CG Magazine's 'Geek Friendly TIFF Awards' Honours SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, DREDD 3D, LORDS OF SALEM, and ABC's OF DEATH!

Comics and Gaming Magazine has posted their favourite 'geeky' films from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, with several Midnight Madness selections taking away some of their prizes.

Rob Zombies Lords of Salem picked up their 'Best Horror' honour, the star-studded Seven Psychopaths won for Future Cult Classic, The ABC's Of Death earned a 'Best Body Count' nod and, in another slap in the face of the Sly Stallone abomination of 1995, Alex Garland-penned Dredd 3D  snagged the 'Finally Got It Right' award.

Check out all the awards here, and congrats to all the winners!

Pics From the Premiere of LORDS OF SALEM!

It was Metal Night at the Ryerson last night as a bunch of face-tattooed, pierced, gothic psychos descended on the theatre for Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem.  Ian Goring was there to capture all the action as witches finally returned to the witching hour!

Rob Zombie ponders the meaning of life with his lovely wife,
and star of Lords of Salem, Sheri Moon Zombie

Even the owl on his shirt looks mean.

The well-groomed Jeff Daniel Phillips

FUCK YEAH SATAN!

Pretty sure these folks got lost on the way to a gala screening of Argo

THE LORDS OF SALEM screening times:
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

TWEETS OF THE DAY! #MMadnessTIFF

It's only Tuesday and it's already been a pretty crazy Festival, from the wild ride of No One Lives to the metal mayhem of Lords of Salem, the Ryerson has been on fire.

Also on fire is our old friend Twitter, as Midnight Madness fans have been posting away from Ryerson lines to their seats (not during the movie, of course, you rubes!) and beyond.

Don't forget to use the official Midnight Madness hashtag, #MMadnessTIFF, and you might see your tweets here in this space!

Midnight Madness screening times:


HELLBENDERS
Tue., Sept. 11th, 7:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 7
Sat., Sept. 15th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 2


THE LORDS OF SALEM
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6


NO ONE LIVES
Fri., Sept 14th, 4:45 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

Rob Zombie Interview On The Making of THE LORDS OF SALEM

THE LORDS OF SALEM marks Rob Zombie's first time at the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival. I don't think Mr. Zombie is given enough credit of how good a filmmaker he is. THE LORDS OF SALEM shows a filmmaker who definitely growing as a storyteller. I have always believed Zombie is a consummate visual stylist. Lords reaffirms this for me -- a film in which Zombie sits the camera down and sets up well composed shots influenced by Kubrick. His casting choices are always inspired and pay respect to the history of the horror genre. I recently had the opportunity to ask Mr. Zombie some questions.

Being born in Haverhill not far from Salem Massachusetts have the witch trails always a point of fascination? What was it about the witch trials that sparked your imagination and set in motion the writing of The Lords of Salem?

Growing up in Massachusetts I always thought the state had a cool spooky vibe and the reality of the witch trials certainly fed that vibe. The inspiration for the movie was an accident really. One day I just happened to buy a book on the witch trials in the gift shop of a hotel I was staying at. That book got me thinking about it and that was the beginning of the project.

You shot the film, then went on tour and then returned to edit the film as well as produce your next album. How did that gap between production and post help you approach what you shot as opposed to jumping right into an editing suite? What were some of the benefits of the challenge of balancing both projects?

In some ways it drove me crazy because I really just wanted to keep working on the film until it was done, but in other ways getting away from it helped me to solve problems that you can't solve sometimes just because you get too close and can't get any distance from the project. All in all this method worked out great.

The cast you and Monika Mikkelsen have assembled is a who's who of genre films. How do you approach casting? Do you write with certain actors in mind or seek out actors through more traditional methods, like auditions?

All of the above. For some roles I have a specific person in mind and for others I do typical auditions. Whatever it takes to find the right person for the role. One example of an audition that blew me away was Judy Geeson's read for the role of Lacy.

Watching your films and videos over the years I believe you are a consummate visual stylist. How did you approach the look of this film with cinematographer Brandon Trost?

We basically just talked about it over and over and over then decided on a course of action. I was always a big fan of handheld camera work, but suddenly it started to look like TV to me since so many TV shows use that style. So I wanted to do the exact opposite. Very steady camera work with all the camera moves being motivated by the action on screen. No shakey camera just for the fuck of it.

                   Rob Zombie interviewed at the world premiere by Robert A. Mitchell


How has your approach to directing evolved from House of Thousand Corpses to The Lords of Salem?

Well, with each film you hopefully develop a better set of skills that you can apply to the next film. If you watch those two films back to back I don't think you would never think the same person made both films. Lords is a far more sophisticated production.

I have been reading that The Lords of Salem is your darkest film to date. Is there anything you can tell the audience of the experience that awaits them upon watching The Lords of Salem?

