Farewell for Now, Beloved Vanguard Blog Readers...

Welp, we thought if we just pretended like TIFF never ended we could keep living the Vanguard dream forever. Except it did. Two weeks ago. Wait, or is it three? You’re telling us it’s OCTOBER tomorrow?

Well, dang.

In any case, this was one of our best Vanguard years ever but we have a tendency to say that every year so it would be best to just start mentally preparing yourself for 2015 right now. We know we are.

All of our beautiful Vanguard babies have gone off in the world to other festivals and/or acquiring distribution and we could be more proud. Spring will be delighting even more audiences thanks to Drafthouse and Raven Banner. Shrew's Nest, Waste Land and Over Your Dead Body also played The Fantastic Fest. The Voices won two well deserved awards at l'Etrange Festival. Hyena will be distributed in North America by Tribeca Films. IFC Films scooped up Duke of Burgundy. Third World will be releasing The World of Kanako in 2015. Radius/The Weinstein Company will be bringing the terrifying children of Goodnight, Mommy to North America. Music Box picked up Alleluia for distribution and Media Luna will be distributing Luna (no relation).

So if you didn’t see these amazing films at TIFF (ugh, what a jabroni) you have a chance to redeem yourself during their theatrical releases. Just don’t mess it up this time, alright?

Until next year, beloved Vanguard Blog readers. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have something in our eyes. 

Fashions of Vanguard '14

We really need to get Evan from Spring some new clothes. 

We really need to get you some  new clothes.

Evan from Spring has just the one outfit and he wants to look nice for his new cthonically ancient special lady. We have some advice for him--and for you, if you want to look good red carping and at the Preëms, as the fanciest of festival-goers say. Fortunately, we have a variety of looks from the Vanguard programme films this year... and even a few from the Midnight Madness movies!

Ryan Reynolds suggests this inspirational shirt.

(Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Reynolds, man.)

There's always the elusive beauty of the semi-imaginary moth boy.

Pro tip: Wooden fingers are so hot this year!

  

Mesh tank tops and leather pants are back! (Not that they ever really went away…)

The fashionable lepidopterist always wears stocking and heels and sometimes hats, gloves, and capes, when the weather calls for it.

The gloves and capes make for a classic look. Of course, sometimes you might want something more classically mad science. Consider a long gown and bandages.

Or perhaps just a mask. Masks are very on trend this year.

The mud and touches of moss really bring the look together.

Or if you want your face to show, you can do a bold eye liner and a bold lip with a bearskin.

You can even try mixing a message t-shirt with an animal mask, bringing 3 looks together.

But with a full stag head, you might want to balance it with the vulnerability of nudity.

Speaking of balancing revealing skin with tantalizingly covering it up, Cal keeps his excellent penis sheathed in what appears to be a paisley thong.

But before you go full Seventies, just ask yourself, Does this mustache really express me?

It’s important for vampires to always look their best, even when vacuuming the flat.

And always be prepared for fashion mishaps. Uh oh, looks like Viago got blood on his dandy suit. Some soda water and paper towels should get those stains out.



Or you could simply change into this embroidered distressed denim jacket while your clothes are in the wash.

There are a few Fashion Don'ts however...

Creepy ex-boyfriends who give you sexually transmitted hauntings are a definite fashion no no.

When wearing blood, it’s important to blend and remember to never overdo it, Montse. Why not borrow some club soda and paper towels from Viago and tone it down a bit.

Best to make sure that dressmaker’s dummy you’re using isn’t one of Montse’s victims.

An Indiana Jones hat and double tiaras are great accessories for any discerning film fan, but only if you have Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead with you at all times.

Of course we know who the real fashion Peeps Choi Award Winner is...

He might not have won Vanguard Blog Mascot, but he won our hearts with his adorable boxing gloves.

We hope this helps, and remember to use fashion responsibly because fashion is danger. We've seen a lot of decapitations this year, and we don't want to see any more.

(Hell yeah, there's a mix of Vanguard and Midnight Madness films in this because we're Vanguarders and we do what we want. Also, we love the Midnighteers and Maniacs over at the Midnight Madness blog. Films included: Spring; The Voices; Luna; The Editor; What We Do In The Shadows; The Duke of Burgundy; Goodnight, Mommy; Cub; They Have Escaped; Tusk; It Follows; and Shrew's Nest. Special thanks to the Tusk fans and Peter Kuplowsky for being good sports).

