The Big, Bloody Toronto International Film Festival 2013 Midnight Madness Preview

Candyman (1992). Man Bites Dog (1992). Dazed and Confused (1993). Cemetery Man (1994). South Park co-creator Trey Parker's Orgazmo (1997). Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer (2001). Stacy Peralta's skateboarding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001). What do all of these movies have in common? Aside from the fact that they're some of the greatest cult classics of the last half-century, each of them premiered in the same way: as part of Midnight Madness, the career-making, iconic after-hours section of the Toronto International Film Festival, held every September.

Originating with humble means at the Bloor Cinema, Midnight Madness has always had a simple and, for lovers of left-of-center cinema, admirable mission statement: to introduce TIFF goers to the creepiest, weirdest, funniest, and most exciting new horror, action, sci-fi, and genre-bending comedies from all around the world. Now held annually inside Toronto's Ryerson Theatre, the hugely influential program is the dream world premiere location for genre filmmakers both up-and-coming and established. To unveil your film before the always raucous and discerning Midnight Madness crowds is to instantly solidify its legacy, regardless of whether the screening yields major distribution (like it did for the You're Next back in 2011) or merely crickets and broken moral (Ever hear of Reb Braddock's Curdled, the Midnight Madness 1996 inclusion? Didn't think so.).

Heading into this year's 25th anniversary edition of Midnight Madness, which kicks off this Thursday night at 11:59 p.m. with the awesomely titled All Cheerleaders Die, the sky's the limit for what'll come of the 2013 batch. Will there be another success story to emerge like Eli Roth, a then-unknown director who premiered his debut, Cabin Fever, through Midnight Madness 2002 and is now one of the horror genre's most prolific voices/producers? Or perhaps the next Saw is on the horizon, ready to do for its filmmakers and brand what director James Wan's climate-changing film did after its 2004 Midnight Madness screening? Or, at the very least, there could be the next foreign horror breakout, one akin to past Midnight Madness entries like Spain's The Day of the Beast (1995), South Korea's The Host (2006), France's Inside (2007).

Complex Pop Culture will be on the scene at TIFF for the its entirety, and the 10 films included in the Midnight Madness program are tops on the priority list of must-sees. We spoke with Midnight Madness programmer, and all-around mastermind, Colin Geddes to get his thoughts on the 10 movies, any or all of which could your next favorite genre flicks come 2014. Also, as added bonuses, Geddes breaks down three of the festival's Vanguard section entries, all of which were under consideration for Midnight Madness and have been on the Complex radar for months now.

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As told to Matt Barone (@MBarone)

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Directors: Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson
Stars: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Brooke Butler, Tom Williamson, Reanin Johannink, Amanda Grace Cooper, Leigh Parker, Jordan Wilson, Nicholas S. Morrison, Chris Petrovski

Official synopsis: When tragedy rocks Blackfoot High, rebellious outsider Mäddy Killian shocks the student body by joining the cheerleading squad. This decision drives a rift between Mäddy and her ex-girlfriend Leena Miller — a loner who claims to practice the dark arts. After a confrontation with the football team, Mäddy and her new cheerleader friends are sent on a supernatural roller coaster ride which leaves a path of destruction none of them may be able to escape.

Colin Geddes Says: This is a film that took me off-guard. It's a total dark horse. I really didn't have any expectations at all for it, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a film that has a very conventional start but then, in the first quarter of it, takes a really dark, supernatural turn that you don't see coming.

It's a fresh cast, with all, young, up-and-coming faces, and it just roars. It's interesting, because I've seen films from the directors in the past, and this is the first one that's really clicked for me to put into the Midnight series. Sometimes it's a tone type of thing, but this one hit all of the checkmarks that I require for Midnight Madness.

As far as why I made it the Opening Night film, I just think it's going to be a blast. The title alone is going to sell tickets. It starts the fest off on a really fun tone. You don't want to start your series off with a film like Martyrs, or Kill List—those are films that attack you with a ball-peen hammer. This film is a fun, good ride.

One of the things I've heard from audiences in the past is that they like it when a film is relatively unknown. They really enjoy the element of surprise, so going into a film where you're not necessarily aware of the director or the actors, that really helps. I've listened to that feedback, and I think All Cheerleaders Die is going to be one of those films.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Eli Roth
Stars: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Sky Ferreira, Magda Apanowicz, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Magdalena Apanowicz

Official synopsis: How far would you go for a cause you believe in? In horror master Eli Roth’s terrifying new film, a group of college students take their humanitarian protest from New York to the Amazon jungle, only to get kidnapped by the native tribe they came to save: a tribe that still practices the ancient rite of cannibalism, and has a healthy appetite for intruders.

