Closing out the Toronto After Dark Film Festival today is the UK film Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break. And what a way to close the festival! Without disclosing too much, this sure fire crowd pleaser follows Paul Dood (Tom Meeten) in his pursuit of a glimmer of internet fame by auditioning for internet sensation Jack…
Author: TD Rideout
Damien: Omen II (1978) – Don Taylor, and Mike Hodges
After the success of Dick Donner’s The Omen in 1976, the company was eager to deliver a sequel, and we see a story that gives us a teenaged Damien (Johnathan Scott-Taylor), living with his uncle, Richard Thorn (William Holden) and aunt, Ann Thorn (Lee Grant), while attending a military academy. As strange deaths begin to…
TAD 2021: Super Z dir. Julien de Volte, and Arnaud Tabarly
Zombie features at Toronto After Dark are never your run of the mill selections. With so many entries in this horror sub-genre, and so many ways to adapt the subject matter to social commentary, it’s unusual to find a unique offering in the field. France’s Super Z is definitely unique. Having its World Premiere virtually…
TAD 2021: The Free Fall dir. Adam Stilwell
Toronto After Dark delivers a gaslighting character thriller with The Free Fall, enjoying its Canadian premiere, and comes in as one of my favorite films of the festival. That being said, I saw the truth of what was going on before everything was revealed, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable ride. Sara (Andrea…
M*A*S*H (1977) – The Grim Reaper, Comrades In Arms: Part One, and Part Two
Burt Prelutsky pens The Grim Reaper which sees Hawkeye (Alan Alda) running afoul of a goal focussed colonel, Bloodworth (Charles Aidman) in this episode that first aired on 29 November, 1977. Bloodworth is a frequent visitor to the 4077th warning of the number of casualties he expects from his assaults, and maneuvers against the enemy….
TAD 2021: Ditched dir. Christopher Donaldson
The Carpenter-esque, Canadian-made, Ditched is available for streaming from the Toronto After Dark film festival today. I think I enjoyed the idea of it more than the actual movie itself. Melina (Marika Sila), a paramedic, wakes up in her overturned ambulance, and has to brace herself for a long violent night of the soul, as…
TAD 2021: Nightshooters dir. Marc Price
Nightshooters is a kinetic, frenetic, UK actioner laced with humour, cold tea, and explosive gore, and it’s enjoying its Canadian premiere on today’s line up of Toronto After Dark titles, as the virtual format of the film festival continues! Falling squarely into the wrong place wrong time of action films, the film follows a group…
The House of the Devil (2009) – Ti West
Ti West films can be very divisive, you either love them or hate them, and I have to be honest, I fall firmly into the like them category. Having said that, the first time I sat through The House of the Devil, I was a little disappointed by it, people are right when they say…
TAD 2021: Post Mortem dir. Peter Bergendy
Toronto After Dark delivers it’s first spectral tale of the festival, with the beautifully crafted Hungarian film, Post Mortem from director Peter Bergendy. This one, has all the trappings of a classic ghost story, and does it right, well, and without going overboard on the visual effects. Tomas (Viktor Klem) is recovering from a near…
TAD 2021: Alien On Stage dir. Lucy Harvey & Danielle Kummer
The right idea, at the right time, can be magic. It happened in 1979 when Ridley Scott delivered the first true science fiction horror film. It also happened again in 2013, in Dorset, when a group of amatuer actors, and professional bus drivers decided to bring the film to the stage instead of their usual…
The X-Files (2000) – Hollywood A.D., and Fight Club
David Duchovny writes and directs Hollywood A.D., that sees Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) being misinterpreted on the big screen. First airing on 30 April, 2000, the agents find themselves involved in a strange case involving an item known as the Lazarus Bowl, which may have the words Christ spoke to raise Lazarus from…
TAD 2021: Canadian Shorts
Canada delivers its own Shorts programme for Toronto After Dark, with 9 selections, that like the International Shorts features a variety of styles, sensibilities, and genre mashing. There’s some great work in here, and despite the fact that none of the films were as laugh out loud as the highly enjoyable Shiny New World, there…
