The countdown is on to Thursday's kickoff of the Toronto International Film Fest. We're half way through our week of previews, having already brought you 10 Big Launches, 14 Far East Faves, and 13 Slices of Big Screen Reality. Now we turn to the fantastic side of things with 12 genre picks. Tomorrow we'll be taking a look at some of the indies on the sales block at the fest.
All Cheerleaders Die
Both Lucky McKee (The Woman) and Chris Sivertson (I Know Who Killed Me) have four features under their respective belts. The two team up for this phantasmagorical high school revenge horror-comedy that has nabbed the opening night spot for this year's Midnight Madness program.
The Sacrament
Ti West's follow-up to The Innkeepers stars Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Kentucker Audley, Amy Seimetz, and Gene Jones. The messianic thriller premieres at Venice before making its way to TIFF's Vanguard section.
A Field in England
It's already opened in the UK and been gobbled up by Drafthouse Films for US consumption, but Ben Wheatley's fourth feature (Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers) is bound to stun TIFF audiences with its brilliantly tripped-out historio-psychedelic narrative. The black-and-white masterpiece stars Michael Smiley, Reese Shearsmith, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando, and Ryan Pope and screens as part of the Wavelengths section.
Horns
Daniel Radcliffe stars as a dude who grows horns in Alexandre Aja's (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D) latest supernatural thriller. Juno Temple, Heather Graham, David Morse, and Max Minhella co-star in this Vanguard title.
Break Loose
Russian director Alexey Uchitel's (Captive, The Edge) latest is this elite police versus gangster crime drama.
Proxy
Alexa Havins, Kristina Klebe, Alexia Rasmussen, and Joe Swanberg star in this Vanguard thriller about a woman trying to uncover the truth after a brutal attack. Zack Palmer (Quench, Scalene) directs.
Cannibal
Manuel Martin Cuenca's Spanish romantic-thriller tells the tale of a secret flesh eater who falls in love with his prospective victim.
Almost Human
The feature debut from Joe Begos is this ultra-indie horror-thriller about alien abductions and axe murderers.
The Green Inferno
The first feature directorial turn since 2007's Hostel 2, director-turned-producer extraordinaire Eli Roth takes us to Chile for this bloody take on Italian cannibal horror.
Canopy
It might be a stretch to call Aaron Wilson's Discovery-section feature debut a genre film, but this nearly wordless story of two downed World War 2 pilots in Singapore is sure to appeal to the Fantastic Fest crowd.
Witching & Bitching
Spanish auteur Alex de la Iglesia has been directing features since the early 90s, but many know him best for his 2010 tripped-out big top horror The Last Circus. His latest is the story of a hapless band of Spanish robbers who runs afoul of a coven of witches.
McCanick
Josh Waller's sophomore follow-up to the not-yet-released Raze is this crime thriller about a cop trying to track down the one man who knows his secret. David Morse, Cory Monteith, and Ciaran Hinds star.