Be patient and pay attention. It is not what you think it is

THE LORDS OF SALEM
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

.

Rob & Sheri Moon Zombie On Making THE LORDS OF SALEM (Video)

Last night the Ryerson cinema, home to the Midnight Madness programme, was rocking. Rob Zombie was in attendence for the world premiere of his latest film THE LORDS OF SALEM. Robert A. Mitchell was there and here is what he brought back...


THE LORDS OF SALEM
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

THE LORDS OF SALEM Intro/Q&A World Premiere Video

THE LORDS OF SALEM rocked midnight madness last night! Here is Robert A. Mitchell's video of Colin Geddes' introduction of the film and the post-screening Q&A with Rob Zombie, Sherri Moon Zombie, actor Jeff Daniel Phillips and cinematographer Brandon Trost.


THE LORDS OF SALEM
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

THE LORDS OF SALEM: Cinematic Witchery!

Io Evohe, everybody! Witches have a long cinematic history that while awesome, has almost nothing to do with contemporary witches, Pagans or Wiccans. However, as fun as Solstice parades and Coven potlucks can be, I still am awful fond of cinematic witchery, inaccurate as it might be.

So let's take a look and hopefully entertain people sitting in The Lords of Salem rush line outside of Ryerson tonight.

Who doesn't want to worship Benjamin Christensen?

Benjamin Christensen's 1922 Häxan / The Witches / Witchcraft through the Middle Ages is based on Heinrich Kramer's 1487 guide to Inquisiting witches, Malleus Maleficiarum / The Hammer of the Witches. Christensen's work is a tour-de-force that sympathizes with the accused, and he makes a great Devil and is a lot more fun than Roger Corman's movie dealing with much the same material, The Conqueror Worm/The Witch-finder General (1968). It's ostensibly based on an Edgar Allen Poe poem, but really Vincent Price hunts witches, extort innocent people and sexually assaults ladies 'cause he can.

Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins ponders his next dick move.

In 70s and 80s movies, bored women often became witches. One of my favorites, Daughters of Satan (1972), stars a very young Tom Selleck, before he was even Tom Selleck. But he doesn't have much of a character so I spend all my time thinking, "Holy Cats, that's Tom Selleck being chased by a doberman Hell Hound!"



It also has one of my favorite mid-Twentieth Century motifs--the ancestral portrait that eventually possesses whoever it resembles.

Burn, Witch, Burn is earlier and the witchy bored wife is helping her husband sort of like if I Married A Witch (1942) were horror, serious and British.  Okay, nothing like I Married A Witch.




In Bell, Book and Candle, somehow Jack Lemmon is a witch. And falling in love means giving up your powers--and a cat with the excellent name of Piewacket.  Which is  disappointing and leads to Bewitched.




And, seriously, how can Jack Lemmon be a witch, but Cinderella is not? She talks to animals, she gets magical dresses, and she seduces a handsome gentlemen. Heinrich Kramer is very concerned!

Of course, Kramer and other agents of the Inquisition should probably be more concerned about the mess they made for future generations by persecuting witches.




In Black Sunday and The Devil's Rain tortured and executed witches return to take their revenge. Barbara Steele is amazing as always and the cast of The Devil's Rain is unbelievable.




More ancient witches want revenge in Dario Argento's Three Mothers Trilogy: Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and Mother of Tears, which showed at Midnight Madness 2007. I have a suspicion that Argento's  movies influenced the Rev. Rob Zombie more than Bell, Book and Candle.

I always wonder why people don't apologize and offer them stuff, like maybe flowers and a sympathy card: "Sorry our ancestors tortured and killed you!" Maybe someone will try in The Lords of Salem or even in the Vanguard programme film, Here comes The Devil.


THE LORDS OF SALEM screening times
Mon., Sept. 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

HERE COMES THE DEVIL:
Tues., Sept. 11th, 6:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wed., Sept. 13th, 7:00PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3 Sun.,
Sept. 16th, 3:30PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4

Rob Zombie Discusses Upcoming Broad Street Bullies Film

Rob Zombie, director of Midnight Madness flick The Lords of Salem, discusses his next film project in an interview with ESPN. It'll be based on the true story of the "Broad Street Bullies", the nickname for the aggressive and frightening Philadelphia Flyers line-up of the early 70s.

Says Zombie, on the film: "It will be the true story. It will be gory. ... It will be a period piece, ... Philadelphia was a terrible place in those days. It was also the time of Watergate and the gas shortage and Patty Hearst. It was social upheaval at the time."

