Movies
TIFF ’11: ‘Midnight Madness’ Announces ‘Kill List,’ ‘Smuggler’ and ‘The Day’
After revealed a handful of image clues late last night, the official Midnight Madness Twitter was updated tonight with an announcement of the first three films playing as part of the Toronto International Film Festival from September 8-18.
So how epic will the event be? We’ve only got three films and already I’m excited out of my mind.
The first is the absolutely fantastic Kill List, which David Harley raved about out of the SXSW Film Festival this past March. Toronto audiences are going to literally lose their sh*t over this. It’s on my own person top 10 of 2011 thus far. IFC acquired the horror film about a group of demobbed soldiers turned contract killers who run up against a devil-worshipping coven.
Also playing is Doug Aarniokoski’s The Day, which stars Shawn Ashmore, Ashley Bell, Cory Hardrict, Dominic Monaghan, Shannyn Sossamon and Andrew Coutts. You’ve read a lot about the film here on Bloody, now I’m sure there’s plenty more in the pipeline leading up to its premiere!
The other film isn’t horror, but that means tomorrow you’ll wake up to FOUR more genre film announcements. Also showing is Katsuhito Ishii’s Japanese action comedy Smuggler, which you’ll find details on inside.
KILL LIST (trailers | images): “Eight months after a disastrous job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, ex-soldier turned contract killer Jay, is pressured by his partner Gal, into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the dark, disturbing world of the contract, Jay begins to unravel once again – his fear and paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness.”
THE DAY (teaser trailer | images) : “The film is a visceral action thriller with moral depth spanning 24 hours during which the ensemble cast is pit against insurmountable odds.”
SMUGGLER (trailer | official website): “After his acting career fails, Kinuta is left drifting and disconnected. When a confrontation in an arcade turns bad, he ends up in debt. To earn the money, he takes a job with Jo, cleaning up murder scenes. To his surprise, he makes friends with Jo, but the cruelty of the underworld in which they work shocks him–and inevitably challenges him to find the strength to take a different path.”
The bar wasn’t very high to clear, but Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 1 did manage to break a box office record here in 2024, achieving the highest opening weekend at the domestic box office out of any horror movie released this year… so far. This despite largely negative reviews, once again proving that the horror genre is as review-proof as it comes.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 debuted with $11.83M at the domestic box office in 2,856 locations, just barely topping Blumhouse’s Night Swim to rip the crown off the top of its head.
Here’s the full lineup of domestic opening weekends for horror this year…
- The Strangers: Chapter 1 – $11.8 million
- Night Swim – $11.7 million
- Abigail – $10.2 million
- Imaginary – $9.9 million
- The First Omen – $8.3 million
- Tarot – $6.5 million
- Immaculate – $5.3 million
- Lisa Frankenstein – $3.6 million
For further context and comparison, 2018’s The Strangers: Prey at Night opened to $10.4 million before making $31 million worldwide, a number Chapter 1 may eventually reach.
The good news for Lionsgate is that the production budget for The Strangers: Chapter 1 was a reported $8.5 million, so there’s a good chance this one will soon be profitable. But is it enough to justify theatrical releases for both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, which will continue Chapter 1‘s storyline and have already been filmed? Or will Lionsgate pivot to a streaming release?
These are the questions we can’t help but ponder today. Stay tuned for more.
Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”), Froy Gutierrez (Hocus Pocus 2), Rachel Shenton (The Silent Child), Ema Horvath (“Rings of Power”) and Gabe Basso (Hillbilly Elegy) star.
Here’s the full official synopsis: “After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.”
Renny Harlin directed The Strangers: Chapter 1.
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