Program Your Own Midnight Madness Retrospective!!

Torontoist wrote about the 25th anniversary of Midnight Madness and had the great idea to program their own dream retrospective of 18 of their favourite films from previous Midnight Madness line-ups.

Of all of the films that have screened at Midnight Madness in its 25 year history, which 10 would you show. Here's a handy list of every film to have screened to help you out.

Tomorrow I might pick a different 10, but here's my fantasy Midnight Madness retrospective to get the ball rolling.  Post your lists in the comments section.

 BORAT

 BRAINDEAD

 ONG-BAK

WILD ZERO

 FREEWAY 2: CONFESSIONS OF A TRICK BABY

 CLIP CULT and ELECTRIC DRAGON 80,000 VOLTS

 SWORDSMAN II

 DAINIPPONJIN (BIG MAN JAPAN)

 CREEP

INSIDE (A L'INTERIEUR)

p.s.
This was extremely difficult!!

Interview with the Directors of ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

Chris Sivertson (left) and Lucky McKee (right)

Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson, directors of 2013 Midnight Madness opening night film All Cheerleaders Die, were kind enough to grant the Midnight Madness Blog an interview in advance of their film's world premiere this Thursday, 11:59PM at the Ryerson. You can find their IMDB pages here: Lucky McKee; and here: Chris Sivertson. You can find Lucky McKee on Twitter here.

Midnight Madness Blog: We recently posted an article about how All Cheerleaders Die is actually a remake. Can you tell me a little bit about the making of the original film? Also, what was it about the concept that made you want to revisit it?

Lucky McKee & Chris Sivertson: We made the original ACD about a year after graduating from USC Film School. We were walking down the street one day after buying some indie movie magazines and were talking about these b-movies that were being shot on video and edited on PC's. Chris said, "Why don't we do one of these?" So we wrote up a script, got a tiny amount of money from our parents and shot the thing over two four day weekends in Lucky's hometown. Our first feature. It made us feel ten foot tall and bullet-proof.

The new and improved All Cheerleaders Die

We decided to tap back into that initial impulse of doing a wild, fun, comical, sexy movie but with all we've learned from our solo careers. After making such heavy movies over the last ten years it has been a delight to work on something so tonally different than what we're known for.

MMB: Several of Lucky's films – May, The Woods, “Sick Girl,” The Woman – have focused substantially more on female characters than most horror films do. All Cheerleaders Die appears to continue this tradition. Can you talk a little bit about the draw of complex female protagonists?

LM/CS: There's just so much uncharted dramatic territory for female characters within the genre.

MMB: The little that we know about All Cheerleaders Die makes it sound like somewhat of a changeup for you guys tonally. The title itself has a playful vibe to it. Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes describes the film as “hilarious.” Lucky in particular is coming off of a film that elicited strong visceral reactions from audiences in The Woman. How does the tone of All Cheerleaders Die fit in with the your previous work?

LM/CS: The film is funny, but it's not a comedy. The situation is so wild that a lot of humor comes from it being so outlandish. This isn't a Lucky McKee movie. It's not a Chris Sivertson movie. It's a McKee/Sivertson film and it's what happens when two old friends get hooked on an idea and poke and prod each other to get it up to a level that's entertaining as hell. When we hang out, we don’t talk about heavy shit all that often. We mostly joke around and have a good time, so it’s only natural that feeling would find its way into any collaborations between us.

MMB: With all the credits between the two of you on the film versions of The Lost, Red and The Woman, you guys have set up a really interesting filmmaker-novelist relationship with author Jack Ketchum. How did this relationship begin? And are there plans to continue? Do you have more Ketchum projects in the works?

LM/CS: Between the two of us and our producer, Andrew van den Houten, we’ve been behind all of the Ketchum movies produced thus far. It’s been a lot of fun spreading the gospel of Jack around the globe. Lucky wrote another novel with Ketchum called I'm Not Sam that he would very much like to get on film, as well as a short story called Squirrely Shirley that would fit nicely in an anthology if that opportunity ever comes up. They'll probably write a new book in 2014 if the time is available.

