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Toronto After Dark Film Fest: 5 Films We’re Stoked to See

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TADFF Toronto After Dark

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival (known as TADFF) has announced their full roster of films for the 2018 lineup (running October 11-19), and there are some choice cuts this year.

Toronto After Dark runs annually in Toronto, Ontario (Canada), bringing nine nights of horror, sci-fi, and action. As with their 2017 Festival, I will attend and report back to share the scares (to our local or visiting readers, I hope to see you there! Come find me!).

I’ve listed the top 5 films I cannot wait to see (click on each title for the trailer). This… was a difficult choice. And maybe I cheated a little bit. Which is fine.

You can find a full list of the 18 titles playing at this year’s festival over at TADFF’s website.

via TADFF

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID (Mexico) Toronto Premiere
Director – Issa Lopez
“With her latest feature film, director Issa Lopez perfectly balances the the harsh reality and fantastic nightmares of the street children of Mexico. Part PAN’S LABYRINTH, part CITY OF GOD, this creepy Guillermo del Toro-esque fairytale is about a young girl whose supernatural intuition leads her to form an alliance with a gang of orphaned boys. A critically acclaimed winner of over 20 film festival awards.”
Tigers Are Not Afraid was one of Guillermo Del Toro’s top films of 2017, and it looks stunning.

via TADFF

THE RANGER (USA) Toronto Premiere
Director – Jenn Wexler
“Jenn Wexler’s SXSW film fest hit is a good old fashioned crowd-pleasing throwback to 80s slasher movies, with the added bonus of a kick-ass punk soundtrack! A bunch of teen punks head off for some mayhem in the woods. It’s not long before they come up against the local authority – an unhinged park ranger with a serious axe to grind – and they’re in a bloody fight for their lives!”
Read our review by Jacob Davison!

via TADFF

SATAN’S SLAVES (Indonesia) Special Presentation
Director – Joko Anwar
“One of the scariest films of the year, Indonesian maestro Joko Anwar’s (MODUS ANOMALI) latest horror sensation has become a massive box office hit in Asia! In this supernatural haunting tale, a family is terrorized by demonic forces including the spirit of their recently deceased mother. “
I love this trailer. Satan’s Slaves looks terrifying, and I am 100% here for it.

via IMDb

OVERLORD (USA) Canadian Premiere
Director – Julius Avery

“With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission that’s crucial to the invasion’s success. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen. From producer J.J. Abrams, OVERLORD is a thrilling, pulse-pounding action adventure with a twist.”
Overlord looks viciously, deliciously fun. I’ve heard nothing but good things out of its American premiere at Fantastic Fest, so Canadian genre fans are going to want to get in on this one.

via IMDb

YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER (USA) International Premiere
Director – Brett Simmons
“YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER is one of the smartest and funniest horror films you will see this year! In the middle of the night, a remote summer camp counselor Sam (CABIN IN THE WOODS’ Fran Kranz) calls up Chuck (BUFFY’s Alyson Hannigan), his best friend back home, in a blind panic! Sam’s surrounded by brutally killed fellow counselors and worried there’s an axe-wielding psycho on the loose! Luckily Chuck’s well-versed in slasher movie tropes and she leads Sam through all the necessary steps to survive the night. At the same time they try to identify the actual killer. With great banter between two delightful leads, a brutal killer in the woods, and lots of clever bloody twists, YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER is a horror fan’s delight!”
Fran Kranz! Alyson Hannigan! You Might Be the Killer looks like the perfect love letter to the slasher subgenre.

Bonus entry:
MEGA TIME SQUAD (New Zealand) Toronto Premiere
Director – Tim van Dammen
“In this sci-fi comedy hit from New Zealand, a small-town criminal tries to use an ancient time travel device to defeat a brutal local crime boss. It’s soon clear that time travel has unintended consequences and can create as many problems as its solves! Don’t miss an absolute crowd-pleaser from some of the same people who previously worked on the festival hit, DEATHGASM!”
Is this a horror film? No. Do I care? No. Mega Time Squad looks fun as hell.

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs October 11-19. You can keep an eye out for the full schedule and single ticket sales on their website.

Artwork by Gary Pullin – via TADFF

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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