GOODNIGHT MOMMY: TIFF Twitter Buzz!

It's, uh, a fun-time family film. We promise. 

If you've missed out on your chance to be completely shocked and literally on the edge of your seat (or maybe hiding under it) at a screening of Goodnight Mommy, you've got one more chance! ONE MORE CHANCE. It may be in the middle of the day on a Friday but that's okay because you can just call in sick to work. And maybe after seeing this film you'll feel a little sick to your stomach anyway so it won't really be a lie, right? Check out what Twitter has been saying about this tension-filled horror story (twins, need we say more *shudder*) including a really exciting announcement from Radius at the end!

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:
Friday, Sept 12th, 3:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

GOODNIGHT, MOMMY: Faceless Films

"I'm all out of hope / One more bad break could bring a fall / When I'm far from home
Don't call me on the phone / To tell me you're alone."

Vanguard Bloggers Leslie and Sian covered the perils of recuperating in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and engendered a healthy fear of children in us all. But there's one aspect of Goodnight, Mommy I'd like to cover: Facelessness.

"Les Yeus Sans Visage / Eyes Without A Face"

Eyes Without A Face / Les Yeux Sans Visage (1960)

When Christiane (Edith Scob) is disfigured in a car accident,  her father, the brilliant surgeon Dr. Génessier, decides the only thing he can do is kidnap women, surgically remove their faces and attempt them to graft them onto hers. And the only thing he can do with young women after the attempts inevitably fail, is to feed their corpses to his poor, surgically experimented on dogs. But just because it's mad science love, doesn't mean it's not love. Director Georges Franju went on to make a French television series called, L'Homme Sans Visage (1976) but Billy Idol never wrote a sensitive song about that, unfortunately.

"Got no human grace / You're eyes without a face"

The Face Of Another (1966)

Mr. Okuyama (Tatsuya Nakadai) has also been disfigured, but instead of a car crash, he was injured in a laboratory accident. And instead of investing in plastic surgery, Okuyama receives treatment from a psychiatrist (Mikijiro Hira) who gives him a mask modeled on the face of another man. Okuyama becomes increasingly violent, testing his wife's faithfulness, assaulting another woman and ultimately killing his doctor in a faceless crowd. Within this story, there is another of a young woman (Miki Irie) whose face was injured in the Nagasaki bombing. Plus, Kobo Abe wrote both the novel the film's based on and its screenplay.

"I spend so much time/ Believing all the lies
To keep the dream alive / Now it makes me sad"

The Skin I Live In / La Piel Que Habito (2011)

 Plastic surgeon Dr. Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) has invented a revolutionary artificial skin that resists damage but mimics human skin. As is the way with mad scientists, when his colleagues disapprove of his experiments on humans, he continues his work despite having no access to official facilities for it. And like many mad scientists--and his colleague Dr. Génessier--Dr. Ledgard has a vast estate that is plenty secluded enough to continue his work. Here he continues it on poor Vera (Elena Anaya), a woman who lives in his house and who has dreams from Dr. Ledgard's past and who resembles Dr. Ledgard's late wife.

"Reading murder books trying to stay hip / I'm thinking of you
you're out there so / Say your prayers."

Onibaba (1964)

After a man named Kichi is forced to serve in a local lord's army, his mother (Nobuko Otawa) and his wife (Jitsuko Yoshimura) lose their livelihood. It's impossible to farm with a civil war raging and with the loss of Kichi's help. Instead, they survive in an overgrown paddy by killing soldiers, stripping the bodies and trading the weapons and armor for food. The younger woman starts sneaking out to see Kichi's friend Hachi (Kei Sato), who has returned from the war, when she thinks her mother-in-law is asleep. One night, the older woman finds a demon mask on a dead samurai's face. She wears it to terrify her daughter-in-law back into her house, but the mask fuses to her face.

"Such a human waste / You're eyes without a face

And now it's getting worse"

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

GOODNIGHT, MOMMY Premieres Tonight!

Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala's Goodnight, Mommy premieres tonight!  We have a two clips, some stills and a poster for you to look at here and our first look here. Vanguardian Sian warns us all about the dangers of creepy children and against planning to recuperate in a cabin in the woods here and here.

