FEBRUARY and Other Creepy Girls School Mysteries

Osgood Perkins' directorial debut follows two young prep school girls as they are haunted by an evil entity after being left stranded at their school over the winter break. An all-girl boarding school is the perfect set-up for a series of creepy and mysterious events, and below are a few standouts.

Dario Argento's film Suspiria (1977) is perhaps his most well-known film. When Suzy (Jessica Harper) transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, several of her classmates at the academy are murdered in gruesome ways. The film is a must see for horror fans and a staple of the giallo genre. "The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of Suspiria are the first 92".

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian mystery drama based on the novel by Joan Lindsay. After the mysterious disappearance of several school girls and their teacher during a class picnic to Hanging Rock in Victoria, several of the Hanging Rock locals grapple with the effects their disappearance has on the community. What is perhaps the most chilling part about Picnic at Hanging Rock is the ending that left several people disturbed when it first screened.

The Woods (2006), directed by Midnight Madness alum Lucky McKee (All Cheerleaders Die, 2013), centres on a rebellious teen who is sent to an all-girls boarding school in the New England woods which holds an ominous secret.

Further information about February can be found on the Festival website.

FEBRUARY screening times:

Saturday, Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1

Monday, Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Friday, Sept. 18th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

The Cast of FEBRUARY

The first two screenings of February may currently be off sale, but if you're luckily enough to have scored a ticket to the premiere (or are able to score a ticket on Saturday, September 12th at 7am) you may find yourself seated amongst some of the cast of the film.

No stranger to either horror or TIFF, Emma Roberts is perhaps best well known for her roles in American Horror Story: Coven and American Horror Story: Freak Show on FX. This fall she will reunite with American Horror Story creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for FOX's horror-comedy series Scream Queens. Horror fans may also recognize her as Sidney Prescott's (Neve Campbell) cousin Jill Roberts in Scream 4 (2011). Emma Roberts was also in former TIFF films It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010) and Adult World (2013), as well as the TIFF Next Wave film Palo Alto (2014).

Emma Roberts in Scream Queens

Kiernan Shipka is best well known as the daughter of Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Sally Draper, on AMC's Mad Men. At only 15 years old, Shipka has also starred in the IFC Midnight film One & Two (2015), the Lifetime movie Flowers in the Attic (2014), and most recently as Kymmi, Kimmy Schmidt's half-sister on Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Kiernan Shipka in Mad Men

Lucy Boynton made her film debut playing the young Beatrix Potter in The Weinstein Company's Miss Potter (2006). She has also starred in the currently unreleased Canadian-Chinese action-fantasty thriller 400 Boys, and the Canadian-American film Copperhead (2013).

Lucy Boynton

James Remar has a long history in the film industry, usually playing a villain. He is known for his roles in 1979's The Warriors, 1982's 48 Hrs, 1984's The Cotton Club and 1996's The Phantom. He portrayed two unrelated characters in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012), the first being Ace Speck who is killed by King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and the second being Butch Pooch, who kills King Schultz. His major television roles include Richard Wright, one of Samantha Jones' (Kim Cattrall) boyfriends on HBO's Sex and the City, and Harry Morgan, Dexter Morgan's adoptive father on Showtime's Dexter.

James Remar

Like James Remar, Lauren Holly also has an extensive acting career. She is perhaps best known as Mary Swanson in 1994's Dumb & Dumber or as Gigi in 2000's What Women Want. Her big break however was as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart on CBS' Picket Fences from 1992-1996. More recently she has appeared as part of the main cast on CBS' NCIS as NCIS Director Jenny Shepard and CTV's Motive as Dr. Betty Rogers.

Lauren Holly in Motive

Further information about February can be found on the Festival website.

FEBRUARY screening times:

Saturday, Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1

Monday, Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Friday, Sept. 18th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

FEBRUARY Second Look: Clip

Last week we gave you a sneak peak at some of the promo artwork for Oz Perkins' February, but today we come baring the gift of a hot off the press short clip from the film. The atmospheric clip doesn't provide much context as to what is occurring, but it does feature Kiernan Shipka as Kat doing something she probably shouldn't be doing. Ouch!

Further information about February can be found on the Festival website.

FEBRUARY screening times:

Saturday, Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1

Monday, Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9

Friday, Sept. 18th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THE MISSING GIRL First Look: Poster and Trailer

Making its world premiere at TIFF is A.D. Calvo's dark comedy The Missing Girl. Mort (Robert Longstreet) is the owner of a comic book shop who becomes increasingly worried when one of his employees, Ellen (Alexia Rasmussen), does not show up for work. Mort's distress grows as he begins relating Ellen's disappearance with the case of a missing girl from when he was a teen, an anguish which only grows when he discovers a former classmate Skippy (Eric Ladin) has arrived in town.