MMB: Your time at the Festival is no doubt going to be very busy, but will you get a chance to actually see any films? Are there any films in Midnight Madness or elsewhere in the Festival that you guys are particularly excited to see?

Vanguard North American premiere The Sacrament directed by Ti West

LM/CS: Very excited to see Ti West’s and Eli Roth's new babies [The Sacrament and The Green Inferno, respectively]. Also been hearing great things about Almost Human. Our colorist worked on both Ti's film and Almost Human, so we're curious to see what his work with other artists looks like. Ti and Eli have gotten stronger as filmmakers with every film they've made, so it's just plain exciting as a fan to see what they've cooked up next. Also excited about The Double. Avi Korine is a gifted writer and just a good person who deserves tons of success. And Horns. First Joe Hill adaptation to hit the big screen! Beyond that, we'd like to see as many films as time allows! We finished our film six days before the festival, so what better way to celebrate than watching as many films as possible? You guys put on a hell of a show.

ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE screening times:
Thu., Sept. 5th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Fri., Sept. 6th, 3:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 15th, 9:30PM, SCOTIABANK 11

THE GREEN INFERNO screening times:
Sat., Sept. 7th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Mon., Sept. 9th, 1:30PM, SCOTIABANK 13

ALMOST HUMAN screening times:
Tue., Sept. 10th, 11:59PM, RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 11th, 7:15PM, SCOTIABANK 3
Fri., Sept. 13th, 2:30PM, SCOTIABANK 9

THE SACRAMENT screening times:
Sun., Sept. 8th, 5:15PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Tue., Sept. 10th, 9:45PM, SCOTIABANK 7
Fri., Sept. 13th, 8:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

HORNS screening times:
Fri., Sept. 6th, 6:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun., Sept. 8th, 1:00PM, SCOTIABANK 4

Brendan Schaub Quotes

UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub is fierce competitor in the cage but a very friendly individual outside of it.

 

 

 

 

 

TIFF Midnight Madness 25th Anniversary T-Shirts Now Available!

For the past 24 years of the Midnight Madness program, if you wanted to be able to identify a fellow Midnight Madness devotee during the day, unless they were wearing a horror or action movie shirt, your odds of guessing weren't very good.

This year, TIFF is removing the guess work and have put out an official Midnight Madness 25th Anniversary t-shirt, designed by Kagan McLeod. You might know Kagan's work from his kung-fu comic book epic, Infinite Kung-Fu, or from his many illustration work that he's done for The National Post, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, and The Hollywood Reporter.

As of Tuesday, these beautiful navy blue t-shirts are available in unisex t-shirt sizes XS - XXL in a limited edition for $30 (+ tax) at the TIFF Shop (at TIFF Bell Lightbox) and at the TIFF Shop pop up location at the Festival Box Office at Metro Centre.

Look how dashing you're going to look in your new Midnight Madness shirt!!

The Devil's in the details.

So pick up your shirt and let everyone at that 9AM screening know that you're running on less than 5 hours of sleep.

Off Sale? Don't Panic!

I’m sure a lot of you have started to notice screenings are showing up as “OFF SALE” at the online box office (accessible here), “RUSH ONLY” on the boards at the Festival Box Office at 225 King Street West, or generally unavailable by phone at (416) 599-TIFF or 1-888-599-8433.

Don’t panic, there are still ways for you to get tickets. Here are a some options:

1) Don’t give up! Keep checking the various box offices listed above. Many of the seats for films listed as off sale were ticketed during the advance order process last week. Any of those ticketholders could change their mind between now and the screening and exchange their ticket for a voucher. If tickets are available, they'll show up at 7:00 AM when the systems update. FYI The systems only update once a day so there is no point in checking more than once a day.

