Guillermo del Toro is hosting a very Canadian horror film fest this summer

Toronto has long been a muse for macabre movie-maker Guillermo del Toro. The Mexico-born director doesn’t shy away from using the city as a backdrop for his dark fairy tales, with such major productions as Mimic, Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water all proudly depicting familiar haunts like the brutalist buildings of the U of T campus, Elgin Theatre’s plush red interior and the iconic Lakeview Diner. Next month, he’s teaming up with TIFF to once again show his affection for the city with a five-night film festival—aptly dubbed “From Rabid to Skinamarink: Canadian Movie Madness”—celebrating the uniquely twisted charms of Canadian horror.

Each night, from July 9 to 13, will offer a special presentation led by del Toro himself, followed by a curated screening. TIFF gave the director carte blanche to show anything he wanted, and he chose a nerdy mix of oh-so-Canadian horror films that prioritize simmering dread over spectacular jump scares. The list includes David Cronenberg’s armpit body-horror Rabid, Vincenzo Natali’s claustrophobic mind-bender Cube, John Fawcett’s feral bildungsroman Ginger Snaps, Bruce McDonald’s lo-fi sleeper hit Pontypool and Kyle Edward Ball’s toddler-perspective nightmare Skinamarink. All were at least partially—if not entirely—filmed in Ontario.

To kick things off, TIFF is hosting a free screening of The Shape of Water in advance of the festival on July 8, in partnership with the Harbourfront Centre’s Free Flicks program. “From Rabid to Skinamarink" is both a tribute to spooky Canadian cinema and a fitting prelude to del Toro’s eagerly awaited resurrection of Frankenstein, a star-studded Netflix original featuring Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth and Oscar Isaac that was shot in Toronto and hits the streaming platform later this fall.