Below is the poster and trailer for The Missing Girl, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about The Missing Girl can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's website, Facebook account and director A.D. Calvo's Twitter account.

THE MISSING GIRL screening times:

Sun. Sept. 13th 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 13
Tue. Sept. 15th 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept. 20th 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

DEMON First Look: Poster and Trailer

Vanguard alum Marcin Wrona (The Christening, 2010) is returning to TIFF with the creepy tale of a dybbuk, a malicious spirit found in Jewish mythology, that possesses a man during just before his wedding. Demon is based on the Polish play Adherence by Piotr Rowicki and judging from the poster and trailer will leave you chilled and unsettled.

Below is the poster and the atmospherically creepy trailer for Demon, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

(Source: Fangoria)

Further information about Demon can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Twitter account.

DEMON screening times:

Sun Sep 13 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 13
Tue Sep 15 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun Sep 20 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

HELLIONS First Look: Posters and Trailer

Straight out of Sundance comes Canadian director Bruce McDonald's (Pontypool) return to both the horror genre and Vanguard programme. After being told by her doctor that she is four weeks pregnant, teenager Dora (Chloe Rose) is visited by a group of children in strange costumes on Halloween. After a frightening encounter with her visitors, Dora finds her mysterious pregnancy progressing at an extremely accelerated rate and the costumed children are waiting for the unborn child.

Below is the trailer and two posters for Hellions, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Hellions can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's website, Facebook account and Twitter account.

HELLIONS screening times:

Thursday, Sept. 17th, 9:30 PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
Friday, Sept. 18th, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4

FEBRUARY First Look: Promo Art

Earlier this year a small town 50km south of Ottawa was abuzz over a film production that had moved in. Residents of Kemptville, Ontario played spot the actress as Emma Roberts (American Horror Story), Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) and Lauren Holly (NCIS, Dumb & Dumber) filmed writer and director Osgood Perkins' feature film debut February. Two girls Kat (Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton) become stranded at their boarding school over the winter break after their parents mysteriously do not pick them up. At the same time a young woman (Roberts) leaves a bloody path behind her as she makes her way towards the boarding school. The closer the woman gets toward the school, the more possessed by an unseen evil force Kat becomes.

Below is a piece of promotional artwork that doubles as a poster for February, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

(Source: Bloody Disgusting)

Further information about February can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Twitter account.

FEBRUARY screening times:

Saturday, Sept. 12th, 5:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1
Monday, Sept. 14th, 6:45 PM SCOTIABANK 9
Friday, Sept. 18th, 6:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY First Look: Poster and Trailer

Prolific horror auteur Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer, Thirteen Assassins) returns to the festival with Over Your Dead Body, his latest in his massive body of work to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. A theatre troupe staging one of Japan's most famous ghost stories, Yotsuya Kaidan, find life imitating art as the ghost story's themes of murder, betrayal and revenge play out off the stage. As you can see from the trailers and teaser photos, Over Your Dead Body follows in Miike's very bloody footsteps.

Below is the poster, short English subtitled trailer and longer non-subtitled trailer for Over Your Dead Body, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Over Your Dead Body can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's website (Japanese) and Twitter account (Japanese).

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY screening times:

Thurs., Sept. 11, Ryerson 6:00 PM
Fri., Sept. 12, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 9:00 PM
Sat., Sept. 13, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 6:30 PM

HYENA: Poster and Clip

Writer and director Gerard Johnson follows up his 2009 serial killer comedy-drama Tony with Hyena, a British crime thriller about an undercover cop, Michael (Peter Ferdinando), who skims profits from the drug traffickers he's been sworn to take down. Michael's life begins to quickly change as his side gig is threatened of becoming exposed by an internal investigation and the arrival of two Albanian thugs shake up his crime world alliances.

Below are the poster and a short clip for Hyena, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Hyena can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's IMDB page and director Gerard Johnson's Twitter account.

HYENA's screening times:

Sun., Sept. 7, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 6:45 PM
Tue., Sept. 9, Scotiabank 12 9:00 PM
Fri., Sept. 12, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 12:00 PM

THE VOICES: First Look and Poster!

"What do you mean my bed is now a giant litter box?"