2) If it is the day of the screening and you still can’t get a ticket at any of the box offices, your last resort is the rush line. Rush seats become available when people decide not to exchange tickets like I described above and simply just don’t show up. 

Remember, the festival's goal is to make sure that every seat in a theater is sold. The earlier you get in line the better. If the film is *HUGE* you want to get there at least 3 hours before the film starts. For midnight screenings the line will be crazy long, but it probably has a lot of people rushing a 9:00pm or 9:30pm screening. Once those people leave, you should be close to the front of the line. Make sure you are in the rush line (not the ticket holders line) and confirm which line you are in with a volunteer. The Ryerson seats over 1200 people so the odds are good if you are at the front of the line you've got a shot at a seat but there is no guarantee that seats will be available.

 

3) Catch a repeat screening. The atmosphere is more relaxed than the midnight screenings and there is always a chance that some of the talent is still in town to do a Q&A.

4) Watch social media. Keep your eyes on the Midnight Madness Facebook page and Twitter. If there are contests for tickets to sold out screenings, they're likely to be posted there.

5) Hang out in the autograph line. If you get to the rush line late and it is ridiculously long you might want to hang out behind the red carpet and hope the talent will offer you a ticket. It's rare but I've seen it happen. The autograph line is behind a barricade opposite from the entrance to the Ryerson.

How To Kill A Vampire

Midnight Madness is a whole secret organization of ne'er-do-wells, ancient evils and scholars who delve too deeply into forbidden knowledge while working in the shadows to bring The Madness to you every year. Now one of the secret scribes has stepped into the light with a new book. Liisa Ladouceur helps keep MM Programmer Colin Geddes in check as his MM programme copy editor. (She's also helped him at ActionFest). She's also a scholar of all things gothic and macabre.

Liisa's new book, How To Kill A Vampire: Fangs in Folklore, Film and Fiction, came out on September 1, just in time to help you survive The Madness this year. RIGOR MORTIS clearly has some kind of vampire situation going on. And Colin's being cagey about what happens in THE AFFLICTED, so you should probably read it before then. In fact you can even order a signed copy directly from Liisa right now!

And if you survive this year's programme, there's also a book launch and signing, on Tuesday, September 17. Of course, it's after 8pm for the convenience of the undead.

And while you wait, listen to Liisa talk about vampires with the CBC's Karen Gordon and check out Liisa's picks for this year's Midnight Madness and Vanguard Programmes.

THE AFFLICTED Screening Times:

Monday, Sept 9th, 11:59 PM RYERSON

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9

RIGOR MORTIS Screening Times:

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 11:59 PM RYERSON

Thursday, Sept 12th, 12:45 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2

Friday, Sept 13th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

THE STATION: 10 Isolation Horror Films

The monsters will keep you company at The Station

Hola masses of Midnight Madness Marauders! 

Looking forward again to another depraved year of horror and psychotronics?! I sure am.  

To kick things off, explore some ISOLATION horror films -- films where the characters find themselves in an inescapable and utterly desolate predicament, either emotionally, physically - or both.

To mix it up a bit, I came up with some rules. I'm into complex rules for everything.

• Try to avoid home invasion sub genre
• Try to define it as main characters who are in bad spot
• Try to avoid prisoner movies

(MM) denotes the Midnight Madness alumni!  

Spoiler level:  Mostly concepts (so to mid movie) No end game spoilers.  

Here's my picks - in no particular order!

There's a Spider-head in the hallway. Maybe let's go around the other way.

1. The Thing (1982) --  Carpenter remake. So imagine this, you're doing routine work in a remote Antarctic region. There's the slow realization that your group has been infiltrated by an terrifying organism bent on assimilating every life form on earth. Looking at their faces, you can't help but wonder who's already been turned. They act the same -- except when they're alone with you.  In which case, they'll eat you with fangs and tendrils. What makes this one great, is there's so many questions. You're never sure who or what form it will take on next, and psychotic acts of paranoia are completely justified.

