Toronto After Dark 2011 - "Father's Day"

"Father's Day" is pretty much the perfect exploitation film. It will offend many with its graphic images and content (both bloody and sexual) while it embraces the anything-goes aesthetics of many of the films from the 1970s that range from impressively realistic gore to ridiculous use of stock footage. Its plot begins with a search for a serial killer and from there mutates with a speed and force rarely seen outside the viruses found in bad sci-fi movies. Strippers, priests, male prostitutes, bears, chainsaws, hallucinogens, demons, a visit to Hell and probably even a kitchen sink or two are smashed together, blended until each has been reduced to gooey chunks and then splattered back up on screen with a joyful exuberance. It's sick, gory, disgustingly gross and very, very funny.

However, let me be very clear up front: The opening 10 minutes of the film is extremely nasty stuff and enough to thoroughly repulse just about anyone but the purest of gorehounds. A rapist of fathers (it's explained that he doesn't like woman, but never stated why he only goes after the Dads) is on the loose and we join him in the middle of a particularly, um, gruesome violation of another human. Having seen the faux-trailer for the film last year (which led the Canadian filmmaking team Astron-6 to make a full version of the film for the folks at Troma), it wasn't really a surprise - that trailer is full-on Grindhouse at its ickiest - but that first section began to validate my fears that the movie was going to be completely in that same vein. A strange thing happens after a few minutes of this type of gore though - it's pitched so way over the top that you can't actually take any of it seriously and it becomes more of a parody than anything else (though a disgustingly Lurid one).




Of course, nothing remains very stable in this movie for long. Even though a team of three band together to stop the evil Fuckman (yes, occasionally they stoop to juvenile humour), the father raping aspects of the plot mostly disappear. Not only was this rather welcomed, but it also fits right into the standard templates of the exploitation films - how many were actually faithful to their original concepts by the time they had run their course? There's still loads more bloodshed and what you might call "vivid" images, but once the humour kicks in it all meshes into somewhat of a thank-you card to these grindhouse style films. The actors (most of them members of the Astron-6 team) occasionally go for big emotional moments or speak in halting ways just like the "bad" acting that is associated with the genre, but it's obviously on purpose and isn't used to the extent that it becomes tiring or a single joke. They actually stay in their characters, have subtle well-timed comedic moments and never wink directly at the audience. Combined with the visual riffs on the genre (obvious rear projection footage during an explosion, etc.) and a willingness to change the plot almost on a whim, the film starts to pile laughs on top of absurdities on top of laughs on top of absurdities.

Which is why a description of the plot is relatively pointless. If you want to hear about where the story goes before deciding whether you want to see the film, you're approaching this particular movie all wrong. The Astron-6 folks have put together a loving tribute to 70s exploitation films that careens with controlled abandon across the genre's tropes, styles and limitations while never losing sense of the fun. Or the goo.

Toronto After Dark 2011 - "Absentia"

If there was one piece of hype that was circulating during this year's Toronto After Dark festival, it was that the relatively low-budget horror film "Absentia" would shake us all, was easily the scariest thing we would see all week, possibly all year and that we should prepare ourselves...And if there was one thing that the crowd (at least those that I talked to afterwards) mostly agreed on after seeing the film was that the hype had improperly set everyone's expectations. The film didn't actually scare the pants off anyone or make them jump out of their seats to the rafters as advertised (except for one early scare that was executed brilliantly and made several people actually cry out). However, it did end up being the kind of real horror movie that lets its concepts sit and stew with you and provide fodder for the deep dark corners of your mind to pick up and play with when you aren't paying attention. This applies not only to the specific horror on screen but to a larger thematic look at the idea of being abandoned. So though there was a great deal of consensus that the film wasn't as outright scary as expected, there also seemed to be almost as much agreement that it was an excellent dramatic depiction of deeply felt horror.

