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

Everyone wins with NO ONE LIVES

Now that I’m only three days away from my trek to Toronto for Midnight Madness courtesy of Kari’s Scaries, I’m getting wound up about some of the more mysterious titles on the schedule. Among these is No One Lives, which the program describes as an “exuberantly gory thriller about a clan of backwoods road bandits whose latest victims are far less helpless than they seem.”

So, wait, does Midnight Madness offer valet parking or not? I'm going with "not."

Sounds fun, right? It gets better: No One Lives is the latest from director Ryuhei Kitamura, a filmmaker who has yet to get the attention he deserves on this side of the pond. Kitamura has an impressive filmography under his belt, including Versus, Azumi and Godzilla: Final Wars, but it’s his 2008 gorefest The Midnight Meat Train that really put him on my radar.

Based on a Clive Barker short story of the same name, Train has never gotten the kudos it deserves. That’s too bad – it’s a gorgeously designed, slickly directed and extremely entertaining flick. It goes off the rails a bit at the end (if you’ve read the story, you know the climax is nearly impossible to film), but it's loaded with so much style and crazy gore that I can’t imagine why any horror fan wouldn’t dig it. The goofier stuff, including a dude whose eyeballs fly out of his skull when the killer whacks him on the noggin with a mallet, is CG, but it absolutely works in the context of the movie. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have a thing for horror films involving trains. Horror Express? Terror Train? Creep? Yes, please. And thanks to 1973's Raw Meat, everyone knows that subterranean mutant cannibals live in abandoned subway tunnels, which just adds to the appeal.)

Check out Kitamura’s official reel below, then keep on scrolling for a batshit, totally NSFW helping of grue from The Midnight Meat Train.


Ryuhei Kitamura Works from Kazuki Hirata on Vimeo.



A trailer for No One Lives has yet to hit the web and we've only seen a few images, but you can see why I'm stoked nonetheless.

NO ONE LIVES screening times:
Sat., Sept. 8, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 10, 9:45PM, CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 7
Fri., Sept. 14, 4:45PM, CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6

Tweets of Madness Part 1

Jonesing for the latest scoops on the Midnight Madness films? Then you need to start following these folks on twitter ASAP!

@mmadnesstiff : The official twitter account of Midnight Madness. 

@colingeddes: Colin Geddes programmer of Midnight Madness! Just remember, this is Colin's personal twitter where he tweets about things other than genre films.

@NicolasLopez: Director of AFTERSHOCK.

@EliRoth, @SelenaGomez, @Lorenzaizzo, @Ariel_Levy, @_El_Pollo, @andreaosvart, @elmatiaslopez:: Eli Roth, Selena Gomez, Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Nicolás Martínez, Andrea Osvart, and Matias Lopez stars of AFTERSHOCK.

@Lionsgatemovies: Official DREDD 3D Twitter account.



@PettyJTyrant: JT Petty director of HELLBENDERS .
@ccollinsjr & @mrdanfogler: Clifton Collins Jr. & Dan Fogler, stars of HELLBENDERS .

@RWZombie: Rob Zombie director of THE LORDS OF SALEM.

AFTERSHOCK Screening Times:
Tue., Sept. 11th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Thurs., Sept. 13th, 6:15 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 3
Sun., Sept. 16th, 3:30 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 9

DREDD 3D Screening Times:
Thurs., Sept. 6th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 8th, 12:30 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 7

HELLBENDERS Screening Times:
Sun., Sept. 9th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Tue., Sept. 11th, 7:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 7
Sat., Sept. 15th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 2

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

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 

"Ghoulish" Gary Pullin's Top 3 Midnight Madness Picks

"Ghoulish" Gary Pullin is an award winning, freelance artist residing in Toronto and the former long time art director for Rue Morgue Magazine. He's now their resident art columnist, curating, "The Fright Gallery." 

I'm no stranger to the Midnight Madness program. I've been attending for almost a decade now and each year seems to get better and better. Thanks to Jeff Wright and Colin Geddes for having me here. Honestly, it was tough to pick only three, but here's my short list I'm most eager to see:

#1 - The ABC's of Death

Inspired by educational children's books, twenty-six up and coming film directors were assigned a letter of the alphabet to create a shocking short. This film event has genre fans salivating for bite sized bits of cinema nastiness written and directed by students of modern horror from around the globe. Ti West (House of the Devil, Innkeepers), Angela Bettis (Roman, May), Xavier Gens (Frontiers, The Divide), Ben Wheatley (Kill List), Srdjan Spasojevic (Serbian Film), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Machine Girl), Adam Wingard (You're Next) and many more bring the pain. Jason Eisener's "N for Nature," for instance. Sounds innocent enough, doesn't it? Far from it. Jason's contribution will test your gag reflex, ignite uncomfortable laughter and give you those icky feelings I'm still trying to shake. You may not look at high school sports the same way ever again. Perhaps the most ambitious anthology ever made, these are bedtime stories for big kids.

