What’s Up, Contenders? Terry Malloy here reporting from the Waterfront.
Golin Geddes has been programming the Midnight Madness selections at Toronto International Film Festival since the late 1990s and has brought some pretty amazing films to worldwide attention in the process. Just this past year, The Raid premiered at TIFF and sparked the buzz which launched that film into action movie history. And I believe Miike’s Ichi The Killer (which I’ve never braved, myself) got its world premiere under Geddes’ watchful eye as well.
It looks like 2012 has a lot of potential to rock the world’s of any genre fans who are lucky enough to attend.
I’m personally quite excited to find that Drafthouse Films’ ABCs of Death will have its world premiere.
There is little doubt that film will also play at Fantastic Fest this fall, but I’ll love hearing the buzz in advance. 26 directors offering 26 twisted short films? Yep, I’m on board!
Seven Psychopaths reteams Oscar-winning director Martin McDonagh with his In Bruges star Colin Farrell, and I loved In Bruges enough to get my butt in the seat for anything McDonagh has to offer.
Then you have Hellbenders starring Clancy Brown and Clifton Collins, Jr. as X-rated exorcists? That sounds insane.
Those are the standouts for me, but see the press release below for the full line up and synopsis’ of each Midnight Madness 2012 film!
PRESS RELEASE HERE
The ABCs of Death World Premiere Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, Adrián García Bogliano, Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Jason Eisener, Xavier Gens, Jorge Michel Grau, Lee Hardcastle, Noboru Iguchi, Thomas Cappelen Malling, Anders Morgenthaler, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Simon Rumley, Marcel Sarmiento, Jon Schnepp, Srdjan Spasojevic, Timo Tjahjanto, Andrew Traucki, Nacho Vigalondo, Jake West, Ti West, Ben Wheatley, Adam Wingard, and Yûdai Yamaguchi
Twenty-six directors... 26 ways to die! The ABCs Of Death is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived, featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world’s leading talents in contemporary genre film. With each director assigned a letter of the alphabet, they were then given free rein in choosing a word to create a story involving a tale of mortality. It’s an alphabetical arsenal of destruction orchestrated by some of the most exciting names in global horror including Ben Wheatley (Kill List), Ti West (House of the Devil), Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Adam Wingard (You're Next), Xavier Gens (Frontieres), and Nacho Vigalondo (Time Crimes).
Aftershock Nicolás López, USA/Chile World Premiere In Chile, an American tourist’s vacation goes from good to great when he meets some beautiful women travellers. But when an earthquake ravages the underground nightclub they’re in, a fun night quickly turns to terror. Escaping to the surface is just the beginning as they face nightmarish chaos above ground. Starring Eli Roth and Selena Gomez.
The Bay Barry Levinson, USA World Premiere A brutal and harrowing film about a deadly parasite, The Bay chronicles the descent of a small Maryland town into absolute terror.
Come Out and Play Makinov, Mexico World Premiere Beth and Francis vacation before the birth of their child. Francis insists on venturing to a more serene island, Beth hesitantly agrees. They set out to a beautiful island, but soon discover it’s mysteriously abandoned, and the only people on the island are children. Beth and Francis are left to uncover the mystery of the disappearances, and a day in paradise quickly turns into a struggle for survival. Cast includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vinessa Shaw and Daniel Gimenez Cacho.
Dredd Pete Travis, USA/United Kingdom/India World Premiere The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later) and director Pete Travis bring the iconic masked police
officer Dredd to life in this futuristic neo-noir action film. Filmed in 3D with stunning slow-motion photography sequences, the film returns the celebrated comic book anti-hero to his dark, violent and visceral roots. Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey.
Hellbenders JT Petty, USA World Premiere Hellbenders, an R-rated 3D exorcism comedy, follows the Order of Hellbound Saints (Brooklyn Parish), a highly secretive and profoundly blasphemous men of God, as they battle demonic forces too terrible to be cast out by traditional Vatican-approved methods. Cast includes Clancy Brown, Clifton Collins Jr., Robyn Rikoon and Andre Royo.
John Dies at the End Don Coscarelli, USA Canadian Premiere In John Dies at the End, it’s all about the Soy Sauce, a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly, a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can't. Adapted from David Wong's audacious trans-genre horror novel, John Dies at the End is written and directed by Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-Tep) and also stars Clancy Brown and Paul Giamatti.
The Lords of Salem Rob Zombie, USA/United Kingdom/Canada World Premiere Heidi, a radio station DJ, receives a wooden box containing a record. Heidi listens and the bizarre sounds within the grooves immediately trigger flashbacks of Salem's violent past. Is Heidi going mad or are the Lords of Salem returning for revenge on modern day Salem?
No One Lives Ryuhei Kitamura, USA World Premiere From the director of Versus and The Midnight Meat Train, No One Lives is a smart and original horror movie with, at its heart, a killer in the grip of a dark and twisted love affair. A ruthless criminal gang takes a young couple hostage and goes to ground in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. When the captive girl is killed, the tables are unexpectedly turned. The gang finds itself outsmarted by an urbane and seasoned killer determined to ensure that no one lives. Featuring Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Derek Magyar, Lee Tergesen and America Olivo.
Seven Psychopaths Martin McDonagh, USA/United Kingdom World Festival Premiere Written and Directed by Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh, the comedy Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends (Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell) kidnap a gangster’s (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. Co-starring Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko and Zeljko Ivanek.
Here’s to hoping each of these films get released in a format on which we can all check them out ourselves.
And I’m Out.
Twitter: @Ed_Travis
