The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its 2026 Midnight Madness lineup, and the after-dark programme is stacked with ghosts, slashers, yakuza, aliens, and a genetically engineered super soldier.

TIFF runs September 10–20, 2026. The Midnight Madness strand, curated by Peter Kuplowsky, screens every title at 11:59 p.m. at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto — the festival's longstanding late-night slot for genre films that thrive on a crowd ready to cheer, gasp, or flinch together Variety.

Opening night belongs to River, a slasher from first-time director Joshua Giuliano. Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe play siblings stalked by a faceless killer. It is a US production and will hold its world premiere. Closing night goes the other direction entirely: Rogue Trooper, the latest science-fiction feature from Duncan Jones — the director behind Moon (2009) — adapted from the British comic of the same name. Aneurin Barnard plays a genetic super soldier hunting the people who killed his unit. It is a UK production and will screen as a North American premiere Variety.

For many genre followers, the headline is Anna Biller. Her new film The Face of Horror marks her first feature since 2016's cult favourite The Love Witch. Set in the 14th century, it stars Jonah Hauer-King as a cheating widower haunted by his late wife, played by Kristine Froseth. The UK production will hold its world premiere at the festival Variety.

The lineup also includes Vintage Violence, an action-comedy directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko. Cole Sprouse plays a jeans producer in Japan who tangles with the yakuza. It is a USA/Japan co-production and a world premiere Variety.

A special Midnight Madness screening goes to Hope, the latest from South Korean director Na Hong-jin. The action film pits rural villagers against a family of aliens that crash-lands in their backyard. The cast spans continents: Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander Variety.

Perhaps the most striking booking sits outside the genre slate itself. TIFF will host a special screening of Curry Barker's Obsession on Friday, September 11, 2026 — almost exactly a year after the film had its world premiere at the 2025 festival. The reason is the numbers. Obsession has grossed nearly $500 million worldwide against a budget of $750,000, according to Variety. That return ratio puts it in rare company for an independent film. The festival has also scheduled an onstage Dialogues conversation between Barker and star Inde Navarrette as part of its inaugural TIFF: The Market, the festival's new industry programme Variety.

The full Midnight Madness programme rounds out with six more titles. Anchors Aweigh, directed by Matt Barats (USA, international premiere), and Arrested Memory, from the Japanese filmmaker known as SABU (Taiwan/Japan, North American premiere), bring the count of international premieres to two. Four world premieres fill out the slate: HALF (Samjad, India), Kick On (Nick Kozakis, Australia), Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney (Matthew Rankin, Canada), and The Spiral (Paolo Strippoli, Italy/France/Belgium, international premiere) Variety.

What makes this year's Midnight Madness stand out is the spread. Biller's gothic ghost story and Giuliano's bare-knuckle slasher sit alongside Kotlyarenko's yakuza comedy and Na Hong-jin's alien-invasion action film. The programme has always thrived on friction between tones — a slasher into a comedy into a sci-fi war picture, all after midnight — and the 2026 edition keeps that tradition intact.