We couldn't be more excited that the Canadian Premiere of Marjane Satrapi's The Voices will be at this year's Festival. How do we even begin to describe this movie? Well, there's Ryan Reynolds (of course). And he's a little awkward (awww, poor guy). He's got a cat named Mr Whiskers and a dog named Bosco who he talks to sometimes (don't we all?). Except they talk back (wait, what?). Also: psychotic episodes, murder, violence, some really sharp knives, blood, so much blood, and doing a conga line at work. ("Horror-comedy," guys. Comedy.)

"Don't worry, they say this is a comedy! I just need to stab you a few times first."

We don't really want to say too much about the film because it's better to go in somewhat cold and be absolutely mind-boggled. This author saw it it Sundance and thought it was the best movie of the year. And then the credit sequence started and she nearly collapsed from delight. The woman to her right thought it was equally outstanding; the woman to her left couldn't decide whether she wanted to throw up, cry, or both.

How could you NOT want to see a movie like that? Check out maybe the raddest movie poster ever and the screening times below.

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

LUNA First Look: Trailer and Poster

Dave McKean, best known for his collaborations with Neil Gaiman on Sandman, Hellblazer, and Arkham Asylum, follows up his 2005 fantasy film MirrorMask with Luna. Struggling after a major death in the family, Grant (Ben Daniels) and Christine (Dervla Kirwan) visit an old friend Dean (Michael Maloney) and his new girlfriend Freya (Stephanie Leonidas) at their cottage by the sea. Over the course of a long weekend, the four experience a series of hallucinatory dreams and visions, gorgeously envisioned and brought to life by McKean.

Below are the trailer and posters for Luna, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Luna can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's official website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

LUNA's screening times:

Sat., Sept. 6, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 6:30 PM
Mon., Sept. 8, AGO Jackman Hall 9:00 AM
Sun., Sept. 14, Scotiabank 9 8:45 PM

THE WORLD OF KANAKO First Look: Trailer and Poster!

What do you mean it's more bracing than Confessions?! 

When a filmmaker issues a statement saying he is "sorry if the film is too grotesque," you know it's got to be very special. (Maybe special means something different to you, but for us it means crazy and violent. Deal.) World of Kanako (Kawaki) is based on a best-selling novel by Akio Fukamachi some considered too gruesome to ever be a film. Tetsuya Nakashima took that as a challenge and crafted an over-the-top, violent revenge thriller. If any of you are familiar with 2010's Confessions then you know what we're talking about. If you aren't, take our word for it: this might not be the flick to see with your grandma. (No, really.)

Don't be fooled by the pink colour. 

Already a hit in Japan, garnering fans and critics alike, World of Kanako is sure to positively shock, probably disturb, and maybe even offend Vanguard audiences this Festival. Check out the trailer below for a little taste of the cah-razy film experience waiting for you:

World of Kanako is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. You can check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website. 

WORLD OF KANAKO screening times:

Sunday, Sept 7th 9:15 PM ISABELLA BADER THEATRE
Tuesday, Sept 9th 11:30 AM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Saturday, Sept 13 9:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

WASTE LAND: First Look and Trailer!

If that intense, tortured stare featured in the still above is any indicator, you can probably guess that Waste Land, directed by Pieter Van Hees, isn't going to be a lighthearted romp through homicide detective Leo Woeste's life. Sure, he just found out that his partner is unexpectedly pregnant, and yeah, he promises that this case will be his last. Except this one last case drags him into a dark and unsettling underworld. Woeste's fears of becoming a father fully manifest as he struggles to keep his sanity and solve the case.

The thought of parenthood makes us want to wander the streets at night too.

If you're lucky enough to understand French or Flemish, you can also fully understand this trailer, instead of just appreciating—and being slightly disturbed by—the mood and sound and cinematography like this author. (Okay, she understood "un, deux, trois" but that was it.)

Waste Land is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films of the official Festival website. 

WASTE LAND screening times:

Saturday, Sept 6th, 9:30 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Monday, Sept 8th, 4:30 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2
Saturday, Sept 13, 6:30 PM SCOTIABANK 13

THEY HAVE ESCAPED First Look: Trailer and Poster!

How can we get invited to their parties? 

They Have Escaped (He ovat paenneet) comes to us from the brilliant mind of Finnish director JP Valkeapää. This ain't your typical "boo-hoo, troubled youth, let's talk it out to an indie soundtrack" sort of film; nah, instead Valkeapää crafts an intense and at times troubling story of two teens who set out on a sometimes rambling, sometimes crazed journey through Finland after escaping from their halfway house.

Grocery cart: the best way to travel.

We know this intimate yet disruptive story coupled with gorgeous cinematography of Finland and intriguing main characters puts it at the top of your Vangaurd list. But if you needed any more convincing, here's a first poster and trailer.