Tickets can be purchased:

• : TIFF.net's Ticket Product List Page
• BY PHONE: 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 (Toll-free) 
• IN PERSON: Festival Box Office: 225 King St. West & Isabel Bader Theatre; 93 Charles Street West

Further information about Goodnight Mommy can be found on the Festival website.

Christiane wonders, "Should I go to see  Goodnight Mommy?" Yes, yes, you should.

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

GOODNIGHT MOMMY: "Middle of Nowhere" Movies

Dark, isolated homes: great for family bonding with mum. 

We're pretty sure that a lot of horror movies would never even happen is the main characters decided to ask this important question: "Wait, why are we going to this place in the middle of nowhere again? On second thought, nah." In Goodnight Mommy, mum takes her twin sons to their secluded country home so that she may heal. It is this isolated environment that festers the twins' feelings of resentment toward their mother. We've thought up a five more films that really didn't help matters by being in the middle of nowhere.

"Check out my cabin, ladies. If we go for a walk later, maybe we'll spot a deer!" 

1. Lars Von Trier's Antichrist takes the concept of "horror film in a cabin in the woods" and does terrible, strange things to it. But shocking imagery aside, it still stands: so you and your wife experience a tragedy and you think the best place for her to heal is in the middle of the woods? AFTER she told you that place was her greatest fear? Uhhh. Well, gee, maybe you deserved everything you got, Willem Dafoe. (Just kidding, no one deserves that, no one. *shudder*)

We'd feel the same way too if we found out our isolated mansion wasn't wifi compatible. 

2. In The Others, Nicole Kidman lives with her two children in a giant, remote house. The children must hide inside all day due to being allergic to the sun and mum Nicole Kidman being a serious buzzkill. It's when the new servants arrive that ish starts to get weird. Is there someone else in the house with them? Is the isolation driving you mad? Don't you wish you had neighbours? Or a Starbucks you could hide out at? It's almost Pumpkin Spice Latte season, ya know.

We read on HuffPo that depilated cabins in the woods are the perfect place to force someone to recover from heroin. 

3. The 2013 Evil Dead remake gets man a "WHY?!" Why would you think it's a good idea to take someone THERE to get over a heroin addiction? Why would you read that book when it tells you not to? WHY TREE-THING WHY?! WHY TONGUE WHY!?! Not that we'd be there in the first place (because a Holiday Inn Express is just a good a place to detox from heroin if you ask us), but the minute we unearthed all that awfulness in the cellar, we'd get the heck outta there. 

It's so cozy! And reflective! 

4. Bug makes us itchy just thinking about it. On the one hand, Michael Shannon. On the other hand, bugs. Bugs. Gross. They're everywhere. You might not be able to see them, but just us, they are there. Not even the pizza is safe! Bug is the ultimate exercise in paranoia and watching Ashley Judd and Micahel Shannon completely lose it in their motel room is uncomfortable and unsettling and sort of makes us wary of motels in general. We'll forever love and hate Tracey Letts and William Friedkin for teaming up and giving us this unforgettable story. 

"What do you mean we aren't here to play real-life Clue??" 

5. Yeah, we're talking about the original 1963 The Haunting. As much as we love us some Liam Neeson, we'll just pretend the remake never happened. The Haunting brings together a group of people, one of whom is a paranormal investigator, and plops them inside what is apparently a haunted house. Why guys? WHY!? Get outta there already. The production design and filming itself lend to the overall creeptastic effect of the film. We'll leave supernatural occurrences in terrifying houses to the Winchester boys, thanks all the same. 

Ah, a calming canoe trip. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?!

BONUS ROUND: The category of "fun vacay gone horrible awry" is a category of its own for horror films, but we couldn't end this list without mentioning the ultimate: Deliverance. Are manly canoe trips with one's friends no longer sacred?!?! Next time, stay-cation.

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

GOODNIGHT MOMMY: Even More Movies with Creepy Kids

"We're not creepy. We're adorable!" 