Zombie's Broad Street Bullies film is in its earliest phases of research, so to quench your thirst for hockey violence, here's the trailer for Slap Shot:

THE LORDS OF SALEM:
Mon.,  Sept. 10, 11:59:  Ryerson Theatre
Wed., Sept. 12, 5PM: Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 6

The Occult Tunes of TIFF '12

 Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem premieres tomorrow night at Midnight Madness. The plot revolves around a mysterious black metal LP, which seems to summon evil forces from the past. There are other films at the festival whose soundtracks have hints of the occult in them via their soundtracks.

Ben Wheatley's Sightseers features Donovan's song about everyone's favourite Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman buddy picture.

And Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master features a bit of old timey Satanic resistance music. Have you noticed any more in the films you've seen so far?

And here's Rob Zombie's song, "Lords of Salem", which I assume will be in the film somewhere. We'll find out soon enough.

Screening Times:
THE LORDS OF SALEM:
Mon.,  Sept. 10, 11:59:  Ryerson Theatre
Wed., Sept. 12, 5PM: Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 6

SIGHTSEERS
Tues., Sept. 11, 9:00PM:  Ryerson Theatre

Thurs. Sept. 13, 12:00PM:  Ryerson Theatre
Sun., Sept. 16, 7:00PM:  The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

THE MASTER
Sun., Sept. 16, 6:00PM:  TIFF Bell Lightbox 1

HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN Director, Jason Eisner's Top 3 Midnight Madness Picks

Hobo with a Shotgun and The ABCs of Death segment director, Jason Eisner was awesome enough to tell us which 3 films he's most excited for in this year's Midnight Madness programme and why. Check them out!!

John Dies At The End

Coming from a family where the idea of wanting to become a filmmaker seemed very foreign, I took my father to a screening of Bubba Ho-Tep. After seeing the energy and reaction from the audience my dad took me aside and told me that he now "get's it" and understood what it was I was trying to do, and told me he would fully support me in my filmmaking future. That film holds a very special place in my heart and you can bet that dad and I will be strapped in and ready for anything Don Coscarelli brings to the screen.

The Lords of Salem

The Devil's Rejects is a huge inspiration. Before it's release I remember hearing that Rob Zombie was going to use Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird". I thought "how the hell can you do justice to Free Bird?" Well Rob Zombie sure as hell did! It's the perfect song to be destroyed too. It inspired me to have a playlist on my iphone that reads "Incase of plane crash" which only features Free Bird.

I love old, rusty carnival haunted house rides, especially the ones where you fear that the ride could break down and you could actually get hurt. House of 1000 Corpses is one of the closest's cinematic experiences to capturing that feeling. It's watched every Halloween at my place.

Which brings me to Halloween 2. Brandon Trost's DOP work in that film is fucking incredible! And Zombie brings some insane moments that brought a huge smile to my face. I'm an obsessed fan of the Halloween series, and I appreciate that this film steers away from what we're used to seeing. It offers something different, so much so that I wish the character wasn't named Myers, and was just some pissed off homeless guy who eats dogs, kills pimps, hicks and is haunted by his mom's ghost, riding a white stallion!!

The idea of Brandon Trost and Rob Zombie working together again on The Lords of Salem has me extremely excited. I'm not gonna lie, I watched the damn bootleg trailer that was recorded on an iphone from one of Zombie's concerts and it had me screaming "Hail Satan"!

ABC's of Death

Might sound lame that I'm picking a film that I have a short featured in, but I have yet to see the other 25 short films. Before being a filmmaker, I'm a film fan and there are so many directors involved with this that I'm a huge fan of. I can't wait to see how this turns out. With 26 short films of non-stop insanity, this is sure to be an endurance test. So make sure you sneak something stiff in your drink before the curtains roll, and I'll be there to hold you tight after the show!

Jason Eisner grew up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia working on short movies every day after school. Inspired by genre films of the 70’s and 80’s he entered the 2007 Grindhouse trailer contest and won. The massive success of his entry (Hobo with a Shotgun) led to a full-length feature version. He's currently working on his new feature, Blatant Violence High, and he has a segment in this year's Midnight Madness selection, The ABCs of Death. 












Screening Times:
JOHN DIES AT THE END
Canadian Premiere: Sat., Sept. 15th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sun., Sept. 16th, 6:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 7

THE LORDS OF SALEM
World Premiere: Mon., Sept. 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

THE ABC'S OF DEATH
World Premiere: Fri., Sept. 14th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 15th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9
Sun., Sept. 16th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Midnight Madness at Trailers from Hell: Larry Cohen on Mario Bava

Mario Bava's Black Sunday/ Mask of the Demon is a  great dark supernatural horror movie. Black Sunday stars the queen of Italian gothic horror, Barbara Steele, as a witch tortured to death who returns to take her revenge. In short, a perfect witchy, atmostpheric film to watch before The Lords of Salem rise at Midnight Madness.

And fortunately, Trailers From Hell just happens to have a commentary on it by Larry Cohen.

