TIFF 09: Midnight Madness Lineup Announced
Debi Moore
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The 34th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 09), which runs September 10 to 19, 2009, has announced its complete Midnight Madness lineup, and once again we’re left to wonder why the hell we don’t live in Canada. This year’s Midnight Madness offerings include crazed animation, chick fights, zombies, vampires, a possessed cheerleader, exhilarating martial arts, and more!
Colin Geddes, TIFF programmer, calls it “a showcase of some of the most highly anticipated thrillers and chillers of the year and adds, “Bloody proms and zombies seem to pop up as main themes, but I’ve made sure to inject some truly bizarre action into the mix with animated plastic toys from Belgium and Russ Meyer inspired fighting femme fatales.”
The fest opens with the world premiere of Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body and follows that up with the films listed below:
A Town Called Panic – Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, Belgium/Luxembourg/France
North American Premiere
An outlandish animation style captures the absurd wit and surreal adventures of plastic toys Cowboy, Indian and Horse.
Bitch Slap – Rick Jacobson, USA
World Premiere
In this campy action comedy from the creators of Xena and Hercules, three hot-blooded women try to uncover some booty in the desert using feminine charms, fists and machine guns.
Daybreakers – Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, Australia/USA
World Premiere
Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill star in this sci-fi horror about a future populated by vampires where humans are the minority.
George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead – George A. Romero, Canada
World Premiere
Master director George A. Romero returns to his world of the undead, this time pitting two feuding clans in the middle of the fallout of a zombie epidemic.
The Loved Ones – Sean Byrne, Australia
International Premiere
A troubled teen’s prom dreams are shattered by a series of painful events that take place under the mirrored disco ball, involving syringes, nails, power drills and a secret admirer in this wild mash-up of Pretty in Pink and Misery.
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning – Tony Jaa, Thailand
Canadian Premiere
Martial-arts superstar Tony Jaa stars in and directs this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. Featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants, this prequel takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial-arts styles – while proving him to be a promising director as well.
[REC] 2 – Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza, Spain
North American Premiere
In the follow-up to the acclaimed [REC], a SWAT team enters the old apartment to control an epidemic with terrifying results.
Solomon Kane – Michael J. Bassett, United Kingdom
World Premiere
From Robert E. Howard, the legendary creator of Conan, comes this tale of a savage mercenary in Sixteenth Century England who owes the devil his soul and seeks to redeem himself by fighting evil.
Symbol – Hitoshi Matsumoto, Japan
International Premiere
Japanese comedy superstar Hitoshi Matsumoto stars in and directs this absurd and outlandish comedy about a man trying to escape a unique dilemma.
For more, visit the TIFF 09 official website.
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