Deadgirl
Director: Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel
Every year the midnight movie program brings loyal TIFF fans a handful of movies that are sure to make even the most hardened gorehounds sick to their stomachs. This year, the movie that is the most certain to cause rivers of vomit to flow down the aisles is Deadgirl, a charming tale about a pair of friends who find (you guessed it) a dead girl in an abandoned mental hospital and decide to have some illicit fun with the corpse. Frankly, I already feel a little sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Now there's the sign of a good horror flick.—PB



The Duchess
Director: Saul Dibb
The queen of the corset and the future Mrs. T., Keira Knightley stars as the titular Duchess (aka Georgiana Cavendish). An 18th Century aristocrat, Cavendish was a sartorial hero, collectionneuse (in the Rohmer sense), and guy's girl. Ralph Fiennes plays the emotionally distant Duke whom Cavendish spars with and the ascendant Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited) is the best friend/rival. Look for period sparks to fly, corsets to break, pleats to ruffle, wigs to slip off, and tracking shots to abound. -S.T.



Fifty Dead Men Walking
Director: Kari Skogland
Upping Sean Penn by forty-nine, Kari Skogland's (The Stone Angel) based-on-a-true-story Fifty Dead Men Walking recounts the life of Martin McGartland, an IRA informer who has endured a shooting and memoir success. Star Jim Sturgess has already done the teen-friendly musical (Across the Universe), the period supporting role (The Other Boleyn Girl), and the Kevin Spacey flick (21). His turn as McGartland could be a breakout role. The rest of the cast is strong in a disparate way, with the lately more-diverse-than-a-food-court Ben Kingsley, the recently resurrected Rose McGowan, and the could-be Kevin Zegers. -S.T.



A Film with Me in It
Director: Ian Fitzgibbon
Admittedly, the plot sounds a little familiar (at least at the outset): actor Mark (co-writer Mark Doherty) can't pay the rent and doesn't want to tell his girlfriend. Of course, quirky characters and crushed dreams abound; and then a bunch of people die and Mark and pal Pierce (Dylan Moran) must contend with the carnage. If you're not an anglophile, haven't seen Black Books, or don't follow British stand-up comedy then you probably don't know who Moran is. Notably, he stood out in the underwhelming David Schwimmer helmed Run Fatboy Run for playing a half-naked, alcoholic gambler (it’s his usual shtick and he typically kills it); remember? Regardless, look for his ruffian charisma to elevate this into charmingly playful territory. -S.T.



Genova
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Despite the forthcoming adjectives, Michael Winterbottom's kinetic, schizophrenic, taunting, whimsical, playful canon has a fluidity that defies easy categorization (so why am I still writing?). Past genres tackled include prestige pics (A Mighty Heart), metaphysical, esoteric literary comedies (Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story), and zeitgeist-capturing quasi-biopics (24 Hour Party People). Now he tries his hand at postmortem romance; well sort of. Colin Firth plays a widower that copes with the death of his wife by moving his family to the titular town. Bonus: the luminous Catherine Keener and the fantastic Hope Davis also star. -S.T.



Gigantic
Director: Matt Aselton
I had a Pixies song in my head when I started writing this blurb (do you know which one?), but then, as I often do, I got distracted by Zooey Deschanel (did that sound creepy?). And then a strange thing happened: She and Him displaced Black Francis et al. Tangentially, M. Ward had better stay away from my girl (ibid). I digress. One of the best young actors working today, Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) plays a mattress salesman looking for love. John Goodman, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, and the divine Ms. Deschanel also star in co-writer Matt Aselton's directorial debut. -S.T.