"Welcome to Midnight Madness. Stable of the brave. Slaughter-house of the faint-hearted."

That was how Noah Cowan ended his full-page introduction to the Midnight Madness section in the 1990 Festival of Festivals programme book. It was also MY introduction to this wickedly delicious style of cinema, and I have been an avid fan ever since.

It was the Bloor Cinema that hosted MM in 1990, and even though the Uptown was the eventual, and true home of this programme, I can't imagine seeing any of that year's line-up anywhere BUT the Bloor. It just made sense to have Toronto's favourite repertory theatre screen such visually-pleasing and audience-rallying films like "Two Evil Eyes" (Argento/Romero), "The Church" (Soavi), "The Bride of Re-Animator" (Yuzna), and "Iron Man" (Tsukamoto).

I was one of the Cineplex Odeon managers of the Varsity Cinemas that year(back when it was still just a 2-plex). The other managers and I would draw straws every night to see who the poor bastard was who ended up having to stay behind and lock up, while the other 4 to 5 of us crammed into a taxi and raced off along Bloor Street from Bay to Bathurst to hopefully make it in time for the start of the film. It got to the point where the staff at the Bloor roped off half a row for us in the balcony, so that we would have seats ready and waiting for us! Ah ... theatre solidarity.

Besides the aforementioned films, there were 3 other films that affected me more than any other films in the MM programme (and even in the festival as a whole). "Hardware" by Richard Stanley - a brilliant, stark film that still gives me nightmares when I think about the wrist-slashing scene near the end; "Meet The Feebles" - Muppet porn directed by a funny little man who would go on to make the most lucrative trilogy in movie history (it seemed so wrong to enjoy it so much); and the film that represents everything I believe a Midnight Madness film SHOULD be: "Frankenhooker" by Frank Henenlotter.

I don't think there's been another MM film that has made me laugh so hard for so long. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Continuing my "career" in the movie business (in the online DVD rentals aspect, anyway) at Zip.ca, I can tell you that "Frankenhooker" is shipped out quite a bit to people like us, who can't seem to get enough of quirky makeup and special effects, crack-hooker storylines, and lawnmower deaths.

"Want a date?" (twitch) "Want some company?" (twitch, twich)

17 years have gone by and it still makes me giggle like a fiend. That's why that film holds such a special place in my heart. And that's why the Midnight Madness programme holds such a special place in my heart too. It brings the absurdity of the world into view and embraces it like a long-lost love.

I am so thankful that my dear friend Colin Geddes is continuing to bring all of us closer together in this wonderful, mad-cap place we call "home", and I am thankful to Mr. Henenlotter for giving me 2 decades of soul-tickling guffaws. God bless you, Frank. God bless you.