Writer, director and producer of such Midnight Madness favorites as It's Alive; The Stuff; Maniac Cop; Q: The Winged Serpent; Black Caesar; Hell Up In Harlem and the Masters of Horror episode, "Pick Me Up," Larry Cohen comments on the trailer for Bava's atmospheric classic.

THE LORDS OF SALEM
Mon., Sept. 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6 

Producer, Travis Stevens' Top 3 Midnight Madness Picks

This is the first in a series of posts where I asked some peeps what 3 Midnight Madness films they're most excited for this year.

First up is A Horrible Way to Die and The Aggression Scale producer, Travis Stevens' picks.

#1 - The Lords of Salem

 Who cares if an artist missteps every now and then as long as they're heading in an interesting direction? House of 1,000 Corpses is a bit juvenile--designed and executed like an elementary school halloween fundraiser for the children of an outlaw biker gang, but it was made with relish. The Halloween 1+2 reboot sacrificed what made the character iconic in order to make him "new" but who cares? At least he had the balls to actually "kill the cat" so to speak.

But the real reason to look forward to The Lords of Salem is because it appears that he's created another new world for us to explore. And the last time he did that we got a dusty masterpiece. The Devil's Rejects was an assembly of gore and exploitation as complex and as beautiful as a Faberge Egg...smashed against the skull of an unsuspecting audience.

He's going to push the sexuality. He's going to push the WTFness. And I could care less if he stumbles.

#2 - The Bay

Why, at the age 70, did Barry Levinson of Good Morning, Vietnam and Rain Man fame, decide to dip his toes in the dangerous waters of the high concept / low budget horror world? Was it crass commercialism? The desire to explore a looser approach to filmmaking, free of some of the restraints that big budgets and movie stars can shackle you with? Did he lose a bet?

Beyond the basic stomach turning appeal of a parasitic outbreak rampaging through the mouths and guts of a small coastal town, I just want to see what the hell Levinson does with the concept. Let's hope the end result is focused, funny and terrifying...and that Levinson tells the audience "why" during the Q&A.

#3 - The ABCs of Death

Taking an approach to anthology films that would have made Caligula proud, this orgy of gore is likely to cause the only death by excess recorded in the history of a cinema. But what a way to go! Gangbanged to death by some of the most inventive minds working in genre film today. I'll take it.

Bonus Non-MM Picks

 #4 - Passion

The hope is that Passion is to De Palma what Black Book was to Verhoeven.  Once last crack of the master's whip.  An indulgence of the man's personal fetishes, blossoming forth from the pavement of a really commercial script.  The fear is that it plays closer to Argento's Dracula 3D.  

#5 - The Hunt 
Thomas Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen.  A collaboration that appears just as delicate, cold and beautiful as an icicle hanging from your roof in winter.  I want to watch it shatter. 

Travis Stevens is the founder of Snowfort Pictures; a boutique production company specializing in the development, financing, production and sale of commercial genre films. Since founding the company in 2010 he's produced Adam Wingard's A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE, Steven C Miller's THE AGGRESSION SCALE, The Butcher Brothers THE THOMPSONS, Frank Pavich's JODOROWSKY'S DUNE, Mike Mendez's MEGA SPIDER, Ravi Dhar's AMERICAN MUSCLE and Trent Haaga and E.L. Katz's upcoming CHEAP THRILLS.

None of which his wife shows any interest in seeing.

Screening Times:
THE LORDS OF SALEM
World Premiere: Mon., Sept. 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

THE BAY
World Premiere: Wed., Sept. 12th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Thurs., Sept. 13th, 2:45 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

THE ABCs OF DEATH
World Premiere: Fri., Sept. 14th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 15th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9
Sun., Sept. 16th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

PASSION
Tues., Sept. 11th, 8:00 PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
Thurs., Sept. 13th, 8:30 PM SCOTIABANK 1
Fri., Sept. 14th, 9:30 AM SCOTIABANK 3

THE HUNT
Mon., Sept. 10th, 9:15 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1
Wed., Sept. 12th, 3:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2

LORDS OF SALEM Still Image Gallery

Rob Zombie is an extremely detailed film director and a consummate visual stylist. His use of color in film is very audacious. The world he creates is completely affecting and enthralling. LORDS OF SALEM marks Zombie's return to an original horror story. The stills that have been released thus far show a glimpse into a world created by a masterful storyteller.

 

THE LORDS OF SALEM
Mon., Sept. 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

LORDS OF SALEM Posters!

There are a slew of sick images for Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem at Zombie's Facebook page, including these excellently wicked teaser posters.

Though this one seems a little more winsome than wicked.

LORDS OF SALEM
Mon., Sept. 10, 11:59pm:  RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 12, 5pm:  CINEPLEX YONGE AND DUNDAS 6