The title comes from the decision to call someone dead after they have been "in absentia" for a period of time. Essentially, if after 7 years (in this case) a missing person hasn't shown up anywhere and it's just like they dropped off the face of the Earth, then they can be declared legally dead. The film opens as Tricia struggles with just such a decision so she can close the final chapter of her husband's own disappearance 7 years ago. Her younger sister Callie has come to visit in order to help her with the final "death in absentia" paperwork and some packing before she moves out of the house to start a new life. Considering Tricia is pregnant, she should really be ready to move on, but the final submission of the papers and acceptance of her husband's death (even if their marriage wasn't completely successful) is a big step. So big, in fact, that she begins to see a ghostly version of him at almost every turn - his hollowed out eye sockets still fixing on her in an accusatory manner. Are these simple manifestations of her attempts at closure or is his spirit really trying to break through back to her? The answer might lie in a nearby walkway tunnel that seems to be a focal point for several disappearances.




This initial section provides the majority of the film's spookiness via these apparitions and it leaves the viewer in a distinct state of tension as Tricia waits for the final death certificate and packs up the house. As mentioned above, one particular moment delivered a solid jolt to the audience - but not simply as a loud jump scare. After several of the apparitions had already built up a level of dread, one particular reveal gave a solid punch to the gut due to both surprise and a deep concern for the character. The crowd's reaction of laughter afterwards was a mix of release as well as a group admittance that "they got us" and it's one of the great things about watching horror with a packed audience. If you build up to those moments via character and tension, you can pull the audience even further into the story. This is why the crowd stayed involved with the film even though it eventually moved away from the spooky apparitions and focused the horror on things both more personal and more concrete. Particularly after a specific event happens that throws Tricia's life into turmoil yet again.

Tricia and Callie talk about the main theme of the movie in several scenes and from different angles - not just from the point of view of being abandoned by someone, but also feeling the temptation to just walk away from a situation yourself. In other words: to leave it all behind, drop your problems and abandon the people currently in your life that feel like a burden. Callie left home as a teenager and has roamed from one location to another getting into trouble and falling into drugs (yet another form of escape). She has found religion, but even it isn't always there to help her. Tricia takes a more buddhist slant and meditates to calm herself and prevent her own desire to flee. The different ways that the film brings in the characters' feelings of abandonment and their desire to do the same to others is its main strength. How horrific would it be to lose your spouse without knowing why? Or even worse, your child? And how crushing would it be if there was hope they had returned only for it to be quashed yet again? It becomes easy to sympathize with the desire to pack it all in yourself at those points. It's made even easier in this case due to the very strong performances by Courtney Bell and Katie Parker in the lead roles. They interact wonderfully well together whether it's love life discussions or nasty fights. They make the characters wholly believable and so when they are in jeopardy (real or imagined), you easily slip into their shoes with them. When a horror film can do this, it removes the necessity for the big special effect or the crashing scare. As evidence, two particular scenes had the crowd curling up in their seats just a little bit more than they already were. One involved a bathroom with a billowing shower curtain and another a very slow zoom into pitch black darkness while a character's face remained just in frame to the side. If neither scene really "paid off", the horror you felt for the characters in the moment was very real.

Toronto After Dark 2011 - "Midnight Son"

The vampire mythology continues to retain its hold on our collective imaginations as it works its way through film, TV shows, literature and, as many North American doorsteps will undoubtedly encounter in about a week’s time, fashion and costume design. There’s good reason – it taps into some deep seated fears of death reaching out to you anywhere, the intimate turning into the violent and your own life’s blood be drained away. Not to mention the promise of eternal life. It also comes with a whole variety of different aspects to the myth that can be added or modified to the same basic premise to allow for countless possibilities of stories to be told. Whether you like your vampires with wings, fangs or sparkles, the legend remains and the stories keep spawning from it. The latest example is Scott Leberecht’s many-years-in-the-making Midnight Son which takes yet another approach – strip the myth down to its basic elements and drop it into the real world. Akin to George Romero’s best film (IMO) Martin, but with superior acting and even more sympathetic characters, Midnight Son succeeds on just about every level as a storytelling vehicle: a genre exercise, a different spin on a well-worn legend, an examination of several themes (loneliness, self-realization) and a simple love story. It is easily the best told tale of the festival so far.

