TIFF’s Midnight Madness programme is the festival’s real hidden gem

Do you like genre movies?

You know, good stuff like horror, science fiction, western, crime, and kung fu flicks – basically, the complete opposite of what you might expect to find at a major international film festival. You do? Great! So then you must know about Midnight Madness, the Toronto International Film Festival's long-running genre film programme, right?

Away from the gala premieres and swanky after parties, tucked away in the middle of a university campus, is the Ryerson Theatre, current home to Midnight Madness and Toronto’s temple of terror, gore, action and intrigue during the festival. You won’t see European arthouse movies or Oscar contenders here. In the tradition of grindhouse theatres and cult movie nights, Midnight Madness is all about pure, unadulterated film fun, viewed late at night with over 1,000 like-minded cinema lovers.

Genre movies have long enjoyed a prime spot at TIFF thanks to Midnight Madness, something not offered by other festivals like Cannes and Venice. The programme gives the best genre films and filmmakers from around the world an unparalleled international platform that would otherwise have been impossible to match. Born in 1988 when TIFF was still called The Festival of Festivals, early Midnight Madness lineups were programmed by then-junior fest staffer Noah Cowan – now Artistic Director of the TIFF’s Lightbox theatre. The programme was intended as a way to bring younger audiences to the fest. Highlights of the first edition included the horror sequel "Hellbound: Hellraiser 2" and the rock documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years."

Midnight Madness steadily grew in size and scope during the 1990s, attracting sold-out crowds and a number of filmmakers who would go on to really big things, including prolific Japanese gore-teur Takashi Miike (“13 Assassins”), "Dazed and Confused" director Richard Linklater, and even a pre-"Lord of the Rings" Peter Jackson.

Around the time Midnight Madness moved from the Bloor Cinema to the Uptown Theatre, current curator Colin Geddes took over programming duties. Geddes’ stewardship of the late night programme has brought in some of the most promising young genre talent of the past few decades. Eli Roth made his horror debut, the flesh-eating flick "Cabin Fever" to the fest in 2002, as did the then-unknown Australian writer/director duo of James Wan and Leigh Whannell when they screened a little movie called "Saw" at Midnight Madness in 2004. Some of the greatest (and most hard-hitting) martial arts movies in recent memory have also premiered at Midnight Madness, including "Ong Bak: Thai Warrior" and "The Raid: Redemption." Other memorable highlights from past years include “Borat,” “JCVD,” “Jennifer’s Body,” “Dredd 3D,” “The Host,” and "Seven Psychopaths."

The programme has thrived since moving to its new home at the Ryerson in the early 2000s, and is going as strong as ever at TIFF 2013. Midnight Madness audiences are almost guaranteed to be the first to see the next big genre hit. This year's big draws are Eli Roth's "The Green Inferno," Lucky McKee and Chris Siverston's "All Cheerleaders Die," and "R100," the latest cinematic experiment from oddball Japanese comedian/filmmaker Hitoshi Matsumoto. But you don't just go to TIFF's after dark screenings for the movies - half the fun is sharing the screening with some of the most the passionate and engaged film fans in the world. Don't believe us? Brave the night and experience a Midnight Madness for yourself.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 5 to 15.