At the Stroke of Madness

The Toronto International Film Festival has arrived, and the best part of it is, of course,  the Midnight Madness genre program. Ten films play at midnight at the Ryerson theatre from September 10 to 19. The man responsible for programming it all is Colin Geddes, who’s been on the job since 1997, scouring the world for insane genre programming for rawkus midnight audiences. Simply put, you haven’t truly lived as a genre film fan until you’re attended a Midnight Madness screening.

In order to get to know this year’s line-up, and Colin himself, I’ve conducted a ten-question Q&A, with each question related to one of the Midnight Madness films.

There’s also a Midnight Madness blog with all kinds of updates and videos chronicling the experience. I gave them my three most anticipated picks, which you can read all about here (yes, I'll probably never live down that ridiculous picture...)

And now it’s time to Know Your Programmer…

Jennifer’s Body (Thursday, Sept 10)

Diablo Cody wrote this film about a popular girl at school turning into a demon and her not-so-popular former friend having to face her. What monster did you most relate to as a teenager?

A toss up between zombies and any of Croneberg's internal horrors like The Brood, Shivers or Rabid.

Daybreakers  (Friday, Sept 11)

Speaking of bloodthirsty hellspawn – although not sci-fi action vampire ones from Australia involving a future where bloodsuckers rule the roost – if the makers of the next Twilight movie said they wanted their world premiere at Midnight Madness, what would you tell them?

Simple – I'll tell ‘em to take it to where the sun doesn't shine.

George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead (Saturday, Sept 12)

Romero’s latest zombie flick takes us to an island where two groups of survivors with different philosophies about the undead have a show-down. Where’s the first place you would you go if there was a zombie apocalypse?

[Note: I asked Colin the questions out of order – this one makes a lot more sense if you scroll down and read the Bitch Slap entry first!]

I'd grab guns and head to the CN tower with Russ Meyers and his harem. Zombie ankles can't handle those stairs.

The Loved Ones (Sunday, Sept 13)

Another Aussie film – this one featuring a teen haunted by a fatal car accident who gets involved in (literally) bloody havoc at his prom. Kids sure have changed! Describe your own prom experience in three words.

Heartbroken and chaste.

Bitch Slap (Monday, Sept 14)

Busty, heavily-armed babes on crime sprees are the lurid order of the day in this homage to Russ Meyer film; if he were still alive and came to visit you in Toronto, where would you take him?

Top of the CN tower to survey the city from our phallic vantage point.

[REC] 2 (Tuesday, Sept 15)

Round two of a quarantined apartment crawling with zombies – say you’re under quarantine and forced to stay in your apartment. You see this as a good thing because you finally get to catch up on…

At this point in the middle of TIFF chaos, it would be SLEEP.

Solomon Kane (Wednesday, Sept 16)

From the creator of Conan comes a tale of swords and sorcery (and pistols!), in which the title character sells his soul to the devil and must become a pious ass-kicker in order to save his soul. What might you sell your own soul to the devil for, and, if you already have sold it, what would you do to get it back?

I'd ask for the left testicle that Sacha Baron Cohen took from me in 2006 when the projector broke 20 minutes into the world premier of Borat.

Symbol (Thursday, Sept 17)

This way out there Japanese film features a luchador named Escargot Man; if you were a wrestler, you’d go by what name? (Bonus: tell us your signature move!)

Since most people mistake the image of a Japanese superhero on the biz card of my company Ultra 8 Pictures as a luchadore, I'd be ULTRA 8!!!!! And since I am Canadian, I'd kill ‘em with kindness.

A Town Called Panic (Friday, Sept 18)

Explain how this French G-rated stop-motion animated film full of plastic toys trying to “deal with” 50 million accidentally ordered bricks can have a home at Midnight Madness alongside zombies, vampires, demons, kung fu violence and sexploitation shenanigans.

It’s like a palette cleanser to balancing this year's Midnight  Madness – a wild, wacky and surreal sorbet that will have the audience howling at the sheer absurdity  of it all!

Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning (Saturday, Sept 19)

You are the sensei of the Kung-Fu Fridays blog– quick, what is the most insane thing you’ve seen in a kung-fu movie?

Sword Stained with Royal Blood (the 1993 version): A villain who is already mortally wounded, gets his exposed rib broken off and is stabbed to death by the hero with it.

-Dave Alexander