TIFF 2010: Midnight Madness Selections: Carpenter, Brad Anderson, Gunn, Wan

Joining these selections which I posted about 12 hours ago, this year’s Midnight Madness is definitely heavy in U.S genre films which include Brad Anderson’s not so well kept secret The Vanishing on 7th Street, James Wan’s Insidious and the lesser known Stake Land from Jim Mickle. Here’s the selections:

Bunraku Guy Moshe, USA World Premiere
In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett), a young samurai and a bartender (Woody Harrelson) plot revenge against
a ruthless leader (Ron Perlman) and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins. This visually stunning film is
filled with uniquely choreographed action sequences of a new style that melds east with west and old school with new. The film also
stars Demi Moore.

The Butcher, The Chef and the Swordsman Wuershan, Hong Kong, China/USA World Premiere
A group of misfits become mixed up in the struggle to own a deadly kitchen cleaver made from the top five swords of the martial arts
world in this wild and brash action comedy that is sure to have audiences running to Chinatown after the film for a late night snack.

Fire of Conscience Dante Lam, Hong Kong, China North American Premiere
Dante Lam proves himself to be a talent to look out for in this slam bang action film where robbers and gunrunners battle with cops on
the busy urban streets of Hong Kong. Starring Leon Lai, Fire of Conscience is easily one of loudest action films from Hong Kong in
recent memory, with an orchestra of exploding grenades and machine gun rounds.

Insidious James Wan, USA World Premiere
When proud parents take possession of an old house, an accident results in one of their sons falling into a coma. The tragedy doesn’t
stop there when they are beset by vengeful spirits from another realm in this new chiller by the director and writer of Saw and by the
producers of Paranormal Activity. The film stars Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey and Patrick Wilson.

Red Nights Julien Carbon, Laurent Courtiaud, Hong Kong, China/France World Premiere
This shocking debut by director duo Carbon and Courtiaud is a seductive cat-and-mouse thriller set in Hong Kong, about a woman’s
obsessive desire to own a rare object that hides a deadly and perverse secret.

Stake Land Jim Mickle, USA World Premiere
In the aftermath of a vampire epidemic, a teen is taken in by a grizzled vampire hunter on a road trip through a post-apocalyptic
America, battling both the bloodsuckers and a fundamentalist militia that interprets the plague as the Lord’s work.

SUPER James Gunn, USA World Premiere
After his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a drug dealer (Kevin Bacon), a frustrated husband (Rainn Wilson) decides he will win her back
as Crimson Bolt, a costumed vigilante armed with a monkey wrench. His actions bring him an admirer, an overeager comic store clerk
(Ellen Page) who wants to be his sidekick.

Vanishing on 7th Street Brad Anderson, USA World Premiere
When a massive power blackout causes the population to inexplicably vanish, a small handful of survivors (Hayden Christensen,
Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo) band together inside a desolate tavern, struggling to survive as the darkness hones in on
them. From director Brad Anderson (The Machinist, Transsiberian) comes an apocalyptic thriller with a terrifying vision of our world’s
end and a story that wrestles with the nature of existence itself.

The Ward John Carpenter, USA World Premiere
Acclaimed director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) makes his long-awaited return to the screen with a thriller about a young
woman (Amber Heard) in a 1960s mental institution who becomes terrorized by malevolent unseen forces.

Midnight Madness Opening Night
Fubar II Michael Dowse, Canada World Premiere
In the sequel to the 2002 cult comedy Fubar, headbanger hosers and lifelong friends Dean (Paul Spence) and Terry (Dave Lawrence)
realize they’re weary of constantly trying to “give’r” while barely scraping by and hit the road to find wealth, happiness and more beer in
the oil fields of Alberta.