They Have Escaped is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THEY HAVE ESCAPED screening times:

Monday, Sept 8th, 9:45 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wednesday, Sept 10, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Saturday, Sept 13, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 8

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY First Look and Poster!

We're pretty sure we could just type PETER STRICKLAND over and over again in caps and that would be enough to entice you to want to see The Duke of Burgundy. Because we all still remember the amazingness that was Berberian Sound Studio from the 2012 Festival, right? Right. Well Strickland is back and all we can say is, "Finally!"

This time, we're taken to new erotic heights with the story of a wealthy amateur lepidopterist (read: studier of butterflies and moths) whose sadomasochistic streak is slowly revealed to her new housekeeper as the two become lovers. (You know how it goes with housekeepers.) The Duke of Burgundy, like Berberian Sound Studio, promises to plunge the audience in a startling, surreal sensory experience through dark, lush cinematography and music.

Totally normal relationship for a housekeeper and employer, yup.

Production company Rook Films released a poster by amazing artist Jay Shaw. After ogling this work, you should head over to his website and ogle the rest. (We want them all, obviously.)

Poster perfection? We think so. 

The Duke of Burgundy is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out the rest of the Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY screening times:

Saturday, Sept 6th 10:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1
Monday, Sept 8th 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 12

ALLELUIA First Look: Poster and Trailer!

Uh, got a little something on the wall there behind you. 

Nothing makes a horror film scarier than knowing it was inspired by a true story. It's all, "Wait, what, some of that actually happened?! No. Way." When it comes to Alleluia, yes way: it was inspired by the murderous rampage of the 1960s "Lonely Hearts Killers," a couple who killed at least twenty women that they lured through newspaper ads. (Note to self, avoid newspapers for the rest of forever. Just in case.)

Great looking couple. We should invite them over for a potluck sometime. 

Director Fabrice Du Welz puts a murderous, carnage-filled twist on this classic story, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year to fantastic reviews. Variety makes reference to it being a "shield-your-eyes" kind of movie, so you might want to keep that in mind. Perfect film to bring your mum to, if you ask us. We get a sense that Alleluia is going to have people talking a lot during this year's Festival. Check out the poster and trailer below and you'll find it hard to disagree.

Alleluia is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

ALLELUIA screening times:

Tuesday, Sept 9th 10:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Thursday, Sept 11th 3:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Saturday, Sept 13th 9:15PM SCOTIABANK 13

GOODNIGHT MOMMY first look!

Goodnight Mommy (Ich Seh Ich Seh) brings to life what we can agree is a heart-stopping childhood fear: what if our mother stopped loving us? Even scarier, what if she was no longer herself? (Cue ominous music.) When twins Lukas and Elias' mum returns from getting plastic surgery, her puffy, bandaged face and need for absolute silence to recuperate creates a strained divide between them. They soon begin to resent her and the fact that they are more or less trapped in their isolated country house with nothing to do. Nothing to do but let their imaginations go dark, angry, and wild.

This absolutely haunting, atmospheric psychological thriller from directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala is a must-see at this year's Festival. We only have one released image so far (see above, then be very afraid because do you see those brooding glares?) but it's all we need to put Goodnight Mommy at the top of our list.

Goodnight Mommy is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

GOODNIGHT MOMMY screening times:

Monday, Sept 8th, 7:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wednesday, Sept 10th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Friday, Sept 12th, 3:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

SPRING Poster and First Looks!

Awww, cue the T-Swift music.

Maybe you're looking at this still all, "Wow, Spring looks like such a lovely, romantic film." Ha, not a chance. 'Cause then there's THIS image:

Uh, on second thought, maybe turn the T-Swift off. 

Eerie, right? Right. Given the Toronto International Film Festival description ("Before Sunrise with a supernatural twist in this tale of an American backpacker in Italy who falls in love with a beautiful young woman harbouring a dark, primordial secret."), we all know that nothing only lovely can come from words like dark, primordial or secret. Maybe backpacker too. And when Fangoria shared these sneaky-peek images, they added that the "the clips [shown at Fantasia International Film Festival] pointed to a lush, romantic work with something special and monstrous in store."

Monstrous? Sign us up!

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead shared an early poster on their Facebook page, which you can check out below along with the most important information of all: screening times. And be sure to follow the on Facebook and Twitter and tell them how excited you are for Spring at this year's Toronto International Film Festival!

Spring is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

SPRING screening times:
Friday, Sept 5th, 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Sunday, Sept 7th 7:00 PM SCOTIABANK 4
Saturday, Sept 13th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 3