Toronto is no stranger to film festivals of all kinds. From TIFF to Hotdocs, there is a festival for everyone. Now, as we approach Halloween, The Toronto After Dark Film Festival is getting ready to start, and with it bringing unique horror, mystery and genre cinema to the Scotiabank Cinema in downtown Toronto.
Every year, TADFF hand selects some fantastic genre cinema for horror fans in and around the city. With it quickly coming to October, they have recently announced the first 10 films fans can expect when they buy the passes. From strange horror from around the world, to some high concept monster flicks, fans will be in for a treat should they wish to give this years festival a look.
EXTRA ORDINARY (IRELAND)
Opening Gala Film & Toronto Premiere. Director – Mike Ahern & Enda Loughman.
Synopsys:
“Rose, a sweet, lonely driving instructor in rural Ireland, is gifted with supernatural abilities. Rose has a love/hate relationship with her ‘talents’ & tries to ignore the constant spirit related requests from locals – to exorcise possessed rubbish bins or haunted gravel. But! Christian Winter, a washed-up, one-hit-wonder rock star, has made a pact with the devil for a return to greatness! He puts a spell on a local teenager- making her levitate. Her terrified father, Martin Martin, asks Rose to help save his daughter. Rose has to overcome the fear of her supernatural gift & work with Martin to save the girl, get the guy and be home in time for a light snack…maybe a yogurt or something…”
COME TO DADDY (NEW ZEALAND, CANADA & IRELAND)
Toronto Premiere. Director – Ant Timpson.
Synopsys:
“Norval Greenwood, a privileged man-child arrives at the beautiful and remote coastal cabin of his estranged father, who he hasn’t seen in 30 years. He quickly discovers that not only is dad a disapproving jerk, he also has a shady past that is rushing to catch up with him. Now, hundreds of miles from his cushy comfort zone, Norval must battle with demons both real and perceived in order to reconnect with a father he barely knows. “
THE ASSENT (USA)
World Premiere. Director – Pearry Teo.
Synopsys:
“After a series of disturbing supernatural events in his home, Joel a young single father, comes to suspect that his young son may be possessed. Soon Joel receives a visit from Father Lambert, a controversial exorcist in town whose last patient died during his treatment. As increasing chilling occurrences begin to unfold, the priest informs a resistant Joel that unless he can successfully perform an exorcism, the devil will soon take full control of his boy. “
PARADISE HILLS (SPAIN, USA)
Toronto Premiere. Director – Alice Waddington.
Synopsys:
” A mysterious boarding school perfectly reforms wayward girls to fit their surroundings’ exact desires. “
THE ODD FAMILY: ZOMBIE ON SALE (SOUTH KOREA)
Toronto Premiere. Director – Lee Min-jae.
Synopsys:
“The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale is a 2019 South Korean comedy film directed by Lee Min-jae, starring Jung Jae-young, Kim Nam-gil, Uhm Ji-won, Lee Soo-kyung, Jung Ga-ram and Park In-hwan.”
WITCHES IN THE WOODS (CANADA)
North American Premiere. Director – Jordan Barker.
Synopsys:
“Jill, a tenacious UMass freshman, abandons her studies for an off-the-grid snowboarding trip. When their SUV mysteriously becomes lost, temperatures fall and the group dynamic unravels as a virtual and then literal witch hunt begins.”
BLOOD MACHINES (FRANCE, UNITED STATES)
Toronto Premiere. Director – Seth Ickerman.
Synopsys:
“An artificial intelligence escapes her spaceship to turn into a female ghost and challenges two blade runners to an galactic chase.”
MUTANT BLAST (PORTUGAL)
Toronto Premiere. Director – Fernando Alle.
Synopsys:
” Maria, a fearless soldier, and TS-347, a man with superhuman strength, are being pursued by a military cell responsible for scientific experiments that have resulted in a zombie apocalypse. On the way, they will meet Pedro, a man with few ambitions and a great hangover. Together, they will try to escape to a safe place, but complications will cross their paths in the form of a nuclear bomb. “
THE FURIES (AUSTRALIA)
Special Presentation. Director – Tony D’Aquino.
Synopsys:
“A woman is kidnapped and finds herself an unwilling participant in a deadly game where women are hunted by masked men.”
THE WRETCHED (USA)
Closing Gala Film & Toronto Premiere. Director – Brett & Drew Pierce.
Synopsys:
“A defiant teenage boy, struggling with his parent’s imminent divorce, faces off with a thousand-year-old witch, who is living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door.”
The Toronto After Dark Film Festival will run from October 17-25 at Scotiabank Theatre in Downtown Toronto. You can puchase passes now at the TADFF website.
