A Terrified Midnight Madness Audience Weighs in on OCULUS!

Well, that kind of came out of nowhere, didn't it? Mike Flanagan's understated OCULUS had at least one Midnight Madness audience member fleeing for the doors, and the rest absolutely transfixed by this tale of an evil mirror! Checking on Twitter after the screening, praise was universal and had everyone saying that "OCULUS is OCU-licious!" (no one is saying that).

"If IIIIIII ruled the world!"

Midnight Madness alum and YOU'RE NEXT co-writer Simon Barrett was scared too!

Join the cacophony of voices talking about Midnight Madness by tweeting your thoughts about the films and programme to the official Twitter account! You can also follow the conversation on Storify!

OCULUS Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sunday, Sept 15th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 11

YOU'RE NEXT Filmmakers Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett: "We are the horror audience."

Midnight Madness Alumni Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett talk about their film You're Next with The Los Angeles Times.

You're Next had a rollicking world premiere in 2011 as part of the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival that had the audience on its feet cheering during the screening.That first showing has become part of the film's lore, a signal of its effect on audiences. It opens Aug. 23 around the U.S.

"We came to realize that the best way to deconstruct horror nowadays is actually just to make a really great horror movie," Wingard, 30, said recently in East Hollywood, not far from where he and Barrett live on the same block. "You don't have to sell the reference thing or be that clever. Recognizing all the horror tropes and playing off audience expectations is kind of the new deconstruction."

Though the film is full of spiky scares and elaborate bloody kills, it is also driven by a sharp wit[.]

"We went into the recesses of our minds and said, 'What got us into filmmaking?'" noted Wingard. "And we realized it's fun, action-y horror stuff geared toward having a good time."

Read more here.

Pics From The Premiere of THE ABC'S OF DEATH!

Friday night was the equivalent of a marathon as the Midnight Madness audience was subjected to an unprecedented 26 films about death in The ABC's Of Death!  Ian Goring captured all the mayhem at what had to have been one of the most fun experiences in the Midnight lineup this year!

Midnight Madness fans about to learn their ABC's all over again

An absolutely titanic line-up of directing talent!

"MAT" spells producers Marc Walkow, Ant Timpson,  Tim League with MM Programmer, Colin Geddes.

Kaare Andrews

The ABCs of Death co-producer Todd Brown interviewed by Robert Mitchell

'U' is for Unexplained Levitation

The dynamic duo, Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett!

Marcel Sarmiento

'R' is for 'RUINING THE RED CARPET BACKDROP AT THE RYERSON'

Ahhhh! Yoshihiro Nishimura!

Well this can't possibly end well...

Sometimes it sucks to be right.

Colin Geddes or Jay-Z? It's almost impossible to tell!

Talk about an entrance!

ABCs Of DEATH World Premiere: Interviews. Video.

Warning: Some directors may have been injured during these interviews.

The ABCs of DEATH premiered last night and words like bedlam, tumult, total and utter choas can only begin to paint the picture of last night's red carpet. There is even a creepy sihoutte in the window behind the photo backdrop. To be completely honest the red carpet was removed because of speculation of what could happen when a ton of the most talented genre directors working today assembled.

Not much remains outside of the Ryerson this afternoon but some frayed velvet ropes and Robert A. Mitchell's video of the proceedings....


THE ABCS OF DEATH
Sun., Sept. 16th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

ABCs of DEATH World Premiere Intro/Q&A Video

This year's installment of Midnight Madness just keeps rocking on. The ABCs of DEATH premiered last night and the stage was packed with directors: Jason Eisner, NachonVigolondo, Adam Wingard to name a few. Here is Robert A. Mitchell's video of the introduction and post-screening Q&A.



THE ABCS OF DEATH
Sat., Sept. 15th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9
Sun., Sept. 16th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Craploads of Animal Masks - Ian Goring's Pics from YOU'RE NEXT!

Saturday night may well have been the creepiest, most unsettling Midnight Madness screenings in a while and it wasn't even entirely from the film (which, to be fair, was pretty friggin' creepy and unsettling).  You're Next brought the crazies out in force even more than usual, many clad in the uber-bizarre animal masks worn by the killers in the film.  Looking out into an audience of lambs and tigers staring back at you may be the weirdest thing you'll see all year.  Here's Ian Goring's menagerie of pictures from the screening that turned the Ryerson into a literal zoo.

Aw, they think they're people!

Three of these ladies won't make it throughvthis movie alive.  In a way, it's a lot like The Bachelor - with 20% more blenders to the brain.

Before...

AHHHHHHH(fter)

The whole You're Next crew was momentarily distracted by a squirrel and a passing mailman.

In hindsight, we never should've left all those chew toys on the seats.

Robert Mitchell interviews the almost implausibly lovely Sharni Vinson

These guys wouldn't stop hanging around the entrance to the theatre, so we threw a ball of yarn across the street and they dispersed.  WHO'S A GOOD KITTY! YOU ARE!

Midnight Madness Programmer Colin Geddes, Adam Wingard, and Simon Barrett discuss the influences for the script , which included Scream and Home Alone (really!)

Writer Simon Barrett and Director Adam Wingard's next project will be a mystery surrounding the whereabouts of the remainder of star Sharni Vinson's skirt.  

The whole twisted crew behind You're Next.  They're a pretty bunch, no?

What sort of axe-wielding maniacal bastard would want to extinguish that smile?

You're Next screens twice more this week - make sure that you check it out, unless of course you want an axe to the skull.

You're Next screens:

Monday September 12 6:30pm AMC 7

Friday September 16 4:00pm TIFF Bell Lightbox 2