Colin Geddes says: It's Eli Roth's much-anticipated return to directing. He hasn't directed a film since Hostel: Part II [2007]; I think people forget that. They've forgotten that because he's still consistently acting in films and producing films—he produced The Last Exorcism [2010], and he acted in and produced Aftershock [2013]. This is his return to direction, though, and it's a wild jungle action film, which happens to have cannibals in it.

It's all shot on location in the jungles of South America. It's a gory adventure film, but it also shows his attention to detail more so than anything he's done before.

As opposed to All Cheerleaders Die, The Green Inferno is a film I knew more about. It's funny, after I watched All Cheerleaders Die, I watched The Green Inferno right afterwards. It was late at night; I watched All Cheerleaders Die and I was so excited, on such a buzz and a high, that I couldn't go to sleep. I said to myself, "OK, I was going to save Green Inferno until tomorrow, but I'll watch it now."

This is Eli Roth's Burden of Dreams. It was literally shot on the same river where Aguirre, the Wrath of God was shot. They were five hours away from civilization.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Joe Begos
Stars: Graham Skipper, Vanessa Leigh, Josh Ethier

Official synopsis: Mark Fisher disappeared from his home in a brilliant flash of blue light almost two years ago. His friend Seth Hampton was the last to see him alive. Now a string of grisly, violent murders leads Seth to believe that Mark is back, and something evil is living inside of him.

Colin Geddes says: I saw this film when it was submitted last year, but it wasn't quite there yet. This year, they re-submitted it and fixed it up a little bit. When I called the director, Joe Begos, to invite the film into Midnight Madness, he was so excited. This was their first film; they paid for it on their credit cards. He said that it was actually Eli Roth who inspired him to become a movie director. He said, "I remember, on the DVD commentary for [Eli Roth's] Cabin Fever, he would talk about Midnight Madness, and he always talked about how it made him into a legitimate director and introduced the world of Cabin Fever. From there, I always wanted one of my films to play in Midnight Madness, but I didn't expect it to be my first film."

There was this really nice arc, then. I invited Almost Human early in the year, so after that, I kept saying to myself, "Man, I really hope The Green Inferno is good!" [Laughs.] And when it ended up being good, I was like, "Awesome!"

When the press release came out for Midnight Madness, Joe Begos was putting pictures on Instagram of the mention of his name in between Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson for All Cheerleaders Die and Eli Roth for The Green Inferno. He was so excited that his name was bookended by two independent horror greats.

Almost Human is a really fun film. It's a throwback to horror films from the '80s that had a drive to them. It's such a small, indie film. They've lived in Hollywood for a while, always talked about making a film, but then one day they looked at their credit cards and decided it was time to make one, finally. They figured out what they could max their credit cards out until, then went back home and started filming. It's really refreshing to hear a story like that, when people so often get stuck in ruts and fall into the abyss of Hollywood while trying to establish themselves there. Everyone in Hollywood is surrounded by equipment; all the resources are there, but no one's telling stories. They just sick of that and made a film.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso, Garrett Ryan Ewald

Official synopsis: Oculus is a spine-chilling supernatural tale of two damaged siblings (Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites) who, as children, witnessed their parents’ harrowing descent into madness and murder. At long last, brother and sister reunite as adults to expose and destroy the paranormal entity they believe is responsible: the Lasser Glass — a legendary mirror their family once owned.

Colin Geddes says: It's a very simple, smart story. It never gets lost in the trap that it sets up for the audience. This is a really good film that's going to get under people's skins. It's not a gory horror film; there's just something really sinister about it. I think this one's going to pop in the same way that Insidious did.

A lot of people don't realize how limited the resources are on some of these films, and judge them as if they're films that had unlimited resources. Mike Flanagan's first film, Absentia, was made for no money at all and is one of the creepiest, most effective films to come out in the last couple of years. My personal criticism has changed a lot in the last few years. I've realized that you have to take those things into account. You can't compare a $500,000 film to a $4 million movie. You just can't.

Oculus definitely had a higher budget than Absentia, but this time, he was giving more time to sit down and really think everything through. Being an artist and being given that kind of buffer means a lot. The producer, Trevor Macy, is the same producer who did The Strangers, another very small streamlined horror film.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Directors: Clif Prowse and Derek Lee
Stars: Clif Prowse, Derek Lee, Edo Van Breemen, Zachary Gray, Baya Rehaz

Official synopsis: Best friends Derek and Clif set out on a trip of a lifetime. Their plan: travel to the ends of the earth, see the world, and live life to the fullest. But the trip soon takes a dark and bloody turn. Just days in, one of the men shows signs of a mysterious affliction which gradually takes over his entire body and being. Now, thousands of miles from home, in a foreign land, they must race to uncover the source of his illness before it consumes him completely. Footage of their travels meant to document pleasant memories may now become evidence of one of the most shocking discoveries ever captured on film…and may be their only postcard home.

