It's one of my favorite films of the past few years and Ole Bornedal's Deliver Us From Evil will be hitting Toronto cinema screens starting on October 8th. This is one nasty, gripping piece of work and I cannot recommend it highly enough for all of you Toronto locals.

Montreal, Wednesday September 22^nd, 2010 - After its Canadian Premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, its Quebec Premiere at the 2010 Fantasia International Film Festival, and a theatrical release in Montreal where it garnered raving reviews, DELIVER US FROM EVIL (original Danish title FRI OS FRA DET ONDE) will finally be screening in Toronto from October 8^th at the Carlton Theatre with an English subtitled copy. The animated short film LAND OF THE HEADS, provided by the NFB, will be playing beforehand.

 

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Lars and Johannes are brothers with very little in common. Johannes is a high-powered lawyer with a beautiful wife and two children; Lars is a truck driver and a drunken brute who beats his girlfriend. Having returned to his hometown in the country, Johannes hopes for a less hectic, more genuine lifestyle. But trouble is underfoot when Lars runs over a woman with his truck. He sees only one way out: put the blame on Alain, a Bosnian refugee with impaired mental functions. But when Lars, the God-fearing husband of the victim, and his friends close in on the Bosnian, Johannes stands up for the man and shelters him. Undeterred, the violent, drunken horde makes its way to Johannes' secluded house, where the family and Alain fear for their lives. When words no longer suffice to contain the madness, a siege begins, in which unchained anarchy dictates a scenario of terror... DELIVER US FROM EVIL is a piercing insight into human nature driven berserk.

 

Written and Directed by Ole Bornedal (NIGHTWATCH, I AM DINA, THE SUBSTITUTE, JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY), the film stars Lasse Rimmer (in his first film role, a famous Danish Stand-up comedian and TV personality), Lene Nystrøm (in her first film role and part of the pop band Aqua), Jens Andersen (ANJA & VIKTOR - FLAMING LOVE, POLLE FICTION), Pernille Vallentin (JUST LIKE HOME, NORDKRAFT) and Mogens Pedersen (in his first film role).

 

The Danish social thriller was awarded the Best Motion Picture Award in the Noves Vision section of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, a Special Award of the Jury at the Fantasporto International Film Festival, Bodil Awards (from the Danish National Association of Film Critics) for Best Supporting Actor (Jens Andersen) and Best Supporting Actress (Pernille Vallentin), as well as the Best Supporting Actress Award (Pernille Vallentin) at the Copenhagen Robert Festival. Over the last year, DELIVER US FROM EVIL was also part of the programming of the Halifax Atlantic Film Festival, the Hamptons Film Festival, the Pusan International Film Festival, the Tallin Black Nights Film Festival, the Istanbul International Film Festival and the Danger After Dark section of the Philadelphia Film Festival, amongst many others.

 

LAND OF THE HEADS

A vampire is forced to go out every night to separate children from their heads. The reason? His vain wife wants to replace her wrinkled head with one that is young and pretty. How awful! Especially since the lady of the house is never satisfied and the heads keep piling up on the floor. How will our reluctant vampire ever stop this vicious cycle?

 

In a new take on the horror film classics, directors Cédric Louis and Claude Barras create a tale at once macabre and funny. It recalls the bizarre worlds and expressionist landscapes so characteristic of Tim Burton. A feast for the eyes and a treat for the mind!