The Toronto International Film Festival announced today its genre selections for the highly regarded Midnight Madness program, the fest’s signature series for the late-night crowd, and it opens with the highly anticipated River.
River sees genre favorites Jane Levy (Evil Dead) and Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) plunged into a survival horror scenario.
It follows three estranged siblings who reunite in their hometown after the death of their father. They set out to scatter his ashes at his favorite spot on a remote river, but when their boat breaks down, the trip devolves into a waking nightmare.
Stranded miles from help with no cell service, they soon realize they’re being stalked by a faceless killer who has emerged from the woods. To survive the night, the siblings must put their long-standing grudges aside and fight together against a ruthless, almost mythic terror.
Max Mattern (“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy”) and Dane DiLiegro (Prey) also star in the film, which marks the feature debut of writer-director Joshua Giuliano.
River is one of 10 films joining TIFF’s Midnight Madness slate this year.
In addition to the new premieres, Midnight Madness also expands this year with a special screening of Na Hong-jin’s sci-fi action thriller Hope starring Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, and Jung Hoyeon on Wednesday, September 9, the eve before Festival; and a “return to where it all started” screening of Focus Features and writer-director Curry Barker’s breakout success Obsession on Friday, September 11.
Here’s the TIFF 2026 Midnight Madness lineup:
Anchors Aweigh | Matt Barats | USA
International Premiere
After a thwarted marriage proposal, alt-comedian Matt Barats spirals into an existential crisis in this semi-autobiographical blend of deadpan absurdism and unexpected poignancy told in a first-person, confessional style à la Ross McElwee or John Wilson.
Arrested Memory | SABU | Taiwan, Japan
North American Premiere
A seasoned detective (Ethan Juan) recently diagnosed with dementia is doggedly pursued by both cops and crooks after he unwittingly wanders off with a multimillion-dollar ransom in a new absurdist crime caper from cult auteur Sabu.
HALF | Samjad | India
World Premiere
Twin half-blooded vampires (Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj) wage war with desert highway hijackers in a gory martial arts curry western from writer-director Samjad and choreographer Very Tri Yulisman (The Raid 2, The Night Comes for Us).
Kick On | Nick Kozakis | Australia
World Premiere
Looking to prolong their night of partying, four youths are plunged into paranoid pandemonium after crossing a mobster’s volatile son in Nick Kozakis’ bloody ripper of a siege thriller.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney | Matthew Rankin | Canada
World Premiere
This kaleidoscopic culture jam from visionary filmmaker Matthew Rankin (The Twentieth Century, Universal Language) details the rise of Canada’s 18th prime minister through a satirical collage of archival footage, television nostalgia, and national mythmaking.
River | Joshua Giuliano | USA
World Premiere | Midnight Madness Opening Night Film
Joshua Giuliano makes an audacious debut with a suspenseful slasher that sets three embittered siblings adrift along a rural waterway, and in the sights of a masked killer.
Rogue Trooper | Duncan Jones | United Kingdom
North American Premiere | Midnight Madness Closing Night Film
Directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Warcraft), this outlandish animated adaptation of the influential British comic book follows a clone soldier bred for an interstellar forever-war and his fallen comrades whose personalities live on within his gun, helmet, and backpack.
The Face of Horror | Anna Biller | United Kingdom
World Premiere
The Love Witch’s Anna Biller stunningly adapts the famous Japanese ghost story Yotsuya Kaidanto for 14th-century England in this gory tribute to classic Technicolor shockers.
The Spiral | Paolo Strippoli | Italy, France, Belgium
International Premiere
Director Paolo Strippoli turns the screws on a desperate mother (Jasmine Trinca) as she confesses a series of Faustian bargains to her estranged daughter (Romana Maggiora Vergano) in this riveting morality chiller.
Vintage Violence | Eugene Kotlyarenko | USA, Japan
World Premiere
In Eugene Kotlyarenko’s mixed-media caper, a livestreamer (Cole Sprouse) discovers a cache of vintage denim only to run afoul of the Yakuza when he is lured to Japan to sell the jeans by one of his subscribers (Kiko Mizuhara).