Colin Geddes says: Let's say it's a POV movie. I have very strong feelings on quote-unquote found-footage, because if that routine is going to work, then the footage has to be lost in the first place. And, most of the time, that's not the case. POV films, on the other hand, are a totally different case.

This is a POV film. It's about two friends who go off on a European tour, and they're blogging about it—they're recording it for their friends. And then one of them picks up a girl at a nightclub in Paris; they find him later on in bed, in a pool of bed, and the girl is gone. The guy survives, but something starts happening to him on their journey. Something is different about him.

I saw around 15 POV/found-footage films, and most of them were terrible. Making found-footage films, people think that's an easy thing to do, but it's actually a lot more taxing to try and pull those off. And usually, they just feel false. This one worked for me, though; it's a supernatural origin story along the lines of Chronicle.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Marvin Kren
Stars: Gerhard Liebmann, Edita Malovcic, Hille Beseler, Peter Knaack, Felix Römer, Brigitte Kren

Official synopsis: At a climate research station in the Alps, the scientists are stunned as the nearby melting glacier is leaking a red liquid. It quickly turns to be very special juice—with unexpected genetic effects on the local wildlife.

Colin Geddes says: I was really impressed by the director's first film, Rammbock, so I was really happy to hear that its director had made another movie. This is him moving into isolation horror, creature feature territory, into more of The Thing's territory. And it works.

It's exciting because it's actually the first film from Austria in Midnight Madness, ever. I always get excited when I can break in a new country. One year we had an animated film from Hungary, and that broke a record. I remember how excited I was when I picked our first film from Thailand. Even The Raid [released theatrically as The Raid: Redemption], that was our first film from Indonesia.

I'd seen a couple films from Austria, but horror films in Austria are a rarity.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Sion Sono
Stars: Jun Kunimura, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Hiroki Hasegawa, Gen Hoshino, Fumi Nikaido

Official synopsis: Two men, Muto and Ikegami, hate each other. Muto desperately wants to help his daughter Mitsuko star in a movie. Meanwhile, Ikegami falls in love with Mitsuko, knowing that she’s the daughter of his foe. Hirata, a filmmaker, and Koji, a young movie-lover, get dragged into this complicated situation that heads into an unexpected direction.

Colin Geddes says: The title alone is amazing, right? You want to buy a ticket as soon as you hear that. It's directed by Sion Sono, who's this kind of bad boy of Japanese art-house cinema. I was describing this film to someone the other day and they said it sounds like Super 8 with Japanese gangsters, and that pretty much nails it.

It's about a group of friends in Japan, in the 1980s, and all they want to do is make films. They're dedicated to making films. Years later, they still haven't made a film, and then their lives collide with this Japanese gangster whose daughter is a failed actress, and whose wife is coming out of jail. He hires this young crew to make a movie with his daughter.

I've been saying that we're going to need a special clean-up crew to sweep up the jaws that are going to be lying on the floor after this screening. There are so many WTF moments in this film. You are going to have such a good time with the audience around you during a screening of this film.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Juno Mak
Stars: Chin Siu-Ho, Kara Wai, Nina Paw, Anthony Chan, Lo Hoi Pang, Richard Ng, Chung Fat

Official synopsis: Juno Mak’s debut feature Rigor Mortis is an eerie and chilling, contemporary action- and special effects-laden homage to the classic Chinese vampire movies of the 1980s.

Colin Geddes says: This might sound a little pompous, but this is a post-modern take on the Hong Kong hopping vampire films. This gets a little more exotic and esoteric than the other films here. In the 1980s, there was this wave of horror films in Hong Kong called "the hopping vampire films," which were basically Chinese vampire films. In folklore and mythology, Chinese vampires weren't camera-friendly, they didn't really work for a film, so they invented this creature which became the Chinese vampire, and it hops.

The main film was called Mr. Vampire [1985], and if you're able to track it down, Rigor Mortis will make so much more sense. It has a lot of the same actors in it. It's basically this loving homage to those older films. The director, Juno Mak, hasn't made a film before this, but he's a huge pop singer in China. The film is gorgeous.

This one might be the Midnight Madness curveball this year—it might baffle people. There are just some really beautiful, crazy, wild images. The original Mr. Vampire was a kung-fu horror comedy; it's one of my favorite films. So to suddenly see this director return to those original actors is...can you tell I'm excited about this one? [Laughs.] But it's one that I know is going to be misunderstood, but there will also be a good portion of the audience who will get it and appreciate it.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto
Stars: Nao Ohmori, Mao Daichi, Shinobu Terajima, Matsuo Suzuki, Atsuro Watabe

Official synopsis: An ordinary man with an ordinary life joins a mysterious club. The membership lasts for one year only and there is one rule: no cancellation under any circumstance. The man enters into an entirely new and exciting world which he has never before experienced.

