Every film festival out there has movies that aren't quite up to snuff and Toronto After Dark Film Festival is no different. Every year there seems to be one or two that, though they aren't horrible, aren't exactly the biggest crowd pleasers either. This year, judging by the trailers, TAD has more than one stinker. In fact, they programmed an entire night for them a la bottom of the barrel. Luckily, I know better than to judge a book by its cover as I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong about day 5. Day 5 was probably my least anticipated night of the festival and judging by the size of the crowd it was the least attended night as well. Netherbeast Incorporated Directed by: Dean Ronalds Cast: Darrell Hammond, Dave Foley, Jason Mewes, Amy Davidson, Judd Nelson, Robert Wagner, Steve Burns Tuesday, Oct 21 2008, 7.00pm What happens when you take a concept like The Office and add a little spin by making everyone vampires? You get Netherbeast Incorporated! While looking very low budget, Nether Inc. delivers in a fashion fans of The Office are sure to enjoy. From simple office satire to vampire re-imaginings, you get a healthy dose of everything you'd want and more. There is some low budget gore, office romance, bizarre plot twists and even some animation thrown in to round out a simple yet enjoyable film. The cast is amazing for a low budget film of this nature. How the director managed to score such talent is beyond me. Jason Mewes surprised me the most. Considering I've seen him mostly as half of the Jay & Silent Bob duo, the change from pot smoker to white collar office worker totally threw me for a spin. I'll give Mewes credit as he totally pulls it off. Dave Foley, who I loved in Kids in the Hall, plays his character pretty straight. He was the one guy who I thought might have a bizarre character and it turned out he had one of the more sane. The wackiest character award goes to Darrell Hammond who plays the head vampire/CEO who's been infected by a brain disease causing him to have, at first, some short term memory loss, but which quickly progresses into pure amnesiatic genious! This is the best "Office" movie since "Office Space" and I hope it manages to develope a following once it hits DVD. And if it doesn't hit DVD, I'd be surprised. This film shouldn't be a hard sell. With the right marketing, this may be the sleeper hit of the festival. Unlike Repo, Let the Right One In, or Tokyo Gore Police, this film doesn't have a built in audience. If they recut the trailer, shorten it and make it scream funny, this might even play well in a limited theatrical run. Who is KK Downey? Directed by: Darren Curtis & Pat Kiely Cast: Darren Curtis, Kristin Adams, Matt Silver, Pat Kiely Tuesday, Oct 21 2008, 9.45pm KK Downey marks the first Canadian full length film to play Toronto After Dark and I'll be honest when I say, I was a little disapointed. I so wanted this film to blow me away considering I went in with pretty low expectations. Who is K.K. Downey however doesn't quite go far enough over the top. It kinda teases you with this whole "crazy idea" for a film but only delivers half the crazy in the end. Terrance is a twenty-something unemployed musician who aspires to be famous. Unfortunately, his band blows and he can't quite seem to keep it together. His obsession with his band ultimately alienates him from his now ex (played by the beautiful Kristin Adams) and she ends up dating some douchebag music reviewer who is beyond pretentious and dresses a little like Prince meets hipster. Theo is a twenty-something unemployed writer who has finally completed his novel "Truckstop Hustler." He also plays in Terrance's band but he's more of a writer than a drummer. Not being able to find a publisher for his novel he finds himself in a similar situation as Terrance, only without the girlfriend problems. And so the idea comes forth. What if Terrance pretends to be the main character in Theo's novel? What if it goes from fiction to biography/memoirs? Will it be successful? Will anyone read? And this is where the film becomes the most bizarre. The standard power and money corrupt storyline comes into play as does the I love Superman but not Clark Kent love story. And it really is a Clark Kent situation as KK Downey is so obviously Terrance but nobody who ever knew Terrance can tell. As dark as the film wants to be, the darkness is always overshadowed by comedic dialogue, outrageous scenarios and a really crazy character by the name of Frankie Lola. For an indie film full of no name actors, the acting isn't all that bad. Everyone plays up their charicatures with just the right amount of ham. Kristin Adams is a shining light in this film and Director/Actor Pat Kiely, who plays her douchebag new boyfriend, plays his part a little too well (but I'm sure he's a really nice guy in person). But it's Dan Haber as Frankie Lola that steals the screen. His character is so over the top that I think his character actually makes the film work. It has been announced that Angus Scrimm will be at the screening of I Sell the Dead, the closing gala film which is apparently selling very quick. So to avoid disapointment, please order your tickets online right away from www.torontoafterdark.com