For decades, TIFF’s Midnight Madness program has been the center of the genre film universe. If you are looking for a mind blowing good time after a long day of TIFFing then you’ll definitely want to grab a ticket for any (or all) of this year’s Midnight Madness titles during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Peter Kuplowsky, who has been leading the Midnight Madness program since 2017, has pulled together a diverse slate of horror, action, and comedy that has something for every type of genre aficionado. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us as we all prepare to gather at the witching hour for 10 rocking nights from September 10-20, 2026.
BBP: For MM Newbies, which film(s) this year would be the best entry point that shows what MM is all about?
PK: Opening night is always a great introduction to the section, because the audience energy is usually at its peak and I think RIVER is gonna deliver a quintessential Midnight Madness experience. Writer/Director Joshua Giuliano has brilliantly engineered his slasher-thriller in such a way that once it gets going, it’s a steady ratcheting of tension and terror. There will be gasps, shrieks and those patented nervous groans reserved for when characters decide to, perhaps inadvisably “go in there”.
We do have some theatrics planned for the presentation of Anna Biller’s THE FACE OF HORROR and Matthew Rankin’s LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BRIAN MULRONEY, so I think both will be quite memorable evenings.
And I’d remiss not to mention the Malayalam martial arts vampire flick HALF, as long-time Midnighters will attest that there is nothing like watching brutal fisticuffs with a 900+ crowd oohing and awing at every punch, kick, sweep and stab.
BBP: On the flipside: Which film(s) are going to blow away the veterans who’ve been showing up at every screening for the last 20+ years?
PK: The premise of KICK ON is reminiscent of classic Midnight Madness films like GREEN ROOM, but I think even veterans of the section will be surprised by its gory escalation. THE FACE OF HORROR is no slouch in the gore department either, but what makes it even more remarkable is how authentic its emulation of vintage gore aesthetics are. It truly films like a lost Hammer or Corman Poe Cycle chiller. Blood hasn’t been this pure a RED since the 1960s.
I want to highlight Sabu’s ARRESTED MEMORY as well. I think longtime fans of the filmmaker’s early work (from DAGAN RUNNER to DRIVE) will be surprised to see how much of a return to form this is. It made me deeply nostalgic for Asian cinema of the turn of the last century, and the story, while full of action, and huge laughs, is also so humanist and tender. Come for the Judo-infused action and climactic gangster shoot-out, but also prepare to shed some happy tears.
BBP: MM films always seem to grab you from the start with a strong opening scene. Was there a film you saw this year that you knew within the first 15-30 minutes that it would strike a chord with the MM audience?
PK: Eugene Kotlyarenko’s VINTAGE VIOLENCE immediately drops the audience into a unique social media aesthetic that brilliantly sets up characters who start worlds apart, before being drawn together in a madcap and “bloody” caper throughout Japan. There’s a real youthful vitality to its early scenes, which feels so authentic, irreverent, and infectious, that I quickly “swiped right” when considering the film.
Rankin opens his feverish political remix doc with a build up to Brian Mulroney’s first major speech at the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention, and he transforms the politician into a Liberace-esque diva, complete with a sports-car, back-up figure skaters and high-flying wire work. Such an outrageous spectacle made me more certain that Midnight Madness was the best possible home for this portrait of a politician – as perverse a choice as it might seem at first.
And if your readers want to get a glimpse at what to expect from RIVER, they should seek out Joshua Giuliano’s amazing short film ‘IN SOUND, WE LIVE FOREVER“, which inspired the feature. The film opens with a sequence that revisits the short film’s unique form and style to great effect. As striking it is a short film, it’s all the more so as a prelude for the suspense and carnage to come.
BBP: What is this year’s dark horse MM title? The one that nobody is going to see coming and everyone will be talking about the next morning?
PK: I almost mentioned ANCHORS AWEIGH for the previous questions, because the first few minutes of Matt Barats comedy had me in tears of laughter. It only gets funnier and remarkably profound from there. Matt has been a rising voice in alt-comedy over the past few years, but may this vulnerable, sardonic treatise on nostalgia, loneliness and modern ennui be his true coming out party, where he is propelled to the modern day comedy pantheon and join the likes of Nathan Fielder, Joe Pera, Sarah Sherman and Tim Robinson.
BBP: Is there anything else outside of MM that you’d recommend checking out?
PK: There’s so much great genre programming at the festival this year. Banjong Pisanthanakun, the director of SHUTTER and THE MEDIUM has a new black magic horror film called INHERIT that has maybe my favourite punchline of the festival. Roshan Sethi jumps from romantic-comedy (A NICE INDIAN BOY) to gory action with THE SURGEON, which stars the reliably badass Michelle Yeoh slicing through the sinews of mobsters. Jonathan Schey’s EVERYONE WANTS TO F*CK ME picks up the discourse baton from last years’ OBSESSION with a darkly comic genre critique of so-called “nice guys”. We’ve got Harry Melling and Jodie Comer in STUFFED, a twisted musical about a taxidermist’s dream to “stuff” a human being!
But the film you really don’t want to miss out on is Bahman Ghobadi’s TREES ARE WATCHING. Starring Eva Green, the Kurdish-Iranian auteur has conjured up a remarkable horror fable. Though never as campy and far more severe, its unique premise involving murderous furnishings reminded me of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s HAUSU, especially in how it uses the genre to mask a rich historical and philosophical undercurrent. For me, it’s everything I hope to see when I wander into an International genre film, especially one by an auteur as storied as Ghobadi (TURTLES CAN FLY, A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES, RHINO SEASON).
Find information about the Festival, including schedule and ticket information at TIFF.net ! The Festival runs from September 10-20, 2026 and you can find coverage right here at Biff Bam Pop!
