TIFF‘s Midnight Madness lineup is here, and this year’s genre feature all sorts of good stuff, from Ben Wheatley‘s latest action pic starring Bob Odenkirk, to TV producer Bryan Fuller‘s feature directorial debut, to a SXSW favorite from “Viceland” creator Matt Johnson.
Let’s talk the Wheatley pic first. “Normal” stars Odenkirk as Ulysses, a substitute shriff in a small town who respond to a bank robbery, only to unknowingly uncover something far more explosive. The action pic sees Odenkirk reunite with “Nobody” writer Derek Kolstad and producer Marc Provissiero, and it’s Wheatley’s sixth pic to play at TIFF. It’s also the second of Wheatley’s films to premiere in the Midnight Madness section, the other being 2016’s “Free Fire,” which won the sidebar’s People’s Choice Award. Does that make “Normal” a favorite for the prize this year?
Not if Bryan Fuller has anything to say about it. Fuller’s first feature “Dust Bunny” stars David Dastmalchian, Mads Mikkelsen, and Sigourney Weaver in a horror thriller about an eight-year-old girl who asks her scheming neighbor for help in killing the monster under her bed that she believes ate her family. That sounds like something right in the center of the “Hannibal” creator’s wheelhouse, and a welcome change of pace from Fuller’s recent string of Netflix serial killer drama series.
Up next: Matt Johnson‘s “Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie.” TIFF bills the Canadian premiere of the Toronto-set film (based on the cult web series at its TV sequel) as a hysterical, death-defying time-travel caper, and was an audience favorite at SXSW this spring, where it won the Midnighter Audience Award. That makes it a favorite as a Midnight Madness winner, too, right? It’s a smart move not to bet against the hometown hero Johnson here.
But what else does Midnight Madness have in store for TIFF-goers in 2025? There’s Kenji Tanigaki‘s martial arts thriller “The Furious.” And there’s also Nick Corirossi‘s “The Napa Boys,” about a group of old friends that go on one last wine-fueled binge together, set forth by the mysterious “Sommelier.” And “Dead Lover,” from Canadian director Grace Glowicki closes out the sidebar, with the film described as a zany, macabre horror-comedy.
Check out the entire TIFF Midnight Madness lineup below. Screenings of the films close out each night of the festival with 11:59p screenings at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The 50th edition of TFF runs from September 4-14.
Dead Lover | Grace Glowicki | Canada | Closing Film
Canadian Premiere
Dust Bunny | Bryan Fuller | USA
World Premiere
Fuck My Son! | Todd Rohal | USA
World Premiere
JUNK WORLD | Takahide Hori | Japan
International Premiere
Karmadonna | Aleksandar Radivojević | Serbia
World Premiere
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | Matt Johnson | Canada | Opening Film
Canadian Premiere
Normal | Ben Wheatley | USA/Canada
World Premiere
Obsession | Curry Barker | USA
World Premiere
The Furious | Kenji Tanigaki | Hong Kong/China
World Premiere
The Napa Boys | Nick Corirossi | USA
World Premiere
