MovieChat Forums > End of the Line (2008) Discussion > Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

posted 18 years ago by Holden-17
4 replies | jump to latest

I just saw the premiere screening of this film tonight and am curious to find out what other viewers thought of the film.

Personally, I didn't think that the film was bad, nor did I think that it was very good. I felt the same way after viewing this as I did after SAW. It had an interesting story, with some great scares and gore, but it didn't add up to much. The performances were average, but the writing, direction, cinematography and editing were mediocre. And I had the feeling while watching it that people around me were thinking the same thing, but then when the lights came up and it was time for questions and comments, it became evident that people had enjoyed it more than what I thought they had. So, I'm here to ask what others thought of this movie, as I obviously was not on the same page as the rest of the audience.

Also, there was a rather loud exchange between some audience members over someone laughing, but I wasn't close enough to hear exactly what was going on. Did anyone else hear this?

And for those who stayed for the Q & A, what was with the guy who made the "alien" comment? Did he sleep through the last scene or something?? Was he even watching the same movie as the rest of us??

Also, did it bother anyone else that the director wouldn't answer the questions about the budget? I mean, many people in the room were probably filmmakers or aspiring filmmakers for whom these things are a genuine concern and are trying to learn from other filmmakers acheivements. Although I didn't think it was a good movie, I still commend the director for pulling it off and was also curious to know how much the movie cost. If ever there's a time and place to talk about such things, it's at a film festival like this one.

[–] ash24m 18 years ago

I went to see it tonight as well. Didn't stay for the Q & A thought because I had to get the Midnight Madness screening. Sorry to hear you didn't like it. I thought the film was excellent, the best Canadian horror film since Ginger Snaps IMO. I wish I was able to stick around afterwards i would of loved to hear some of the comments. The short film that preceded the film was great as well. I really surprised it wasn't included in the Midnight Madness schedule, it would have been a great addition.

[–] Holden-17 18 years ago

Interesting, I actually thought that the short film that preceded it was really bad. Ever since I first heard that Rue Morgue was getting into the filmmaking business I've been looking forward to seeing what they'd come up with and that short film was a major disappointment. It was not scary... there was no tension... and I found it maddeningly repetitive. And that voice over dialogue was horrible. In fact, I thought that both films had horribly written dialogue. Neither of those two writer/directors seemed to know how to self edit and it's obvious neither of them employed story editors who could have spruced it up for them. It's really nice that these filmmakers can make technically slick, good-looking movies, but why cut corners with the scripts? END OF THE LINE at least was engaging because of the cast. The other film was just annoying.

[–] marajade29sm 18 years ago

I loved the short...I thought it built tension nicely, and each time the scene was done, some little bit changed to make it even more stressful to watch. It was a great lead-in to End of the Line, which started off with a great scare and built from there. I was entirely engaged for the whole thing, I liked the characters, and I found the pace to be a great mix of humour and horror, which is what I was hoping for. Easily one of my faves of the fest, as I found some of the Midnight Madness offerings to be a bit disappointing.

I found the repeated questions about the budget to be kind of annoying in the Q&A. he'd already made it clear that he wasn;t going to answer, so the polite thing to do would have been to stop asking, in my opinion! lol

The alien question, I'm hoping, was just misworded. Either thaat, or the viewer really didn't pay attention to any of the film as it unfolded!

[–] Holden-17 18 years ago

A friend of mine pointed out that the director may not have wanted to talk about the budget because the film hadn't been sold to a distributor yet. If he'd stated how much it actually cost, he could have shot himself in the foot as far as any future negotiations go. Apparently Eli Roth avoided answering budget questions when he screened Cabin Fever at the festival as there were potential buyers in the audience. If that was really the reason, then I'm not so bothered anymore that he didn't answer.

I completely agree with you that Midnight Madness didn't have much to offer this year. TRAPPED ASHES was pretty bad. So was SHEITAN. And I didn't see THE HOST, but was told that it didn't live up to the hype. The offerings at the new Toronto After Dark film festival that's coming up at the end of October look much more interesting than what TIFF had. I've been told that Colin Geddes had a hand in helping them program their films, which made me think that maybe they were all just second string TIFF films, but in actuality they look much much better. I'll probably check out a couple of their films, hopefully they won't disappoint like Midnight Madness did.