The 9 most anticipated films at the 9th annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival

Since this year marks the 9^th annual for the Toronto After Dark Film Festival (TAD for short), we will run down 9 of the most anticipated film playing this year, in what looks to be one of the strongest overall lineups of the festival’s history.

Housebound

If you haven’t already procured tickets for tonight’s opening film then you better get down there really early for the rush line! Housebound had been leaving genre fans ecstatic for months now after a wildly successful festival run. The horror comedy from New Zealand about a haunted house has been a major crowd pleaser everywhere it has played. If its half as good as What we do in the Shadows, another New Zealand horror comedy that debuted at TIFF this year, then it should be a major hit.

ABC’s of Death 2

While the first ABC’s was uneven and even downright awful in parts this new incarnation features a brand new crop of talented filmmakers, some may argue its a more talented bunch but that is for them to debate, and more importantly perhaps this time around there was clear guidelines delivered for the filmmakers. The outcome, from word of mouth coming out of Fantastic Fest, is a film that is miles above its predecessor.

Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead

Another sequel, and another film that is miles ahead of its original. This played to massive reaction and a feverishly excited crown in Montreal at Fantasia where I saw it, and the film delivers in almost every way. By turning into a more action/comedy oriented style of storytelling, Dead Snow 2 features a epic feel and packs more laughs in it’s first half than the entire first film. A guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Late Phases

Lately anything Nick D’Amici has delivered has been striking gold. His fourth collaboration with director Jim Mickle, Cold in July, has been receiving rave reviews from festivals all year long and Late Phases has given him a chance to stretch out on his own, with apparent great success. The story of a elderly community being stalked by a werewolf carries overtones of Bubba HoTep, which is never a bad thing.

Time Lapse

The one film I regret missing at Fantasia this year that actually played while I was in Montreal was Time Lapse. Then the buzz started at the pub that night, the reviews started showing up and they were all saying the same thing…..I had made a big mistake. Thankfully TAD will allow me to correct this mistake.

Wyrmwood

A certain friend of mine has been hyping me on Wyrmwood for over 9 months now…he knows who he is, This post apocalyptic take on the zombie invasion looks to include another iconic part of it’s Australian heritage into the mix, Mad Max. Crazy outfits with souped up cars and zombie splatter everywhere, consider us sold.

Why Horror?

I was fortunate enough while at Fantasia to see some previews of this film during the film market’s ‘works in progress’ panel. It was more than enough to wet my appetite for more. Tal Zimmerman (Rue Morgue writer and horror enthusiast) makes a compelling subject for a documentary, and the scenes where his mother watches the same films while being measured for stress levels are priceless.

Hellmouth

Canadian production company Foresight Features returns after last years uneven effort Septic Man with the 2^nd of 3 films written by Tony Burgess specifically for the group, Hellmouth. The film stars Canadian indie stalwarts Stephen McHattie and Julian Richings and features a throw back style with its camera design.  It also features a killer trailer.

The Babadook

The final entry on this list is the top of this list as well, Babadook has been leaving a swath of overwhelmed and ecstatic audiences behind it for months now and promises to be the scariest film of this year’s fest. This film was the first to sell out this year and did so in less than 24 hours, a testament to the incredible buzz it has generated. It’s also the 3^rd Australian film on this list, we are sensing a trend here.

For more information on the festival, check out the schedule link here.

See you all at the movies!

Movie Junkie To