Best of the Fest: Dread Central’s Favorites Out of TIFF 2021
TIFF 2021 wrapped last weekend, and team Dread Central saw some standouts we’d like to shout out.
Programmed by genre stalwart Peter Kuplowsky, TIFF 2021’s Midnight Madness section showcased fresh discoveries from France, Ireland, and Iran. But the festival hosted other horror-adjacent titles, too—among them, a pitch-black British comedy, a dystopian vision from Canada, and a supernaturally-tinged procedural from Korea.
“What’s great about genre archetypes is that so many of them are incredibly universal,” Kuplowsky told told Dread Central as the festival got underway. “And what’s exciting are the variables based on who’s telling the story and where the perspective is coming from.”
Kuplowsky added that much of the horror of TIFF 2021 was also about communication breakdowns. “That might be on an individual basis between friends or loved ones, or on a community basis, where divides can be caused by fear or prejudice,” he says.
For safety’s sake, Kuplowsky notes that horror fans had to show restraint at this year’s in-person midnight screenings… which is hard for horror fans to do. “Unfortunately, our patented beach ball that bounces around before each movie starts was too unhygienic to employ,” he said. (He did “make a meal of the introduction,” though, when presenting Julia Ducournau’s Titane dressed as a firefighter in front of a limited capacity crowd at Princess of Wales Theatre.)
Even in virtual screenings, these perspectives and themes made an indelible impact on Dread Central‘s team. Here are the films out of TIFF 2021 that hit us the hardest, and that you should seek out in the days to come. —Max Weinstein
DASHCAM (Dir. Rob Savage)
“I didn’t personally care for DASHCAM, yet I will continue to recommend it whenever I can. It’s inevitable that it will be one of the genre’s most polarizing features in years, and for better or worse, it’s going to dominate the horror discourse. Good or bad—no indifference here—DASHCAM is going to make an impact.” —Chad Collins
The Guilty (Dir. Antoine Fuqua)
“Jake Gyllenhaal is superb in this remake of the 2018 Danish film of the same name. He plays Joe Baylor, a dispatcher embroiled in a race against time when he receives a call from a kidnapped woman one fateful evening. The Guilty is a tense chamber piece—a claustrophobic thriller that looks in, rather than out. Fans of high-octane action might walk away disappointed, but The Guilty is sure to tempt audiences when it premieres on Netflix next month.” —C.C.
I’m Your Man (Dir. Maria Schrader)
“For fans of The Guest, Dan Stevens as a robot speaking German could be a surprising aphrodisiac. Although more of a sci-fi romantic comedy on the fritz, I’m Your Man provides plenty of insights about the horrors of relationships. Just imagine a slightly scarier version of Making Mr. Right and you’re on the right track.” —Drew Tinnin
Kicking Blood (Dir. Blaine Thurier)
“In the vein (sorry) of Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction, this is Canada’s version of a sexy vampire film. Looking past a somewhat cliche ending, the chemistry between actors Alanna Bale and Luke Bilyk show how kicking the habit is actually a lot hotter than sticking around for your next fix.” —D.T.
Mlungu Wam/Good Madam (Dir. Jenna Cato Bass)
“Jenna Cato Bass’ haunting tale of intergenerational horror was, by far, the scariest movie I saw at TIFF this year. While it certainly has roots in the supernatural, much of its terror comes straight from reality, as the film confronts the long-term effects of colonialism on Black families in South Africa.” —Emily Gagne
Night Raiders (Dir. Danis Goulet)
“In this sci-fi thriller, Cree-Métis filmmaker Danis Goulet boldly uses dystopian tropes to tell a story about forced assimilation that serves an allegory for Canada’s horrific residential schools. With stellar SFX and a moving main performance by Blood Quantum’s Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, it absolutely deserves your attention.” —E.G.
Silent Night (Dir. Camille Griffin)
“Roman Griffin Davis holds Silent Night together. But even without him, the film would remain just as terrifying. Davis’ turn as Art—the child of a wealthy family who refuses to concede that suicide is the right course of action amidst an unfolding apocalypse—will break hearts as often as it scares. This film is a Christmas celebration to remember.” —C.C.
Titane (Dir. Julia Ducournau)
“I gave this film—the latest from Raw director Julia Ducournau—a glowing review and I absolutely stand by it. Sexy and sensitive in equal measure, Titane gutted me in ways I never could have expected and I hope it does the same for you.” —E.G.
You Are Not My Mother (Dir. Kate Dolan)
“Although this lo-fi, modestly-conceived shocker never fully commits, fans of supernatural happenings with a folkish bent will find a lot to love here. Hazel Doupe stars as Char, a teenager in North Dublin who, over time, begins to suspect her mother is a changeling—a fairy that swaps out humans and replaces them with mimics from their own world. It’s a slow burn, but for patient genre fans, it’s a worthwhile discovery from its native Ireland.” —C.C.
Zalava (Dir. Arsalan Amiri)
“After reviewing Zalava last week, I’m still feeling that well-up of tears from when the film’s credits rolled. Set in a tiny Kurdish village, Arsalan Amiri’s debut harnesses big ideas in a small story about a demon captured in a tiny jar. Out of all the wondrous discoveries at this year’s festival, this is the film that I felt so fortunate to discover—mainly because it isn’t afraid to hold a mirror up to fear itself.” —D.T.
TIFF 2021 ran September 9–18, 2021. For more information, visit the festival’s website.