Jacob is a 24 year-old nighttime security guard at an office building. He’s pale, skinny and a fairly blank slate. His “skin condition” has forced him out of the sun since he was quite young and his apartment is sealed tightly from any external shafts of light. However, he seems to be undergoing even more health issues of late – though he eats everything in sight, he simply can no longer satiate his hunger. His sallow complexion is of concern to his doctor until one day Jacob stumbles on draining the juice from a raw meat package. He immediately notices how his system reacts to the red liquid and starts making regular visits to a local butcher for containers of animal blood (which he sneaks into work inside his coffee thermos). It’s yet another stumbling block on the road of life for Jacob and things become even more complicated when he meets Mary. She has her own problems (dead-end jobs and a blossoming coke habit), but the two have an easy rapport upon their first meeting. On their first date, they don’t even leave the apartment as Mary jumps him after stealing a rather large snort in the bathroom. This results in a nasty nose bleed that trickles into Jacob’s mouth and an even more intense realization from his body about what he really needs – human blood. Now the real challenge begins for Jacob.



The biblical names of the characters are obviously not chosen by accident (though the commonality of “Jacob” with the Twilight films is – director Leberecht mentioned that he began the script before “Twilight” was a known entity) and Jacob indeed meets many personal struggles. Though he initially finds a possible source of human blood at the back of a local hospital in the guise of an orderly, he finds that it will be at the expense of others. His job is at risk due not only to his health but because his temper and inability to control a new strength may get him in trouble. He also worries that he may have killed a woman in the parking lot outside his office building, but he can’t quite remember. Most frustratingly perhaps, is the inability for he and Mary to actually make it through a lovemaking session as his vampiric tendencies keep trying to take over. To help ground the story in a “possible” reality, Leberecht has made an excellent decision to limit the vampire characteristics to two basic elements: need for human blood and aversion to sunshine. However, the strongest part of the film is the relationship between Jacob and Mary. They converse easily and the attraction between them is wholly believable. The dialogue feels natural and helps to create characters that keep you engaged. The performances by both Zak Kilberg and Maya Parish are exceptional and they carry every moment of the story. The whole cast though – from veteran Tracey Walter to relatively young newcomer Arlen Escarpeta – is superb, so credit must land with Leberecht as well in preserving the proper tone across a story that could easily fall into using standard genre tropes.

If there are any issues with the film, they are mostly minor. A somewhat flat look to the picture occasionally dilutes the otherwise quite beautifully lensed and composed images. As well, there are several plot points that seem somewhat forced or perhaps a tad too convenient. To nitpick is to miss the point though – this is a character based story whose theme of overcoming loneliness by being true to yourself makes use of familiar genre elements. Movies like Midnight Son ensure that the myth of vampires will be as eternal as Dracula himself.

Toronto After Dark 2011

Toronto After Dark 2011 (the 6th edition of the festival) starts today and its the biggest festival yet. 18 films (with the opening film "Monster Brawl" getting two screenings on opening night) and a raft of shorts over the next 8 days easily makes it the largest in TAD history. But will it be the best.

I'll admit, even though this is my favourite fest of the year (the audience is a blast, I've made oodles of friends and each fest brings in a couple of films that usually make my top 10 for the year), I was a TAD concerned when the initial 8 films were announced...The zombie films looked a bit uninspired, there was a post-apocalyptic film, a sci-fi anime on its way to DVD, a Troma film (my unabashed hatred of their "Mother's Day" certainly doesn't put me in the mood for the screening of "Father's Day") and the opener looked, well, flat. However, by the time a few friends talked me down off the ledge and the remaining films were announced, I was primed, excited and ready for the fest. The anime film has several people quite excited, the Troma film is apparently not at all like "Mother's Day" and the festival always allows for fun to be had. So, to sum up, I'm just as psyched for the festival to start as I always am. Maybe more.

