The Midnight Madness section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival continues to generate significant industry interest as a source of commercially viable independent films. Following the extraordinary success of last year's "Obsession," which earned $516 million globally from a $750,000 budget, distributors are actively seeking the next low-budget breakout hit, with this year's standout title "River" by director Josh Giuliano already securing a $10 million-plus deal with Blumhouse/Universal after attracting interest from Sony, Focus, Paramount, A24 and Netflix.

"River" is a stripped-down slasher featuring Jessica Rothe, Jane Levy and Max Mattern as three siblings who reunite to scatter their father's ashes on a West Virginia river, only to become trapped and hunted by masked killers, with Giuliano shooting 14 of the film's 22 days on actual water locations. The festival also showcases "Vintage Violence," a comedy-action hybrid directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko, starring Cole Sprouse as an urban explorer caught up with Tokyo's yakuza whilst dealing with rare denim merchandise, which draws inspiration from Japanese direct-to-video cinema.