The Predator & Halloween to have world premieres at TIFF’s Midnight Madness

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Every year the Toronto International Film Festival holds their Midnight Madness screenings, showcasing ten upcoming genre movies across ten horrific, magical nights. This year they have two doozies on the docket as they’ve announced that Shane Black’s THE PREDATOR and David Gordon Green’s HALLOWEEN will have their world premieres at the festival next month.

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As part of the press release, Midnight Madness Programmer Peter Kuplowsky put out a statement expressing his excitement over this year’s lineup, including the two of this year’s most anticipated movies in the genre.

“This year’s Midnight Madness slate promises another idiosyncratic confluence of established and emerging genre filmmakers. To complement some of the buzziest provocations on the festival circuit, I have sought to curate an eccentric array of World Premieres that demonstrate the dexterity of genre cinema as a canvas for both sublime satisfaction and stunning subversion. That includes the section’s two much-anticipated sequels, The Predator and Halloween, each of which boldly and brilliantly builds upon its mythic iconography to thrilling and surprising effect.”

The release from TIFF revealed that PREDATOR will be the opening film for Midnight Madness, screening at 11:59 pm on Thursday, September 6. In the movie from Black, a child causes an alien ship to crash land on earth, unleashing the fury of the Predator on the community. A team of soldiers must then try to hunt down and kill the new and improved alien hunters, including the massive Ultimate Predator. The movie stars Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown, Jacob Tremblay, Jake Busey and more. 

As for HALLOWEEN, there’s no word on the exact premiere date, but we’re hearing (but can’t confirm) it could be as early as Saturday, September 8. Taking place decades after the events of the first movie, this new take on the iconic slasher franchise finds Michael Myers (Nick Castle) breaking out of jail and hunting down the one who got away, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who has been preparing for his return this whole time. Our own Chris Bumbray will be on hand at the festival, so be sure to stay tuned for those reviews when they come in.

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There will plenty of other interesting films being screened as part of MM, like the Monica Bellucci flick, NEKROTRONIC, and Gasper Noe’s controversial movie CLIMAX, which received a ton of buzz out of Cannes as was picked up by A24. As well, there will be showings of ASSASSINATION NATION and THE MAN WHO FEELS NO PAIN, the first Indian movie ever to show at MM.

Everyone else can catch THE PREDATOR in theaters September 14 and HALLOWEEN on October 19.