Toronto After Dark 2026: Nature Thriller WHALEFALL to Open 19th Edition

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival (TADFF) has officially unveiled its lineup for its 19th edition of exciting new horror, sci-fi and action films, which will screen from October 14 - 18, 2026 at the Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre (259 Richmond St W) and CineCycle (129 Spadina Ave). Across these five thrilling nights, Toronto audiences will enjoy a fantastic showcase of 14 feature premieres, as well as 33 brilliant genre short films from Canada and around the world. 

 

Single tickets go on sale on September 29, but festival passholders (both Cine-Maniac and All-Nighter tiers) can already begin reserving tickets during an exclusive window from September 25 to September 28.

 

The festival kicks off with the Canadian Premiere of Brian Duffield’s WHALEFALL. A tense and emotionally-charged survival thriller starring Austin Abrams (RESIDENT EVIL) and Josh Brolin (WEAPONS), the film depicts the harrowing story of a scuba-diver (Abrams) who finds himself swallowed whole by a sperm whale and trapped inside the animal’s stomach. With a dwindling supply of oxygen left in his tank, the young man turns to the nautical and life lessons his father passed on to him in a desperate bid to survive.

 

Two takes on the intersection of capitalism and body horror highlight the festival’s slate of International Programming: SPECIES (d. Marion Le Corroller, whose 2025 short MELTED DOLL screened at last year’s edition) is an energetic, blood-soaked parable set within the life-or-death world of modern medicine. Edwin’s SLEEP NO MORE follows two siblings travelling to Jakarta to investigate the grisly death of their mother while she was working at an old wig factory - only to discover that her “accident” was not an isolated incident.

 

Toronto After Dark’s Friday Vampire Night pairs the previously announced I LOVE PARIS with the Canadian Premiere of RED SNOW: Ilja Rautsi’s holiday ho-ho-horror about an angsty teen whose vampire fantasies are fractured when a horrifically violent undead creature dressed as Jolly Old St. Nick shows up at her family’s doorstep.

 

Two films that are punk in both form and ethos, MATAPANKI (d. Diego “Mapache” Fuentes) follows a ground-level superhero whose powers are activated by alcohol; while HALLOWARRIOR finds young Pumpkin (Milly Shapiro from HEREDITARY) on a post-apocalyptic Halloween defending her home from cannibalistic intruders.

 

Representing the festival’s Canadian Programming, Sam Scott’s TURN IT UP! offers the story of a struggling indie band turning to a cursed melody for fame, unaware that the melody opens up a dangerous portal between dimensions; and NO LONGER HUMANS (directed by Toronto filmmaker Luca D’Andrea) is a queer coming-of-age love story about a world in which death no longer exists. Shot on 16mm film, D’Andrea’s daring debut feature will be making its North American Premiere in the festival’s Late Night Programme.

 

Canadian Filmmaking will be further represented across Toronto After Dark’s popular short film slate, which pairs a Canadian short with all feature films across the festival and includes dedicated sidebars for both Canadian and International selections. This year’s festival features 33 short films, including the buzzy MAN EATING PUSSY: an Audience Award Winner at Fantasia, directed by Emily Lawson and starring Grace Glowicki.

 

The lineup also features the Ontario Premieres of THE FOX (d. Dario Russo) and DRAG (d. Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer). In THE FOX, a cunning fox (voiced by Olivia Colman) convinces an impressionable foxhunter (Jai Courtney) to turn his wife (Emily Browning) into the foxhunter’s idea of the perfect woman: a dark folktale built around the age old adage “be careful what you wish for”. 

 

And in DRAG, two sisters (Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito) break into the secluded home of a wealthy artist (John Stamos) for a simple little robbery. When one of the sisters quickly throws out her back, escape becomes an immovable obstacle for the feuding duo - made worse when the artist comes home early!

 

Previously announced films include: 5 MORE MINUTES, FROGMAN RETURNS, I LOVE PARIS and MY LOVE FOR YOU IS DEEP, BUT THE DEVIL LOVES ME DEEPER.

 

The 19th edition also marks an inaugural partnership between the festival and its new lead sponsor ScareScore. ScareScore is building the world’s first biometric reaction platform for entertainment. Connecting to the smartwatch audiences already wear, ScareScore measures physical reactions as they happen and transforms them into a personal score across movies, streaming, attractions, and adrenaline experiences that they can share, compare, and compete against friends with! Select Toronto After Dark films will be ScareScore enabled.

