Toronto After Dark 2012: Wrap-Up & Award Winners

By Less Lee Moore

Toronto After Dark 2012 is over and the award winners have been announced. You can read the full list of winners on the Toronto After Dark website, but I’d like to call special attention to the films I saw and reviewed.

American Mary was overwhelmingly popular, winning five different awards chosen by the fans. The directors, Jen and Sylvia Soska, should be proud of their well-deserved win for Best Director. American Mary also had the best cinematography of all the films I saw and was the most disturbing, too, so winning those categories seems appropriate. It’s great to see Canadian features getting such recognition, especially when the lead actress, Katherine Isabelle, is the focus of the film. For a feminist take on horror, American Mary is a must-see. Anchor Bay will be releasing American Mary on home video in 2013.

If there was a more innovative film at Toronto After Dark than Resolution, I would like to see it. As I said in my review, the genre-blending was impeccably done. A lot of this had to do with the excellent screenplay. In addition, I cannot imagine a more gregarious and hilarious bunch of guys than directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, as shown in their intro to the film as well as their Q&A with lead actors Vinny Curran and Peter Cilella. Anyone who finds mainstream films pedestrian will be delighted by Resolution. Resolution will get a theatrical release through Tribeca Films in 2012.

Citadel was easily the best horror film I saw (and one of the best I’ve seen this year), as well as the most thrilling and scary. It’s wonderful to be emotionally invested in the story and the characters of a horror film as well as be genuinely frightened, and on those fronts, Citadel more than delivers. If you are looking for a different kind of horror film to push your adrenaline and emotions into high alert, Citadel is definitely the movie to see. Citadel hits US theaters on November 9 and Canadian theaters November 16.

Award Winners from my Top Five Picks

Best Horror Film: Citadel

Best Director: Jen and Sylvia Soska for American Mary

Best Screenplay: Justin Benson for Resolution

Best Canadian Feature Film: American Mary

Best Cinematography: American Mary

Best Antihero: American Mary‘s Mary Mason, played by Katherine Isabelle

Scariest Film: Citadel

Most Innovative Film: Resolution

Most Disturbing Film: American Mary

Most Thrilling Film: Citadel

Best Film Intro: Resolution

Best Audience Q&A: Resolution