematic pairing to have this screened with The Divide.



The Divide
Dir: Xavier Gens (Frontier(s), Hitman)
Cast: Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Eklund, Lauren German, Rosanna Arquette, Ashton Holmes, Courtney B. Vance, Iván González
Canada/USA/Germany

The Divide is a post apocalyptic thriller that delves deeply and darkly in the demise of the human spirit as it follows a group of people thrown together in the bowels of an apartment building sealed in against the unknown catastrophe that looms outside. I often have a hard time with post-apocalyptic films being a sunny side of the street kind of person, and in general will avoid them as they upset me but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see likely the highest profiled film at this years festival which has many guests in attendance including Michael Biehn (Bereavement, The Terminator, Aliens) & Michael Eklund ('Intelligence', Hunt to Kill, Tactical Force), Milo Ventimiglia, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and director Xavier Gens (Frontier(s), Hitman) and it played to a completely sold out house. The energy in the room was electric and it's such a unique experience to see a film that is so focused on the power people can have over each other when you are literally surrounded by so many people. Who would step up and take charge? Would anyone challenge them, and if so - how much and how hard? When, or does, the human spirit crumble and is it inevitable that people will succumb to live in and live on the horror of the situation. I actually found the film quite a challenge to watch but what makes it work so very well are the performances by an astounding group of actors that went pretty method here shooting in chronological order and even going through similar limitations to their characters. I was particularly impressed by the connection and chemistry between the characters played by Michael Eklund & Milo Ventimiglia who had an electric bond on the screen, plus Lauren German who plays a very subtle character who carefully and subtly tries to stay out of the power struggles that are inevitable. I also was very impressed with Michael Biehn who walks a fine, gray line with the power of the inadvertent caretaker to the group. It certainly wasn't an easy watch, but it was a hell of a powerful film and will stay with me for a very long time.

See also

• The Divide's Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page
• My interviews with actors Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund (written) or listen to interviews with Michael Biehn and Michael Eklund on The Movie Moxie Podcast
• My Vlog from first viewing of The Divide during the Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011
• Videos from Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 screening including introduction and Q&A with director Xavier Gens and actors Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia and Michael Eklund
• DVD review of The Divide
  

The Divide Q&A with actors Michael Eklund, Milo Ventimiglia, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Michael Biehn and director Xavier Gens


The Divide Q&A with actors Michael Eklund, Milo Ventimiglia, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Michael Biehn and director Xavier Gens


The Divide Q&A with actors Michael Eklund, Milo Ventimiglia, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Michael Biehn and director Xavier Gens

Ethereal Chrysalis
Dir: Syl Disjonk
Canada, 10 minutes

Visually powerful short film that the filmmaker introduced as being inspired by his dreams, which must be vivid, transformative and torturous as the films flows and shifts through many transitions of entities, bodies, creatures and essences. Gorgeous visual styling paired with menacing creatures and confines will have this one etched in my brain & heart for quite a while. Absolutely stunning.



Manborg
Dir: Steven Kostanski
Cast: Matthew Kennedy, Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Andrea Karr
Canada

Manborg was easily one of my most anticipated films of this year’s festival with its crazy-fun spirit and blatant love of VHS-era action and/or sci-fi films. It takes that nostalgia and pipes it back on to the big screen for full-on, non-stop fun bringing (literally) to life from the beyond a crazy half-man, half-Borg who is thrown into a war between... well... humans and borgs. What's a Manborg to do? Oh, the conflict! It's absolutely fantastic, full of crazy effect, easy to identify stock characters with awesome one-liners, 2-dimensional dilemmas and of course the fight of good versus evil. I love how the film played strongly on ideas and themes from familiar tales from Robocop to The Terminator (which make it awesome pairing to have with The Divide), but still creates and maintains its own story, which gets a little crazier the further we go along in the film. I also loved the oddly entertaining, conflicting and bizarre love stories along with bad voice-overs and accents which all work because they are completely intentional. Although it's lo-fi, schlock goodness full of comedy and lunacy, it's also a completely well thought out brilliant film with awesome visuals. Manborg proves that a low budget feel can still be high flying fun. I loved every minute it.