#2 - John Dies At The End

The Phantasm films are weird. And I mean that as a huge compliment because that's how I like 'em. They defy category and come to think of it, so does Don Coscarelli's entire filmography. John Dies At The End, based on the cult novel by David Wong, looks like no exception. Don has a knack for making absurd, mind-bending concepts work, which in the hands of many directors, may not fly so well. I'm admittedly green to the source material, so I'm just showing up to drink the Kool-Aid and wait for the inter-dimensional fun. With Don's films, you can always expect an unconventional experience, and really, you had me at Clancy Brown. That guy's face is a movie.

#3 - Dredd 3D

I think most would agree, Stallone's 1995 adaption of DC's popular comic book hero is better left in the Mega City dump. It was a huge let down for fans of the comic. It broke the rules by showing Dredd's face, a major offence and something comic creator John Wagner was adamant about keeping sacred through the span of the series. Director Peter Travis (Vantage Point, Endgame) is set to correct all the wrongs made by that film with a darker, ultra-violent version, a most welcome return to the futuristic wasteland. Travis is sticking close to the source this time and injecting noir grittiness back into the material. The film was shot using the latest 3D technology and initial online buzz is extremely positive. All rise. Your honourable Judge, Jury and Executioner is back!

Gary's artwork has infected publications and galleries across the globe. He's worked with collectible poster boutique Mondo in Austin, Texas, DC Shoes, and Death Waltz Records for a vinyl release of John Carpenter's THEY LIVE score. Look for his illustrations in Glass Eye Pix's upcoming documentary YEAR OF THE LIVING DEAD, about the making of George A. Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD during the civil unrest of the 60s.

Visit http://www.ghoulishgary.com/ to see more of his work.





Screening Times:

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

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

DREDD 3D
Thurs., Sept. 6th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Sat., Sept. 8th, 12:30 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 7

Single Tickets On Sale September 2!

Don't be sad, film-goer!

Missed out on the Midnight Madness ticket package? You can still get the films you want. Single tickets go on sale Sunday, September 2! 

Buy them online at:  http://tiff.net/thefestival

Purchase them on the phone at:  416-599-TIFF / 1-888-599-8433.

Or you buy tickets in person at a box office:
The Festival Box Office is located at 225 King St., W Metro Center, Concourse level.
Festival Members can use a separate box office location in Metro Centre.
Festival Patron Circle Members have a box office location at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Festival box office and phone hours are:
September 2:  10:00am – 8:00pm  <--Single Tickets On Sale!September 3:  7:00am – 7:00pm
September 4–5:  10:00am – 8:00pm
September 6–16:  7:00am – 7:00pm

TIFF Bell Lightbox Hours: 10:00am – 10:00pm daily
TIFF Bell Lightbox Building Hours:  8:00am – 12:00am daily

During the Festival you can also buy tickets at venue box offices. These open one hour before the first screening of the day and close one half hour after the final screening of the day. (You can buy tickets for any film at any of these box offices).

Happy film-goers with pre-ordered single tickets to all the films they want!

Navigating The Festival Village

Showing 300+ films to thousands of people in 10 days takes a lot of theaters covering a bunch of real estate. Thankfully the blog is here to help you figure out the various ways to navigate around it.

On foot:  Most of the theaters are within a 20-30 minute walk of one another. This post has a matrix showing foot travel time and distance between each venue.

TTC:  Instead of driving downtown consider parking at a TTC lot outside downtown and taking the subway. Click here for a list of TTC stations that offer parking. Parking at these stations is ~$5 a day and free on weekends. Taking the TTC anywhere is only $3 so find the metro stop closest to your venue. 

Streetcars  also service downtown. The main north south streetcar is on Spadina and it will come in handy considering there is construction on Spadina which plays havoc with vehicle traffic.

TTC subways and streetcars shutdown at 2:00 am. Remember that when making your plans for Midnight Madness.

BIXI: BIXI bike rental stations are all over the festival village. If you need to get from the Ryerson to Lightbox quickly you can scan your credit card at the automatic bike rack, ride the bike to the rental station closest to Lightbox, park the bike and be done with the entire transaction. Click here for their website which includes  more detailed map, pricing, and rental instructions.

Cabs: Cabs have a minimum fare of $4.25 to start, with an additional $0.25 for every additional 0.143 km (about two blocks) or for every 29 seconds waiting/non-moving time. They’re all over the festival village and easy to hail (just stick out your hand!)

Drive: Make sure to avoid the construction on Spadina. There are several parking decks downtown with most charging ~$5 per hour. Click here for the Toronto Parking Authority website which shows locations and prices of  lots in the area.