 

This year’s festival will also see the return of its official OPENING NIGHT PARTY, which will be held at the festival’s preferred bar Escape Manor (383 King St. W: just a few blocks away from the festival screening venues). Entry will be FREE for Toronto After Dark passholders.

 

And the festival’s late-night CineCycle Programming has been made possible this year thanks to the support of Branded to Film (B2F), Kingston's hyperlocal studio for high-concept genre filmmaking, which provides resources, crew and producer support for independent filmmakers shooting in the region.

 

2026 Toronto After Dark Lineup:

 

Feature Films

 

 

5 MORE MINUTES (5 MINUTOS MÁS) | Javier Ruiz Caldera | Spain

 

Canadian Premiere

 

 

DRAG | Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer | USA

 

Ontario Premiere

 

 

THE FOX | Dario Russo | Australia

 

Ontario Premiere

 

 

FROGMAN RETURNS | Anthony Cousins | USA

 

Ontario Premiere

 

 

HALLOWARRIOR | Ben Sottak | USA

 

Canadian Premiere

 

 

I LOVE PARIS | Nicky Murphy | Australia, France

 

Toronto Premiere

 

 

RED SNOW (PUNAISTA LUNTA) | Ilja Rautsi | Finland

 

Canadian Premiere

 

 

SLEEP NO MORE (MONSTER PABRIK RAMBUT) | Edwin | Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, France

 

Ontario Premiere

 

 

SPECIES (SANGUINE) | Marion Le Corroller | France

 

Ontario Premiere

 

 

WHALEFALL | Brian Duffield | USA

 

Canadian Premiere

 

 

Feature Films - Late Night Programme

 

 

MATAPANKI | Diego “Mapache” Fuentes | Chile

 

Toronto Premiere

 

 

MY LOVE FOR YOU IS DEEP BUT THE DEVIL LOVES ME DEEPER | Casey Donahue | USA

 

World Premiere

 

 

NO LONGER HUMANS | Luca D’Andrea | Canada

 

North American Premiere

 

 

Short Films

 

 

1-800-TIME-TRAVEL | Michael Nusair | Canada

 

A MIGHTY POISON | Kyle Marchen | Canada

 

ACCISMUS | Brandy Marien | Canada

 

BAD TOOTH | M. Dara Alavi | Canada

 

BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS | Spencer Glassman | Canada

 

THE CURSE OF DANNY RIZZO | Ievy Stamatov | Canada

 

THE DESCENDANT | Ashley Welling | USA

 

THE DOGLEG (WIRAŹ) | Piotr Szubra | Poland

 

THE DOUBLE | Aljosha Klimov, Misha Sprits, Mitya Kokorin | Germany, Canada

 

FESTER | Max Parr | Canada

 

FREQUENCY | Lauren Andrews | Canada

 

GRIM VS GREYS | Austin Birtch | Canada

 

HABITUATION | Oskar Johansson | Sweden

 

ICE COLD BEER | Devon Mussett, Joey Lopez | Canada

 

IT HELPS | J. Zachary Thurman | USA

 

LOOP (最後一單) | Chuan Lin | Taiwan

 

MAN EATING PUSSY | Emily Lawson | Canada, USA

 

MEATMYLK | Lucy Luscombe | United Kingdom

 

MELT MUSIC | Evan Rivard | Canada

 

MOIRA | Anastasia Mischenko | France

 

MY DINNER WITH VICTOR | Andrew Chiu | Hong Kong, Canada

 

THE OLD GODS | Noah Van Buhren | Canada

 

PAPER CUTS | Ross Ozarka, Alice Gatland | New Zealand

 

PERENNIAL | Eric Kingsbury | Canada

 

PICK IT TILL IT BLEEDS | Christina Dovolis, Tavis Putnam | Canada

 

THE PORTRAIT | Julia Hogg | Canada

 

PURGE | Andrew Hamilton | Canada

 

RUN FROM IT | Kory Kongsommart, Jun Jeung | Canada

 

SHITTING A PENIS | Sam Morgan | Canada

 

SLEEP THROUGH SUMMER | Erin Mick | Canada

 

SOMETHING BORROWED | Findlay Ironside | Canada

 

STUCK (VAST) | Jan van Gorkum | Netherlands

 

THE THING INSIDE HER | Jacki Gunn and Della Haddock | Canada