See more at the Manborg Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page


Manborg screening with Astron-6 folk, Manborg director Stephen Kostanski and Toronto After Dark programmer Peter Kuplowsky


Manborg screening with Astron-6 folk, Manborg director Stephen Kostanski and Toronto After Dark programmer Peter Kuplowsky

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 Day 5: Monday October 24, 2011

Day 5 held for a creepy night for film fans with the supernatural themed sister tale of Absentia (you can image that as I co-host a paranormal TV podcast with my own sister that this one holds a special place in my heart) and then we led straight into the chilling action/thriller A Lonely Place to Die which had me shivering in my seat from the mountaineering alone. I forgot I was afraid of heights, let along all the mayhem that followed. Both films were a little different than I expected with Absentia being creepy but not blood-curdlingly scary and A Lonely Place To Die truly being an action-thriller, when I thought it would be more survivalist. But, expectations ain't everything and I really enjoyed both films which made Day 5 turn into one heck of a solid night.

Rather watch than read? ? Check out my Day 5 Vlog! See also videos from festival Intros and Q&A's over at the Movie Moxie Facebook FanPage.

Nowhere Elsewhere
Dir: Annick Blanc
Canada, 15 minutes

I really enjoyed this short which has a strange and slightly off atmosphere, leaving the audience continually curious about what was real and what has not real, and if we - or anyone- was seeing what was happening. There was a really beautiful fluidity to the short that ebbed and flowed in a very stream of conscious way, unspinning a tale that was unnerving from beginning to end.



Absentia (2011)
Writer/Dir: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Katie Parker, Courtney Bell, Dave Levine, Justin Gordon
USA

Supernatural films are always on the top of my to see lists and Absentia is certainly the heaviest supernatural film of the festival so far, and it goes for drama as much as scares as it follows the story Tricia, whose husband disappeared 7 years ago and she is in the process of declaring him dead in absentia. To help her though the troubling time, her kid sister Callie shows up to help with the practical and emotional transition. I'm a big fan of supernatural films and I have 2 sisters and a brother myself so this one really hit home for me, the emotional journey reads strongly and it has an interesting over arching theme of questions how well people know each other even if they are apart - either by choice or by supernatural means. I thought it was scary both conceptually and experientially, but as it's more a drama there maybe aren't as many scares as I felt the audience was expecting. I certainly shrunk in my seat several times when the film was creeping me out and I also was extremely unnerved by the concepts it presented. The production values and acting are also very strong and cohesive for a smaller production, I really enjoyed all the performances from the main and supporting cast and was quite unnerved by the there/not-there creepy supernatural moments. It certainly adds to the ranks of the films from this year’s festival that I already can't wait to see again. Absentia has a great, original story with a nice blending of tension and drama. A fun film to get creeped out to.

See more at Absentia's Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page

The Incident
Dir: Jules Saulnier
Canada, 7 minutes

Wow, this short really brought me back to my theatre days as it plays like a series of vignettes that are obtuse and bizarre yet somehow feel like yes...yes, they do or at least could mean something. I loved the bizarre play between directness and indirectness that always made it feel like what they were telling you mean everything, yet also ... possibly... nothing.



A Lonely Place To Die
Dir: Julian Gilbey
Cast: Melissa George, Ed Speleers, Eamonn Walker, Sean Harris, Karel Roden
UK

A Lonely Place To Die was one of my most anticipated films of the festival, I watched mere seconds of the trailer ages ago and I knew I wanted to see this mountain thriller. I was surprize that it kept being referred to as an action film though, that totally wasn't the sense I got before seeing it but it certainly plays a strong part in the adrenaline-pumping, tension-filled thrill-ride that had me holding my breath and scared to look away for the majority of the film. It's amazing the sustained tension that is created throughout the film, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I didn't even have time to process that as you are pretty much strapped into a roller coaster ride where any turn could take you on a completely different course into the depths of the human psyche be it for good, or for bad. I loved the seeing the mountaineering and wide open spaces of great outdoors and I easily connected with the characters, feeling their fears, their strengths and their weaknesses which all play a part in both the fragility and strength of the human spirit and the drive to keep pushing forward even through the most challenging and frightening situations. I was also thrilled to see that creaked open the screen super wide as seeing it large and on the big screen is exactly the best way to experience A Lonely Place To Die. It's definitely in the running as one of the best of the fest.

See more at A Lonely Place To Die's Official Facebook Page, Trailer, IMDb Page


A Lonely Place To Die's writer Will Gilbey with programmer Peter Kuplowsky

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

TADFF11: Day 6 Vlog

Chatting all about Day 6 including The Divide, Astron 6 's Manborg, shorts Blind Spot & Ethereal Chrysalis and getting to meet & interview both Michael Biehn (Bereavement, The Terminator, Aliens) & Michael Eklund ('Intelligence', Hunt to Kill, Tactical Force). Yep, still riding on the awesome of that. Easily the best day so far!!