2. Cabin Fever (2002, MM) -- Teenagers VS. a thriving strain of Flesh Eating Bacteria in a masterful movie that launched director Eli Roth's career, right here at Midnight Madness!  Looking forward to his new one (link), which could very well be on a future isolation horror best of list - but if you haven't seen it already, Cabin Fever is wall to wall insanity.

3. Bug (2006) -- A kind of a gem. Slower paced and positively itch-inducing.  Ashley Judd and a then lesser known Michael Shannon do a sort of self-imposed isolation, chronicling their increasing paranoia as "BUGS" have gotten deep underneath their skin. Other things to worry about too.

Okay, you know what, let's just go back to the Spider-head hallway.

4. Alien (1979) -- Space craft. Crew full of victims with nowhere to run.  A salivating razor- lined mouth to feed. Executed to perfection. 

5. Ravenous (1999) -- Man, I love this movie.  Somewhere cold, American civil war era. This movie has a very interesting and monstrously cunning villain that keeps you guessing. 

6. Day of the Dead (1985) -- Yeahhhhhh. Now that's what I like. A bunch of poor souls hiding out in a military bunker… during the zombie apocalypse. A George Romero original. Now, as much as I love Dawn of the Dead, I feel this one edges it in the claustrophobia department.  Pretty much a nightmare scenario, seeing as much as we have rotting hordes building at the above ground gate, and underground; along with all the survivors, there's a well-intentioned scientist running experiments inside with "live"-undead. Maybe he's on to something? Now add in an ultra jerk military leader, and you got yerselves a ticking time bomb.

7. The Descent (2005, MM)-- Bunch of lady friends go spelunking!  Soon they are trapped with each other along with their built-in friend dramas. But they're not alone…  some other bump in the night things are crawling up and down the walls…  Result: ultra gore. Really though, for me, it was one entirely relatable shot that landed this on the list. The one where she gets… 

8. Stuck (2007, MM) -- Stuart Gordon's opus about the TRUE STORY of a man who's hit and run by a nurse.  Okay to get technical, he's hit and run, and stuck halfway through her car windshield.  This situation might have then been corrected. Instead he's stored in her garage as he slowly bleeds out in the dark, pleading - why?  I'm sure they took some creative liberties with this one, but man, it does not end pretty.

Church security systems: Don't build em like they used to.

9. The Church (1989) -- This is a late night movie; the kind you're supposed to find when you're a kid, and the your parents are sleeping - that you really shouldn't watch.  Because it's filled with everything they've warned you about, and really, you won't understand it.  I still don't understand it!  Granted I just saw it for the first time this year, but I'm young at heart.  So some peeps are trapped in an archaic church when an accidental ritual unleashes a horde of imprisoned evil, and the local demon detecting device puts the building on perma-lockdown.  The imagery is truly eye-popping, everything about this movie is like remembering dream - and the Keith Emerson score is one of my favorites - ever, totally zany and lavishly delicious.

10.  Alive (1993) -- Now is this an isolation horror movie… Or is it a super inspiring true story about using cannibalism to survive unbelievable odds? Cop out pick? Well, the scary thing, this could (and did) happen. Not sure how much was changed, but I don't remember second guessing anything that I saw; the stuff nightmares are made of.

Honorable mentions:

Isolation (2005) --another MM alumni. The pocket-sized mutating predatory farm creatures are among the last things you'd want to be stuck with.

Cast Away (2000) -- That poor sentient volley ball!  Trapped with Tom Hanks - nothing's scarier than a nice guy slowly going nuts.  Except maybe a sentient volley ball. Add in some head exploding powers, and we coulda had a real contender here.

What did I miss? 

Only a million great movies…. Feel free to share your own lists below, and to satiate your own isolation horror fix be sure to check out THE STATION…  

THE STATION Screening Times:

Friday, Sept 6th, 11:59 PM RYERSON

Sunday, Sept 8th, 2:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14

Friday, Sept 13th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9