Here's a few of my top picks from the full lineup:




The Innkeepers (Ti West)

I swear, I don't even really know what the movie is about and it's number one on my list (I had even expressed hope before the lineup was announced that it would be included). West's previous film was the wonderful "House Of The Devil" that took the slow and steady tension builds of the 70s and rode them all the way through a rather silly (though still kinda fun) ending. The very, very end of the film also harked back to some of the bleeker 70s films, so I'm very much on board with whatever he does next. Early reviews from other festivals have been very strong, so this sounds like a great way to close the festival (screens on Thursday Oct. 27th at 9:45PM).




The Woman (Lucky McKee)

Most people will have heard about this film due to some ruckus (still not sure if it was genuine or not) that it caused at Sundance. My interest, once again, stems from the director - McKee's "May" was one of the more original horrors from a few years ago and if nothing from him since has quite matched it, everything has something of interest and usually with an unsettling tone that keeps you engaged (screens on Thursday Oct. 27th at 7:00PM).




The Corridor (Evan Kelly)

OK, a cabin in the woods movie at this stage shouldn't get me too excited, but when the words "palpable dread" are used to describe it, I can't help myself. Also, it's a Canadian film and I'm coming off of the Toronto International Film Festival with a renewed strong opinion of what my country has been releasing of late (screens on Wednesday Oct. 26th at 7:00PM).




A Lonely Place To Die (Julian Gibley)

I'm going on the strength of word of mouth for this one - just about anybody I talked to who went to ActionFest in North Caroline earlier this year has blathered almost rhapsodically about how fantastic this thriller is. You could see how intense a movie about cliff climbers being the targets of deadly snipers might be, so count me in (screens on Monday Oct. 24th at 9:45PM).




Absentia (Mike Flanagan)

OK, on the surface this looks a bit like any other recent Hollywood supernatural ghost story, but I've every reason to believe that it will separate itself from that lackluster pack. For one thing, as a low-budget independent, there's ample room to avoid the pitfalls and hopefully be creative with how they will bring some atmosphere to the tale. Also, some early reviews mention that it suffers none of the stereotypes or poor acting that many of its cousins do (screens on Monday Oct. 24th at 7:00PM).




The Theatre Bizarre (Tom Savini, Richard Stanley, Douglas Buck, Karim Hussain, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Jeremy Kasten)

I can't help it - I really enjoy anthology movies. I should have no reason to think that this particular one will match the quality of the old Hammer and Amicus vehicles or even some of the mid-70s one off films, but there's almost always a few good ideas and memorable moments (come on, who can forget the tiny evil doll from "Trilogy Of Terror"?) so I remain hopeful (screens on Sunday Oct. 23rd at 7:00PM).




Love (William Eubanks)

On the opposite end of indie horror, sometimes indie sci-fi can be a dangerous place to lurk - if they can manage to refrain from attempting too many special effects, they typically (in my experience) get derailed by the "big" ideas and can't find their way to a point. It's entirely possible that "Love" may suffer a similar fate, but the story has enough to make it worth the effort to find out: its main protagonist is left all alone on a space station when humanity is destroyed on Earth and while he begins to adjust to a long, lonely life ahead, he finds a secret that may change all his previous ideas about what exactly life is. OK, I'm intrigued (screens on Sunday Oct. 23rd at 4:00PM).



I'm betting that there will be some gems in the rest of the field as well. If not, it's almost as much fun discussing where things went wrong in the Pub After Dark. Though the festival shifts to the Toronto Underground this year (while the beloved Bloor Cinema gets some renovations), it won't impact the eagerness of the crowd to have fun. If it does, Manborg will set them straight...