Colin Geddes says: The director, Hitoshi Matsumoto, has a following at TIFF from his past films, like Big Man Japan. In Japan, he's this huge TV comedian—the closest thing you could compare him to, and it wouldn't even be doing him justice, is Jerry Seinfeld at the height of Seinfeld's popularity. There's an entourage of, like, 30 people coming with this director.

R100 is really surreal and weird, but in a fun way. It's about a Japanese businessman versus an army of dominatrixes. And it's even crazier than that description implies.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS Section
Director: Alex de la Iglesia
Stars: Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Pepon Nieto, Carolina Bang, Terele Pavez, Jaime Ordoñez, Carlos Areces, Santiago Segura, Secun de la Rosa, Macarena Gomez, Grabriel Delgado, Carmen Maura

Official synopsis: The film turns on a robber band trying to flee to France after purloining 25,000 gold rings from a Spanish city. A curse falls on them and they fall into the clutches of the witches of the Navarrese town of Zugarramurdi.

Colin Geddes says: People have been really high on this film's trailer since it premiered online a few weeks back, talking about how wild, and insane, and out-of-control it looks. Well, the film goes places that it doesn't even hint at in that trailer.

It's great to have Eli Roth back for The Green Inferno, but we've also got Alex de la Iglesia back at Midnight Madness. He started at Midnight Madness with Accion Mutante [1993], and The Day of the Beast [1995], and Perdita Durango [1997], so it's really going to be fun to have him back in the Midnight Madness auditorium.

VANGUARD Section
Director: Alexandre Aja
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Max Minghella, Joe Anderson, Kelli Garner, Heather Graham, David Morse, Kathleen Quinlan, James Remar

Synopsis: Horns, a supernatural thriller driven by dark comedy, mystery and romance follows Ignatius Perrish as he awakens after a hard night of drinking to find he has grown a pair of horns. In addition to his devilish appearance, the horns cause people to fall into a trance and voice their most unspeakable thoughts, an effective tool in Ig’s quest to discover the truth of his girlfriend’s murder.

Colin Geddes says: I've never read the Joe Hill book, actually. It's Alex Aja, though, so, again, there's another Midnight Madness success story coming back to Toronto this year; he was at Midnight Madness with High Tension, the film that kickstarted his career. Horns is something totally different from him. It's exciting to see a director graduate and go to another level.

This is a film that could have worked in Midnight Madness, but it feels more appropriate for the Vanguard section. It's really a fun, strange, dark fantasy. It constantly slips back and forth between genres. It's a little bit more elevated than a horror film—it's a dark fantasy with a murder mystery wrapped around it, with a love story, too. Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple are both great.

VANGUARD Section
Director: Ti West
Stars: Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Kentucker Audley, Amy Seimetz, Gene Jones

Official synopsis: From acclaimed writer/director Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers) and horror master Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever, The Last Exorcism), The Sacrament follows two Vice media correspondents as they set out to document their friend’s search to find his missing sister. They travel outside of the United States to an undisclosed location where they are welcomed into the world of “Eden Parish,” a self-sustained rural utopia comprised of nearly 200 members. At the centre of this small, religious, socialist community is a mysterious leader known only as “Father.” As their friend reunites with his sister, it becomes apparent to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems. What started as just another documentary shoot soon becomes a race to escape with their lives.

Colin Geddes says: This shows Ti West maturing as a director. If you look at all of his past films, it's rare to see one where there are more than, say, four actors in a room. Here, he's playing with much more space, and many more extras and characters. It's also just his history, it's his retelling of the Jonestown massacre. And also, in many respects, since it's set up as following a documentary crew, it could be classified as a POV film, but it's one that works with a specific framing, narrative device.

Ti and I talked about whether or not it should be in Midnight Madness or Vanguard, but ultimately I felt that it's an elevated story, one that wouldn't have delivered to the Midnight Madness crowd in the ways that they're expecting. That just would have been the wrong platform for it.

VANGUARD Section
Directors: Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani
Stars: Klaus Tange, Jean-Michel Vovk, Sylvia Camarda, Sam Louwyck, Anna D'Annunzio, Manon Beuchot, Ursula Bedena, Birgit Yew, Hans de Munter

Official synopsis: A woman vanishes. Her husband inquires into the strange circumstances of her disappearance. Did she leave him? Is she dead? As he continues his search, he plunges into a world of nightmare and violence…

Colin Geddes says: If you like the aesthetic of Cattet and Forzani's Amer, this is even more of that. It's like a concept album. You're going to have watch it more than once to figure it out. It's beautiful, but there is a level of sexual violence that could have put it in Midnight Madness, but if we'd put it in Midnight Madness, that would have put this film in a box that it's much bigger than. It's a wild head-trip.