Running from October 18 through October 26th, The Toronto After Dark Film Festival provides genre fans with the best horror, science fiction and cult films that the world has to offer all thrown into one fantastic week at the restored Bloor Cinema in the heart of the city.

With 20 films and 29 shorts being showcased at the event – and for many, it’s their World or Canadian premiere – we are going to spotlight a film each day giving you a glimpse into some of the action, the macabre and the bloodletting that will soak our screens until the closing night gala.

Today’s spotlight: Grabbers

The opening night film at this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival is Joe Wright’s comedy/sci-fi/thriller, Grabbers.

Grabbers introduces us to Ciarán O’Shea (Richard Coyle from BBC’s Coupling). Ciarán is your stereotypical Irishman – simply put, Ciarán likes to drink heavily - who as a Garda is assigned to welcome a new female young officer named Lisa Nolan (Ruth Bradley) to their fishing village. Being a small town on the tiny isle of Ireland, there is little for the officers to do except rustle the occasional drunk in keeping the peace, but when unexplained events begin to plague the town – whales start appearing dead, a fishing boat crew disappears – Ciarán and Lisa connect the evidence dots and conclude that some kind of inhuman beast is to blame. And, since they are Irish, they do what comes natural. They head to the pub where villagers gather and arm themselves for one helluva fight.

Grabbers might best be described as Tremors meets War of the Worlds if written by H.P. Lovecraft. It is a blended mix of comedy and thrills and ensures that both genres get equal moments in a film that was given 4-stars by The Telegraph.

Grabbers opens the Festival with a 6:45PM showing at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto on October 18th. Tickets are still available and can be purchased through http://torontoafterdark.com/2012/

Other Reviews for Grabbers:

4 stars. More than anything, however, Grabbers is simply a great movie. It’s well made, brilliantly acted and lovingly shot, drawing you in with roguish Irish charm and likeable characters before making you cringe, gasp and jump back in surprise with its novel creature design and surprisingly spectacular set-pieces…… Grabbers is one of the best horror movies you’ll see this year.
- Steven Neish, Hey U Guys.

Grabbers happily lives up to the early hype, serving up a very enjoyable blend of Tremors, The Guard and Lake Placid, with some tentacled splashes of Peter Benchley’s The Beast thrown in for good measure.
- Stephen Carty, Empire

4.5 stars. Grabbers manages to not only deliver on the promise of the plot but also exceeds these expectations. Not only is it great monstermovie, it’s also a brilliant comedy and a great advert for Irish pubs
- Nat Smith, Front Row Reviews.