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

TADFF11: Day 5 Vlog

Chatting all about Day 5 with the features of Absentia & A Lonely Place to Die plus shorts Nowhere Elsehere and The Incident. I also mention my paranormal TV podcast Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural which I co-host with my sister Suzie.

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

DVD Releases for October 25, 2011

Time to take a look at a selection of DVD releases for Tuesday October 25, 2011!

• Captain America: The First Avenger is definitely the biggie of the week, I missed it in the theatre (crazy summer!), but in general am a fan of Chris Evans (Sunshine, The Losers) and of course will want to be familiar with this one by the time The Avengers comes out in 2012.
• Mothman Jewel Staite (Firefly) stars in this horror film with a journalist going back to her hometown for the Mothman Festival. I'm so curious!
• Attack the Block Fantastic over-the-top scifi/horror film that took me a bit to warm up to but the inner city kids won me over in the vs-the-outer-space story.
• Winnie the Pooh I'm really curious to see this classically hand-drawn animated film about everyone's favourite 'lil bear all stuffed with fluff!
• Pearl Jam Twenty One of the films I really wanted is fit in my TIFF schedule this year but it just didn't happen, I'm a huge fan of this band and can't wait to see this documentary - it's one of the few things where I nod along to something and say "Yes, I am part of *this* generation". Surprized to see it on DVD so quickly to be honest.
• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (DVD Review) this one has that cult-happy-awesome feel to it, and how could a Finnish dark Christmas comedy be anything else? Must see on my list!
• Gamera Trilogy: Guardian of the Universe, Attack of the Legion & Revenge of Iris on BluRay because, really Japanese monster movies featuring a flying turtle should only be see on .. BluRay :)
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979, re-package) Can't wait for the December release of the new version? Why not time warp to 1979 and see the wonderful Alec Guinness version of the film!
• Eco Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson Canadian documentary centred on Paul Watson.
• Gerry French Canadian film focused on Québécois rocker Gerry Boulet and ris rise to being a rock star in the 70's and front man for Offenbach.
• Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy available as films and as a gift set - I think checking out these current day dinosaur films is an awesome alternative choice for Halloween scares!
  

Titles on Amazon.ca(Canada):


Titles on Amazon.com (US):


Gamera Trilogy: Guardian of the Universe, Attack of the Legion & Revenge of Iris, Eco Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson and Gerry not currently available on Amazon.com

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 Day 4: Sunday October 23, 2011

Day 4 at Toronto After Dark Film Festival was the second of the back to back 4 screening days and wow, it felt like a long one but it's all worth it as it started and ending with big bangs and audience pleasing films from the dark comedy Some Guy Who Kills People and the dark romance/drama vampire flick Midnight Son which I have been waiting ages to watch. Not only am I glad that the film has shown now because I got to see it and it was awesome, but the additional perk is that I don't have to sit through any more sparkly vampire jokes for all the non-Twi-Fans, or Twi-Haters at the fest. I swear, I feel a little lonely being the only Twi-Fan at the fest - I understand people having different tastes but gee whiz there are enough parades to enjoy without raining on others. I must write about that one day. But for now, it's time to look at the awesome selection of films from comedy to sci fi to vampire and a horror anthology to round it all off.

Rather watch than read? Check out my Day 4 Vlog! See also videos from festival Intros and Q&A's over at the Movie Moxie Facebook FanPage.


Toronto After Dark Film Festival programmer Christian Burgess introduces Some Guy Who Kills People

Some Guy Who Kills People
Dir: Jack Perez
Cast: Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick, Karen Black, Leo Fitzpatrick
USA

I absolutely loved Some Guy Who Kills People, which the title alone cracks me up but the film itself was a delightful surprize and easily won over the crowd with the very direct comedy that finds that beautiful happy spot where you don't think they could really go as far as they do, but they do, and it works very well. The film follows an ice cream parlour worker who an underdog in a lot of ways, was picked on by everyone from fellow high schoolers to his very own mother (through a in a fantastic performance by Karen Black), and now in his mid-30's has almost appears to have almost no ambition or drive. When his fellow non-friend classmates begin to appear brutally murdered, it's clear that there is some unfinished business going one. It's amazing that with all that anger and vengeance, that the film is a fantastic comedy that tackles love and relationships on multiple levels. The story itself is fantastic but it's the ensemble cast that escalates this film to be absolutely phenomenal. Every single performance is noteworthy from Kevin Corrigan as our going nowhere protagonist to Karen Black as his brutally honest and always battering him mother, to the Sheriff played by Barry Bostwick who had me in stitches, even the youngest member of the cast could also compete on the same level of excellence. I really wasn't expecting much walking in, but Some Guy Who Kills People will be one of the films that will certainly be a stand out of this year’s festival. I can't wait for more people to see it, it's beautifully dark, brilliantly written and superbly acting. I loved it & I highly recommend it!

