The Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a scintillating showcase of horror, action, sci-fi, and cult cinema. Since its inception in 2006, the festival has grown to be one of the nation’s best with an impressive track record of genre films that have gone on to become fan favorites. 

TAD (as it’s affectionately known) has just announced the first ten films in its lineup. This year offers some high-concept sci-fi, a quirky zombie comedy, a sun-scorched manhunt, Elijah Wood’s on-screen return to genre cinema, and more. 

The festival runs from October 17-25, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario. For more information and to stay updated on the event, check out their website.

The Assent (USA – World Premiere)

Directed by Pearry Reginald Teo, Starring Robert Kazinsky, Peter Jason, Hannah Ward.

Synopsis: 

Every possession has three acts: 1) the Possession 2) the Affliction and 3) the Assent — the moment when the person finally surrenders and consents to the demon as being part of their soul…

After spending three years in prison for the death of an 8-year-old during a failed exorcism, Father Lambert seeks redemption on a young single father, Joel Clarke, whom he believes has been marked by the Devil himself. Conjuring ‘deliverance’ (unsanctioned exorcisms), Father Lambert convinces Joel that without his help, he will lose his son forever. But there is an even darker force at work.

Blood Machines (France/USA – Canadian Premiere)

Directed by Raphaël Hernandez & Savitri Joly-Gonfard, Starring Anders Heinrichsen, Noémie Stevens, Christian Erickson.

Synopsis: 

Sci-fi fans are in for a glorious treat with this stunning new space epic about a bounty hunter in pursuit of a mysterious spaceship run by an Artificial Intelligence that has the ability to take on human form. The sound design — inspired by John Carpenter amongst others — comes from acclaimed synth wave maestro Carpenter Brut.

Come to Daddy (New Zealand/Canada/Ireland – Toronto Premiere)

Directed by Ant Timpson, Starring Elijah Wood, Steven McHattie, Martin Donovan, Michael Smiley.

Synopsis: 

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.

Extra Ordinary (Ireland – Toronto Premiere)

Directed by Mike Ahern & Eda Loughman, Starring Will Forte, Maeve Higgins, Barry Ward.

Synopsis: 

A woman who has supernatural abilities must save a possessed girl. Though driving instructor Rose has a love-hate relationship with her abilities, she decides to help Martin and his daughter Sarah.

The Furies (Australia)

Directed by Tony D’Aquino, Starring Airlie Dodds, Linda Ngo, Taylor Ferguson.

Synopsis: 

Kidnapped and afraid, a woman finds herself fighting to stay alive as an unwilling participant in a deadly game where women are hunted by masked men.

Mutant Blast (Portugal – Canadian Premiere)

Directed by Fernando Alle, Starring Pedro Barão Dias, Maria Leite, Joaquim Guerreiro.

Synopsis: 

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 Odd Family: Zombie on Sale (South Korea – Toronto Premiere)

Directed by Lee Min-jae, Starring Jae-yeong Jeong, Ga-ram Jung, Nam-gil Kim.

Synopsis: 

When a pharmaceutical company’s illegal experiments inadvertently create a zombie, the strange Park family finds it and tries to profit from it.

Paradise Hills (Spain/USA – Toronto Premiere)

Directed by Alice Waddington, Starring Milla Jovovich, Awkwafina, Emma Roberts.

Synopsis: 

A mysterious boarding school perfectly reforms wayward girls to fit their surroundings’ exact desires.

Witches in the Woods (Canada – North American Premiere)

Directed by Jordan Barker, Starring Hannah Kasulka, Alexander De Jordy, Corbin Bleu.

Synopsis: 

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.

The Wretched (USA – Toronto Premiere)

Directed by Brett Pierce & Drew T. Pierce, Starring John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Zarah Mahler.

Synopsis: 

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.

For previous Toronto After Dark reviews and interviews, click here! And if you’re a bit too far south of the border for Toronto After Dark, be sure to check out iHorror’s very own film festival! Click here for info and tickets.