Just before the clock strikes midnight, a world of cinema opens at TIFF

TIFF, one of the world's top film festivals, is both a film trade and audience-focused event. And Midnight Madness has consistently proved to be among its most popular sections

For 10 days every year in September, close to midnight, they gather in downtown Toronto, queueing up outside one of the screening venues of the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Once they’re in, all bets are off. “The audience is loud, they’re wild, they’re ready to have fun. The movies don’t start until midnight, so it’s a late-night kind of wild experience. They like to be shocked,” says Cameron Bailey, artistic director and the new co-head of TIFF.

Bailey is describing the loyal audience of TIFF’s “Midnight Madness” section — a rollercoaster of thrills, spills and kills, which always