See the Some Guy Who Kills People Official Facebook Page, Trailer, IMDb Page

The Weight of Emptiness
Dir: Alain Fournier
Canada, 13 minutes

The Weight of Emptiness is a haunting short film that dances around concepts of acceptance and love while providing a truly spooky atmosphere that leaves the audience unnerved but also caring for the characters. I love this kind of storytelling, very visual and emotional with deep performances that resonate very strongly into the hearts of the audience. Beautiful.


Love director William Eubank with Toronto After Dark Film Festival Director & Founder Adam Lopez

Love
Writer/Dir: William Eubank - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Gunner Wright
USA

Love was definitely the film the across-the-board response when I asked people what they were most looking forward to, myself included as I'm always excited to see the science fiction selections each year at the festival. Love has an interesting take threading through timelines from history as well as the current or possible future bridging them through the concept of connectedness and non-connectedness from war to space travel. I was intrigued by the concept and blown away by the visuals but I found it a challenge to connect with our protagonist, which feels oddly intentional as it increases his isolation and loneliness to tragic proportions. I actually felt like I was contributing to that loneliness, which is part of the point and makes it very experiential film but it also made me feel sad. I was extremely impressed by the film visually with the space station setter and was blown away by the civil war recreations which so far are the most beautiful moments I've seen at the festival this year so far. I really wanted to love Love, and certainly felt like it got across the power and importance of love but was very much from perspective of the absence of it. The tragic emotions read strongly and leave haunting impressions for the viewer to question and ponder about the things to come.

See more at Love's Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page

The Theatre Bizarre
Directors: Douglas Buck, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Tom Savini and Richard Stanley
Cast: Udo Kier, Tom Savini, Kaniehtiio Horn, Virginia Newcomb
USA/France/Canada

I'm going to keep this one brief as I've come to realize I'm not a huge fan of anthology films and with 7 separate stories in this anthology the one that really made an impression was The Accident, which was a very true-to-life feel of a mother/daughter discussion on death and what happens when people die and very sensitively goes through different questions that kids are likely to ask like why, how and who does it happen to. I really loved the gentle but honest tone to this short which had an often chilling atmosphere and a fantastic open landscape that mirrored the vastness of the world and how our understanding of it and moments in it can be so small in comparison to the whole. Speaking of comparison, it was very tonally different that the other shorts in the anthology which often went to dark, visceral gory gooey visuals, demented themes and with a dash of nudity. Personally it's not my thing, but it definitely plays it's own tune specifically to certain horror themes and fans.

See more about The Theatre Bizarre at the films Official Facebook Page, Trailer, IMDb Page


Theatre Bizarre directors Karim Hussain and Douglas Buck with Toronto After Dark Film Festival Director & Founder Adam Lopez

Midnight Son
Writer/Dir: Scott Leberecht
Cast: Zak Kilberg, Tracey Walter, Arlen Escarpeta, Larry Cedar
USA

I've been literally dreaming to see Midnight Son since I first heard about it and saw the trailer months ago, but didn't actually think I would get to see it on the big - let alone in the awesomeness of a festival setting with filmmakers & actor in attendance. Wow, that was really special. I'm a huge vampire film fan and I loved how Midnight Son is a dark vampire drama that uses the confusion of change paired with the idea of wanting to both hide and share your darker side. How it shows the possible transition from being withdrawn and isolated to reaching out and chancing inclusion, and all the awkwardness, fear, hope and regret along the way. A beautifully complex human drama with intellectually presents questions or morality but the essence of the viewing experience is in actuality a deeply emotional one as you feel for and connect to the characters. I was extremely impressed with the performances, especially with Zak Kilberg who is our protagonist Jacob who displays a powerful range while suffering through this confusion transition of darkness that feels so at odds with his gentle nature. Midnight Son is a beautiful and complex film that I absolutely adored and that I highly and widely recommend, as I’m sure it can be enjoyed by vampire film fan and is a welcome and unique edition to the genre.