While Goodnight Mommy makes both the mum and children look absolutely terrifying, we have to admit that the kids give us the heebie-jeebies a little more. Maybe it's the twin thing, or the masks. *shudder* You may be thinking to yourself that you've seen a blog like this before and you would be correct. We covered creepy kids a couples years ago for Here Comes the Devil and over on the Midnight Madness blog, Leslie has put together her own list to go along with Cub. Lucky for us, there are no shortage of creepy kids movies and as long as it continues to be a topic of interest, we'll be blogging about it. You could think of it as a friendly reminder to why maybe you shouldn't procreate.

Elijah's got the right idea. 

1. The Good Son stars Macaulay Culkin as the complete opposite of a good son. Mostly because he's a crazy psycopath. Just look at how wigged out little Elijah Wood looks in that still. Poor Elijah. He moved in with his extended family after a tragedy and just wants to heal except Macaulay isn't having any of that. Moral of this story: if your child can stare down a manic, barking dog, he might be evil.

"Are you my mommy?" 

2. It's Alive might technically be about a baby, but that baby is a monster that kills people and if that doesn't count as creepy, we don't know what does. Everything seems perfectly normal for Frank and Lenore. She's just about ready to have their second child and life couldn't be more normal. Then Lenore goes and gives birth to a mutated monster thing that kills everything in its path and that sort of messes up the entire family dynamic. Way to go, mutant baby. You don't really get a good look at mutant baby killing action in the trailer, but it does inform us that the baby is, in fact, alive.

It's a well known fact that most ghost kids just want to play ball. 

3. The Changeling also switches it up a bit because this isn't just any normal creepy kid but a ghost. And we don't really get to see it all that often in the movie. But that doesn't matter because that ghost is damn scary. Just ask the dude he's haunting, John. Creepy enough for you, John? This is a ghost with a mission, though, so we've got to cut him some slack. He's got his own death to avenge after all. But it doesn't change the fact that haunting a house is creepy as all get out. 

We feel the same way about creepy twins too, kid. 

4. The only thing worse than one creepy kid in a movie is two identical ones. Twins, right guys? *shudder* We're going to have to endure twice the creepy in Goodnight Mommy just like in The Other. This movie isn't just creepy twins, it's also got a little bit of psychic abilities because why not. AS IF IT WASN'T CREEPY ENOUGH. There's also a fun twist at the end that somehow makes it decidedly more creepy than twins with psychic abilities.

Get away from the evil, National Treasure Charles Grodin! 

5. Okay, okay, so Clifford technically isn't a horror movie but come on! Is there anything more terrifying than supposing to believe that Martin Short is ten-year-old child? We totally get that the premise is a flashback and old, wise Martin Short is telling a story to some ruffian, but why couldn't they cast a real child? WHY, MOVIE GODS, WHY?! Things burned into our memories forever: Martin Short wearing dinosaur pyjamas sharing a donut with his toy dinosaur Steffen. Somebody out there on the world wide web conveniently recut a Clifford trailer in the style of a horror film, which matches our feelings about it perfectly. Get outta there, Charles Grodin!

BONUS ROUND: It wouldn't be a list without some sort of runner-up so we present to you, this creepy vampire kid from Salem's Lot! He gets bonus points for style and generally making us want to cry forever. 

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

GOODNIGHT MOMMY Second Look: two short clip, new images, and poster!

"Two clips released, you say?! I'll be right out."

Whoa, whoa, whoa kids. Have we got exciting news! Not long after after posting our initial First Look post for the dark and foreboding Goodnight Mommy did Indiewire exclusively release the first clip. Thank you, o' mighty Indiewire gods for providing us with this bounty. This chilling and fearful bounty. (We just wish it would embed, but alas you will all have to click on the link.) Gotta say, we don't really blame those kids for being so wary of their mum.

Twitch also released a different clip. It's starting to feel like Christmas over here on the Vanguard blog. But unfortunately that won't embed either so head on over to the website and prepare yourselves to never want to to fall asleep near children who have access to cockroaches ever again!

And that's not all, because soon after we uncovered a film poster and some seriously disturbing new stills. Like the one above. Nightmare fuel, that is. Check it all out below and get even more excited (and disturbed) for this movie.

Okay, this one isn't so bad. Look how cute they are!

Um, maybe go lie down, Mommy. You look...tired?

NOPE, NOPE, NOPE.

Okay, now the masks aren't so cute anymore.

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