O, the horror! Ranking the Toronto Film Festival's Midnight Madness movies
TORONTO -- Each night during the Toronto International Film Festival, when the Princess of Wales theater is empty and everyone with a lanyard around their neck is either sleeping or partying, those with the guts to keep watching movies into the wee hours head to Midnight Madness at the Ryerson Theatre.
There's no better environment in which to see a midnight movie than TIFF's Midnight Madness program. Programmed by Colin Geddes, who introduces each movie and leads a Q&A with its filmmakers, Midnight Madness is one of the festival's signature sections -- and this year's lineup didn't disappoint, even if some of the individual movies did.
I head to Midnight Madness each year to make discoveries (and because sleep is overrated), and this year French director Julia Ducournau stole the show with her highly original cannibal movie Raw, which truly impressed me with its artful approach to body horror.
You May Also Like
I didn't get a chance to see every midnight movie, but what I did see is -- yes -- ranked below.
But you should only keep reading if you have a strong stomach for sick, twisted fun, because it gets messy. To quote Geddes before the start of The Belko Experiment, "midnight movies have been really violent the last two nights. It's happening again tonight. Tell my mom I'm a nice person."
1. Raw
This shocking French cannibal movie represents the birth of a new horror talent in writer-director Julia Ducournau, who will surely be signed by a major talent agency in the coming weeks, if not days. The film premiered at Cannes but made its mark at TIFF, where paramedics were called after the carnage prompted those with weak stomachs to faint. This elegantly bloody coming-of-age story concerns a girl who follows her sister to veterinary school, where she develops a taste for human flesh. It came as no surprise to learn that star Garance Marillier had worked with Ducournau before, as she clearly trusts her director, as she delivers an fiercely committed lead performance that leaves little to the imagination. I'll be showing this one to my friends who can handle it.
2. The Belko Experiment
Director Greg McLean and writer-producer James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) deliver the gory goods with The Belko Experiment, which was an absolute blast. I want to be careful not to spoil anything, so let's just say it's about an office that finds itself playing the ultimate game of Survivor. After playing the villain in Hush earlier this year, John Gallagher Jr. gets to play one of the heroes, and it suits him well. This movie was a ton of fun and ends on quite the image. It's no surprise the film was acquired by Jason Blum's BH Tilt following an enthusiastic response at TIFF.
3. Headshot
Imagine a good Jason Bourne movie with The Raid star Iko Uwais in place of Matt Damon, and that’s basically Headshot. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel -- aka the Mo brothers -- this high-octane, badass action extravaganza is a mostly-worthy cousin to Uwais' well-known franchise. He plays an amnesiac with serious fighting skills who must rescue the doctor who saved him when she’s kidnapped by his mentor. This ultra-violent movie kicks all kinds of ass and serves as further proof that the best action movies are being made outside of Hollywood.
4. The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch play father-and-son coroners who meet their match in a beautiful corpse that may not be as dead as it seems. It’s a solid horror premise anchored by two strong actors and some decent scares, but eventually it loses steam and runs off the rails.
5. Blair Witch
This "sequel" took everything that the original did well and just repeated it. There were too many jump scares for my taste. For Mashable’s mixed-negative review, click here.
6. Free Fire
Ben Wheatley’s latest misfire wastes a bunch of good actors (Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy and Armie Hammer) and is hamstrung by a goofy tone. Kicking off Midnight Madness on a sour note, this tedious action-comedy about an arms deal gone wrong plays like a bad parody of Reservoir Dogs crossed with a feature-length Saturday Night Live sketch. Despite an impressive ensemble that does its best with a thin script, you can safely skip it next year.
Not ranked (because Mashable hasn't seen them)
Paul Schrader's Dog Eat Dog starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe; the J-horror mash-up Sadako vs. Kayako; Morgan Spurlock's documentary Rats; and the zombie movie The Girl With All the Gifts, which has been getting great buzz from genre press.