See more about Midnight Son at their Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page


Midnight Son producer Matt Compton, actor Zak Kilberg, director Scott Leberecht and Toronto After Dark programmer Stephen Landry

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011 Day 3: Saturday October 22, 2011

Day 3 at Toronto After Dark Film Festival is often a battle of the wills being a long day of 4 screenings and then it's also battle of the braaaaaaaaaaaaaains as it's the Zombie Appreciation Day with an evening of back-to-back zombie films which this year included the zombie buddy comedy DeadHeads and the World Premiere WWII action/zombie film War of the Dead. It was really exciting as both zombie features had cast & crew at the screenings, plus the International Shorts Programme which I always look forward to every year and the big crowd-pleaser afternoon screening of Japanese animated racing film Redline which had the audience cheering at the loud, fast, racing goodness. I'm in for another long one at the festival today and then we are back to 2-a-night screening. Wish me luck!

Rather watch than read? Check out my Day 3 Vlog! See also videos from festival Intros and Q&A's over at the Movie Moxie Facebook FanPage.


Peter Kuplowsky introduces the International Shorts Programme

Shorts After Dark - International Shorts Programme

I look forward to the shorts every year, be they the Canadian ones in front of the features or the block of International Shorts on as an afternoon delight. This year’s international slate held 9 short films from around the world, let's look at a selection of the shorts from the International Shorts Programme:

Dirty Silverware
This was a clever and inventive short giving by taking the everyday and making it extraordinary. I loved the creativity in the story, the use of humour and the ability to make something so normal feel so creepy. It does get a little long and a little strange, but I'd be worried if I saw something that wasn't strange!

Nursery Crimes
Deliciously and delightfully dark take of familiar tales by mixing and mashing them up to a bloody brilliant and perfectly brief short. I loved it.

ROSA
I saw ROSA a bit back for the Worldwide Short Film Festival and although it clearly feels like a demo reel for a video game, it's also absolutely gorgeous and has a story to boot. I was quite taken in more by it this time and enjoyed the beautiful colours, impeccable visuals, immersive environments and nicely sculpted body movements.

The Dungeon Master
Wow, The Dungeon Master sure hits a lot of unusually spots together from relaxed nostalgia to RPGing to bullying to the fantastical. I was actually surprized by some of the harshness interlaced with underdog characters and the complexity of seeing someone become what you think they hate. All that and it had a lot of laughs too that I'm sure any gamer could appreciate, although it went at times darker than I expected. I actually would have loved to see more on different aspects it only touched on, I think there is a lot of material there and would been great as a series of shorts.

Martha's Birthday
I absolutely love when the program ends on a brief, but completely twisted short that makes you laugh and that's exactly what Martha's Birthday does. Taking easily accessible ideas from birthday parties and grumpy siblings it runs with some crazy ideas that had me in stitches. Hilarious & brilliant.



Paso Doble
Canada, 2 minutes

Ah, ballroom dancing! It's not often enough that it crosses over to genre film goodness, and it was exciting to see this rich and intense animated short explore the energy of paso doble. I really enjoyed this one.

Lost For Words
Canada, 10 minutes

Adventurous and inquisitive energy on this short that explored concepts of words as actions as 2 kids make their way though the big outdoors away from the familiar. I really enjoyed the straight-up practical kid responses that challenged almost everything he was presented with and the curious dream like world it was set it.



Redline
Dir: Takeshi Koike
Voices: Takuya Kimura, Yû Aoi
Japan

Redline was one of the few films at the festival that people seemed to have already seen, yet they were also stoked to see it on the big screen with big sound. It's a Japanese animated film centred on car races in the future which gives it an oddly nostalgic for current-ness vibe to it, as although they've progressed beyond there is still joy for the oldskool ride and racing of race cars. I think one of the strongest things I took from the film was realizing how rarely I watch anything animated, which made it suprizingly refreshing and engaging as I was less familiar with the patterns of the genre and/or style and could only just keep the characters straight but had no idea where the story would go. Given that it's a far-future set film it felt like it could, and did, go anywhere and everywhere across the galaxy and beyond so much so I most of the time had no clue where it was or if the characters where human (dogs? robots? aliens? all of the above?) or not, or if that even mattered. The awesome thing is, it was completely fun to watch even with only being able to barely cobble together what was going on. I could have done without the cartoon nudity (although I'm likely in the minority with this crowd!) but I adored the sheer audacity of the racing sequences that were completely intensive & immersive. I'm already looking forward to seeing it again, Redline was a fantastic spectacle that has to be seen and experienced. Highly recommend.

