The Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, wraps up its section-specific announcements with another electric and eldritch edition of its Midnight Madness programme. Spanning the full spectrum of midnight movie modes, from classic horror and wicked action to absurdist alt-comedy and the return of gonzo documentaries to the section courtesy of Canada’s Matthew Rankin (The Twentieth Century, TIFF ’19; Universal Language, TIFF ’24), the 2026 Midnight Madness lineup includes six World Premieres across 10 countries of production. Further assembled within the slate are an awesome array of masked killers, medieval ghosts, drug-addled mobsters, denim-desiring yakuza, amnesiac detectives, martial artist vampires, interstellar infantrymen, competing Canadian politicians, Faustian bargains, existential ennui, and even an infamous talking pineapple.

An audience favourite with an “obsessed” following, Midnight Madness delivers 10 late-night screenings at the (allegedly) haunted Royal Alexandra Theatre, each starting at 11:59 pm. Hosted by section curator Peter Kuplowsky, Midnight Madness invites the Festival’s most devoted and raucous audience to close out each night by diving into the best of the bizarre in contemporary genre and underground cinema, from emerging and established provocateurs.

And the Midnight Madness mayhem 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. As previously announced, TIFF: The Market will host an onstage moderated Dialogues conversation with director Barker and star Inde Navarrette as part of the seven-day Summit at the John Bassett Theatre; accessible by pass holders and public ticket holders.

2026 Midnight Madness programme (in alphabetical order):

• Anchors Aweigh | Matt Barats | USA, International Premiere
• Arrested Memory | SABU | Taiwan, Japan, North American Premiere
• HALF | Samjad | India, World Premiere
• Kick On | Nick Kozakis | Australia, World Premiere
• Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney | Matthew Rankin | Canada, World Premiere
• River | Joshua Giuliano | USA, World Premiere – Midnight Madness Opening Night Film 
• Rogue Trooper | Duncan Jones | United Kingdom, North American Premiere – Midnight Madness Closing Night Film 
• The Face of Horror | Anna Biller | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• The Spiral | Paolo Strippoli | Italy, France, Belgium, International Premiere
• Vintage Violence | Eugene Kotlyarenko | USA, Japan, World Premiere

The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 10–20, 2026.