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…
Category: Film Festivals
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…
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…
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: 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…
TAD 2021: International Shorts
The Toronto After Dark Film Festival unveils its International Shorts programme today. With an all virtual format this year, the Festival is not presenting a short before each feature, but is bundling them into two separate viewing packages, the International and the Canadian Shorts. Both collections feature a wealth of talent, and storytelling styles, and…
TAD 2021: Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It dir. Yernar Nurgaliyev
Kazakhstan delivers Toronto After Dark’s Opening Night Gala Film, Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It, and it sets up perfectly what to expect from TAD if this is your first time. There is going to be blood, wild on-screen deaths, laugh out loud moments, uncomfortable humour, and a lot of cross genre entertainment. Datsan (Daniar Alshinov)…
TIFF 2021: Saloum dir. Jean Luc Herbulot
The frenetic, genre jumping Saloum from Jean Luc Herbulot combining action beats with a revenge thriller, and dancing on the line of supernatural horror. Three bad-ass mercs, Chaka (Yann Gael) Rafa (Roger Sallah), and Minuit (Mentor Ba) who each exude a laconic cool in their own ways, are guns for hire, and getting a drug…
TIFF 2021: Where is Anne Frank? dir. Ari Folman
Waltz with Bashir directot Ar Folman delivers a poignant animated feature, that touches on some important concepts, and ideas. Kitty is the imaginary friend that Anne Frank wrote to in her diary, pouring her thoughts and feelings, while documenting the events of her life, including two years of living in hiding from the Nazis during…
TIFF 2021: Lakewood dir. Phillip Noyce
Naomi Watts stars in Phillip Noyce’s white knuckle thriller, Lakewood. Even though there is a melodramatic bent to the film, the movie personifies every parent’s nightmare, and shows that even on personal days, you’re still a parent 24/7. With the one year anniversary of her husband’s death approaching, Amy (Watts) is doing her best with…