See Redline's Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page



Play Dead
Dirs: Andres & Diego Meza-Valdes
USA, 15 minutes

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with a pet-themed zombie short, and what we get is a hilarious tale that shows that storytelling can be showcased just as well with words as it can be with barks. It's a phenomenal feat as we follow a flurry of four legged friends as they do their best amidst a zombie apocalypse. Charming, delightful as well as very furry and bloody. Very inventive and well executed.

DeadHeads
Writer/Dir: Brett Pierce & Drew T. Pierce
Cast: Michael McKiddy, Ross Kidder, Markus Taylor, Natalie Victoria
USA

I think it's wild to see undead buddy comedy movies emerge as a micro genre, but I guess when you are going through the transition of life to death to...death, it's better to do it with a friend, even if they are someone you don't even know you can still connect with your inner undead-ness. DeadHeads' takes the great new spin on the buddy comedy which an undead turn and threading in both a love story with the craziness of a road movie which makes it a fun ride from start to finish. There are lots of nods to film and pop culture references spattered throughout that are great to point out and laugh along with and many hilarious side story characters to follow along the way. I really enjoyed the earnestness that is showcased with the new-friends finding their friendship feet along with the overall zombie tale and relationships drama to boot. A fun-filled genre mash up that will leave you laughing & cheering, DeadHeads is a refreshing hopeful tale while still being a delightfully undead watch.

See DeadHeads' Official Film Site, Trailer, IMDb Page


2011.10.22 TADFF11 Day 3 Deadheads screening actors Markus Taylor & Natalie Victoria, director Brett Pierce and Adam Lopez

You Are So Undead
Dir: Alex Epstein
Canada, 6 minutes

You Are So Undead is a charming supernatural short with a unique and transparent take on coming of age all set in a girl’s washroom. I really enjoyed it but the joy is very much in the reveal so I'll leave that for folks to enjoy as they see it. Fans of Being Human (North American) will be delighted to see Meghan Rath here in yet another supernatural tale.

War of the Dead (2011) **World Premiere**
Dir: Marko Mäkilaakso
Cast: Andrew Tiernan, Mikko Leppilampi, Samuli Vauramo, Jouko Ahola, Mark Wingett, Andreas Wilson, Antti Reini, Magdalena Górska
Lithuania/USA/Italy

War of the Dead was one of my most anticipated films of the festival this as it's a Lithuanian co-production and any Baltic connection to film warms my Latvian heart. My excitement over that totally pushed aside the acknowledgement of its WWII setting which is a period that's not my fave, in fact any war films are hard for me to watch, but given that it's also a zombie film, an action film and starts with a premise of events that actually took place it’s got a plethora of source material and themes that makes it have something to appeal to virtually any movie goes. It is one heck of a recipe in awesome, and the screening at Toronto After Dark was the films World Premiere which added to the excitement of the night. I loved the weight of War of the Dead, how it felt drenched in dirt from the analogous tertiary colour story of browns to the explosions of dirt that lay heavy on the soldiers. The contrast of the open space exteriors to the imposing and constrictive confines of the bunker, showcasing the challenges all situations added to the tension and continual, oppressive tone that matches the war setting so very well. I also really loved the action in the film which is all-out, knock-down, freaking fantastic with great energy and style making it a huge highlight of the film. Overall I really enjoyed War of the Dead and given the horror stories of production hell the film went though that was shared during the Q&A of the film it’s impressive how seamlessly the film plays out. The production values in the film are great, the look and feel of it is fantastic, you'd truly have no idea the that it took years and many challenges to pull it all together. A unique genre blend with drive and a lot of machismo, War of the Dead definitely was a fantastic watch and welcome addition to world of zombie film.

See War of the Dead's Trailer, IMDb Page


War of the Dead World Premiere Introduction with director Marko Mäkilaakso, Toronto After Dark programmer Christian Burgess and Toronto After Dark Film Festival Director & Founder Adam Lopez


War of the Dead Q&A DOP Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen, actor Jouko Ahola, director Marko Mäkilaakso and Toronto After Dark Programmer Christian Burgess


War of the Dead Q&A DOP Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen, actor Jouko Ahola, director Marko Mäkilaakso and Toronto After Dark Programmer Christian Burgess

The 6th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs for 8 Nights of Horror, Sci-Fi, Action and Cult Movies at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from October 20-27, 2011.


It was a day of full line ups all around, and a lot of zombies in the house to boot. Actually, don't boot zombies... they have enough to deal with being undead!