Festivals: Toronto After Dark Reviews
Toronto 2023: THE KING TIDE, Beware Gifts From the Sea
Living in a harsh landscape, somewhat apart and isolated, means you make certain choices about how much assistance you will receive, and how much protection you will offer your community. It also means that legends can grow up around people...
Toronto After Dark 2016 Review: FROM A HOUSE ON WILLOW STREET Frustrates As It Keeps Its Distance
Four kidnappers get more than they bargained for when they kidnap Katherine, the daughter of a diamond broker. They take her to an abandoned factory and prepare to hold her for a ransom. However, trouble starts brewing when they cannot...
Toronto After Dark 2016 Review: Does BLOOD FATHER Mark The Return of Mel Gibson?
John Link (Mel Gibson) is living out his probation in a trailer park on a desolate park in California, running a tattoo parlour out of his trailer. Having recently served a multi year prison sentence he desperately tries to keep...
Toronto After Dark 2016 Review: KILL COMMAND, A Promising Debut From FX Supervisor Steven Gomez
An elite squad is sent to a remote island for a dull and routine training session. A techie, a cyber enhanced human, Mills, is assigned to the group to monitor the team and investigate mysterious line of code in the...
Toronto After Dark 2015 Review: PATCHWORK's Combo Of Laughs And Gore Will Leave You In Stitches
Jennifer, Ellie and Madeleine could not be more different from each other. Jennifer is a professional businesswoman ready to celebrate her birthday and closing a big deal at work. Ellie is a party girl looking for a good time. And...
Toronto After Dark 2015 Review: THE HEXECUTIONERS, Welcome To The Job From Hell
Sanctioned euthanasia is a full blown industry and Malison is just starting to get her feet wet at her new job. After a rough start she is paired up with seasoned veteran Olivia and together they head out to the...
Toronto After Dark 2015 Review: THE HOLLOW ONE Demonstrates More Depth Than Its Title Lets On
Rachel Wade left the family farm two years ago for the big city after a tragic accident took the life of her mother. Now living in downtown Seattle the disappearance of her father compels her to return and face her...
Toronto After Dark 2015 Review: THE DIABOLICAL Covers The Basics Of Haunted Houses With A Hint Of Sci-Fi
Let us jump right into The Diabolical, because that is what writer/director Alistair Legrand and writing partner Luke Harvis do. Right off the hop we meet Ali Later as Madison, a single mom who is trying to hold on to...
Toronto After Dark 2014 Review: THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN, A Solid Slasher Flick With Style To Spare
The Town That Dreaded Sundown begins with Texarkana resident Jami Lerner at the local drive-in with Corey. They are watching the original 1976 flick at an annual screening on Hallowe'en night. Jami is not having a good time so the...
Toronto After Dark 2014 Review: WHY HORROR? Speaks To Fans And Outsiders Alike
As a longtime and committed fan of the horror genre, Tal Zimmerman takes us on a journey to discover its roots, influences, players and place in different cultures. His travels will take him as far away as Japan, England and...
Toronto After Dark 2014 Review: WOLVES Takes A Bite Out Of Pretty YA Fare
Cayden Richards had it all. He was the quarterback of his high school football team. He had a smoking hot girlfriend on his arm. Yep. Senior year was looking pretty good. But there was trouble stirring. Cayden kept having nightmares. On...
Toronto After Dark 2014 Review: HELLMOUTH Is One Man's Existential Crisis
Ubiquitous character actor Stephen McHattie is always a pleasure to see up on the big screen. From supporting roles in Hollywood films like The Fountain, Watchmen and A History of Violence, to central performances in indie Canadian productions like the...
TADFF 2013: MOTIVATIONAL GROWTH Defies And Surprises
And the winner for Best Q&A at Toronto After Dark 2013 is... envelope please... (rip tear rip)... DON THACKER from MOTIVATIONAL GROWTH!!! Ian Folivor, a depressed and reclusive 30-something, finds himself taking advice from a growth in his bathroom after a...
TADFF 2013: SOLO Left Me Feeling... Stranded.
[Solo screens tonight at 9:30pm at the Scotiabank Cinema as part of Toronto After Dark's lineup. Tonight is Double Scene Points Night so if you buy your ticket you earn... double... your Scene points. Odd Thomas also screens at 7:00pm....
TADFF 2013 Review: STALLED Does Not Poop On The Zombie Comedy Genre!
(Stalled plays as part of Toronto After Dark's Zombie Appreciation Night. It screens this Saturday, October 19th at 7:00pm at the Scotiabank Theatre) You may think to yourself "can an entire film play out within the confines of a workplace bathroom and...
THE LAST EXORCISM Review
[With the film releasing tomorrow now's the time to revisit my review of The Last Exorcism.]Do not hold the marketing campaign for Daniel Stamm's The Last Exorcism against it. It is not Stamm's fault that marketers opted to sell the...
TADFF 10: HEARTLESS Review
"Beauty is the beginning of terror." From that line of poetry/exposition, there is a bit of a promise (and a warning) of things to come in Philip Ridley's dark fairy tale, Heartless. Starting out as a grim London East Side...
TADFF 10: ALL ABOUT EVIL Review
While introducing a kids matinee performance of The Wizard of Oz (with Dad both the theatre-owner-producer and Mom the Wicked Witch of the West), young Deborah catches a bit of performance anxiety resulting in an embarassing wetness on her Dorothy...
TADFF 10: CENTURION Review
[The first film playing on a UK double-bill at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival tonite, I suppose it is time to revisit my review. Note there are other takes on the film below in the links.]Michael Fassbender is Centurion...
TADFF 10: ALIEN vs. NINJA Review
You gotta love this tagline from The Sushi Typhoon website. IF IT BLEEDS...NINJAS CAN KILL IT!...
