I started writing a list of the Top 5 films that I was excited for at the Toronto After Dark Film Fest, but after going through the lineup again and again, I found it nearly impossible to narrow things down to JUST 5… so now you have a list of the Top 10 films that you should be checking out at the festival.
The festival is on from Oct 12-20 in downtown Toronto at the Scotiabank Theatre and honestly, I couldn’t be more excited. I am a WIMP when it comes to horror movies but over the years, I’ve worked at trying to appreciate them more and I’m proud to say that I’m a fan nowadays. Not only does Toronto After Dark feature horror movies though, but it also has amazing sci-fi/fantasy, action and cult films as well.
But anyways… you didn’t come here for all that… you want to see which movies are happening that you should check out. I get it. These are in no particular order with the exception of The Villainess which I am BEYOND excited to go see on Saturday.
1. The Villainess
Saturday October 14 @ 6pm
Sook-hee has been training since childhood to become the world’s most brutal assassin. When Sook-hee gets betrayed by a former lover turned crime-lord, she goes on a deadly rampage of revenge. But with an army of well-armed bodyguards in her way, it won’t be easy to get to her target.
2. Tragedy Girls
Friday October 20 @ 9:15pm and 11:59pm
Teenagers Sadie and McKayla love running a true crime blog at their school covering local murders. But without any exclusives, they’re not getting enough views and likes. For help they enlist a local serial killer who inspires them to become an anonymous serial killing duo themselves. As they post about the fresh new murders for their blog, bloody mayhem, hi-jinx and higher view counts ensue!
3. Sixty Minutes to Midnight
Thursday October 12 @ 9:45pm
On New Years Eve, former soldier Jack Darcy (Robert Nolan) wakes to find himself entered into a murderous new game show. He has sixty minutes to kill or be killed by a group of strange armed men who’ve surrounded his house. But what his would-be assassins haven’t realized is that Jack has learnt a trick or two from his military days, has a hidden cache of weapons and isn’t going down without a vicious fight!
4. Beyond Skyline
Saturday October 14 @ 9pm
When his son gets abducted by a terrifying alien mothership that’s covered the Los Angeles skyline, a tough-as-nails cop (THE PURGE’s Frank Grillo) embarks on a relentless journey to rescue him and defeat the vicious extraterrestrial invaders.
5. Rabbit
Sunday October 15 @ 4pm
Following a mysterious, near-fatal collapse in Germany, medical student Maude Ashton is plagued by a series of vivid dreams about her twin sister, who has been missing for several years. She returns to her native Australia, certain she now knows where to find her. Her journey takes her deep into the forest in a remote part of the country. It’s not long before Maude encounters a mysterious commune who she suspects are hiding a dark truth about her lost sibling. RABBIT is a dark, gothic Australian fairytale full of haunting imagery and unsettling sound design that will burrow its way into your soul!
6. Eat Locals
Monday October 16 @ 7pm
For the first time in 50 years, Britain’s secret society of vampires has decided to call a meeting. Little do they realize that a unit of vampire slaying soldiers has followed the neck biters to their countryside lair and are planning to wipe out the killer coven once and for all. It’s not long before a night of vampires vs slayers and plenty of blood-soaked mayhem ensues, all washed down with delightfully British humour!
7. Impossible Horror
Monday October 16 @ 9:30pm
After Lily, an insomniac young filmmaker, starts to hear a recurring sinister scream every night outside her apartment window, she teams up with a friend Hannah to try and track down the source of the terrifying noise. Soon the intrepid duo’s investigations lead them into a dark and sinister tangled web involving shadowy figures and a deadly supernatural force beyond their comprehension. An absolute treat for horror fans, IMPOSSIBLE HORROR takes you on a creepy, freaky mystery ride with nods to plenty of cult classics on the way.
8. Mayhem
Tuesday October 17 @ 7pm
Young lawyer Derek Cho is having a very bad day. He just got fired by his middle manager for an innocent mistake. Now he just wants a chance to talk to the CEO on the top floor to ask for his job back. There’s only one problem. The building just got put on a lockdown due to an outbreak of a rare psychotic rage virus that’s known for turning humans into uninhibited homicidal maniacs! If Derek’s going to survive and make it to the top, he’s going to have to kill a lot of his raging coworkers using whatever office products he can get his hands on! In-between all the fantastic bloody ultraviolence that ensues, MAYHEM brilliantly skewers the soulless corporate world.
9. Poor Agnes
Wednesday October 18 @ 9:30pm
Young Agnes (a mesmerizing Lora Burke) hides a dark secret in her small rural town. She’s turned to serial killing as a hobby. And she’s really good at it. She lures, captures and slays men and then covers up her tracks perfectly. But something about her latest catch Mike (Robert Notman), a mild mannered investigator makes her think he might be a keeper. Perhaps this time she’ll just tie him up in the basement as a pet to come home to. It’s not long before abductor and abductee begin to form a twisted domestic relationship, and tensions begin to rise as Agnes reverts back to her homicidal ways.
10. Cold Hell
Friday October 20 @ 7pm
When Ozge, a young immigrant cab driver accidentally witnesses a mysterious man’s latest brutal murder from her apartment window and he also sees her face, she knows it’s not long before she’ll be his next target. As the police don’t seem that sympathetic to her plight, Ozge – a fully trained kickboxer – decides to take matters into her own hands! It’s time for her to flip the script and turn from prey to predator and play a deadly game of mouse vs cat, trying to draw the killer out into the open and attack him before he can strike her or any one else. But the killer intends to match Ozge attack for attack. Intense jaw dropping car chases, gritty close quarter fights, and deadly collateral damage ensue across the city, as the killer and his prey strive to take each other out first by any violent means necessary!
Check out the full schedule for the festival here and buy your tickets before they sell out. If you’re headed out to the festival, what films are YOU most excited to check out? Let us know!
