The Dork Shelf Guide to Toronto After Dark 2014

It’s that time of year again: the time when people break out their bed sheet ghosts, carve up some pumpkins, and gorge on so much candy that they just might swear off sugar for life (or at least until the holidays). Yes, it’s Halloween, which means that it’s time for another installment of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, kicking off tonight (Thursday, October 16^th) and running to the 24^th. The nine day event returns for its 9^th year, and this year’s line up boasts some of the strongest films the festival has seen yet.

We’ll get to some of those reviews in a moment (and throughout the week with new reviews, so keep checking back), but part of the appeal of the festival has been its ability to endure numerous changes over the years. Essentially a DIY festival constructed by people who love genre cinema, the festival has seen three different venue changes with theatres of varying sizes (this year returning to the Scotiabank Theatre in conjunction with Cineplex) without losing much of the audience despite the musical chairs.

Over nine years and leading into a major anniversary year, the fan base has strengthened considerably with the festival now receiving national and worldwide attention. Despite changes in venues and ticketing, the general thought behind After Dark seems to be “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There’s still the ever popular Zombie night on Saturday (this year featuring Zombeavers and Dead Snow 2, both of which have already sold out), a night that caters to the sci-fi crowd (on Wednesday with Predestination and Time Lapse), shorts before every film, a short film showcase on Saturday afternoon, a smattering of films that have garnered acclaim at festivals around the world making their Toronto debuts (Open Windows, The Babadook, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter), and the late night, off-site Pub After Dark (at The Office Pub, less than a block away on John Street) where filmgoers and discuss, drink, and dance until four in the morning. Really the only new thing is the coincidental addition of a werewolf night on Sunday (with Wolves and Late Phases).

Fans of all kinds of cinema, we’re here to bring you guys as much coverage of the festival as we can, so here’s a look at the films we’ve been able to catch, with new reviews added daily.

For more information about the festival, tickets, showtimes, and a full list of features and shorts, please visit the Toronto After Dark website.