Toronto 2013: Eli Roth, Lucky McKee films in Midnight Madness
World premieres of movies from Eli Roth, Lucky McKee and Japanese comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto will populate the Midnight Madness section at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Organizers announced late Monday that “The Green Inferno,” Roth’s South America-set story of American activists who take an unfortunate -- and ultimately cannibalistic -- trip to the Amazon, will be among the nine titles to play Midnight Madness.
So too will Matsumoto’s “R100,” about a man who joins a mysterious club that doesn’t allow its members to leave. The comedian is best known for the 2007-08 festival-circuit hit “Big Man Japan,” about a person who grows to impossible lengths and must cope with the fallout.
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Also making a world premiere at Midnight Madness is “Afflicted.” Formerly titled “Ends of the Earth,” Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s look at a man possessed by an inexplicable affliction thousands of miles from home will be released by CBS Films.
And FilmDistrict will bring Mike Flanagan’s “Oculus” to the festival. Based on Flanagan’s well-regarded short “Oculus 3,” the film is a feature-length look at a pair of damaged siblings and a mirror with mysterious powers.
Perhaps most intriguing on the list of Midnight Madness titles is “All Cheerleaders Die,” McKee’s remake of his own 2001 cult film. In the new version -- like the original co-helmed with Chris Sivertson -- a new cast incarnates the story of cheerleader Maddy Killian as she and her fellow pom-pom wavers seek to bring down a star football player, with grisly and supernatural consequences. McKee is the cult director behind the 2002 fan hit “May” and controversial 2011 Sundance pic “The Woman.”
Midnight Madness, known for fan-friendly genre material and the occasional dark comedy, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In past years it served as the world-premiere spot for Roth’s “Hostel” as well as Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat,” in a now-infamous screening that saw the projector go out and Cohen do 45 minutes of improvised material while in character.
This year’s Toronto international Film Festival runs for 11 days beginning Sept. 5.
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