COYOTE TEETH: Teaser Trailer. The New Movie by Award-Winning Filmmaker Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

Here is the the teaser trailer for Robert Arron Mitchell's new movie, Coyote Teeth. The movie is currebtly being submitted to film festivals.

COYOTE TEETH: Teaser Poster Reveal. The New Film From Award-Winning Filmmaker Robert Aaron Mitchell

Here is the teaser poster reveal for my new film which wrapped principal photography on June 29, 2026. Post-production work has been on-going throughout the production phase of this movie. I have begun to submit the movie to film festivals. Here is the official IMDb page: Link Here

 

DIRECTOR STATEMENT 

My name is Robert Aaron Mitchell, and for the past year, I have been crafting this cinematic experience. First and foremost, the movie should speak for itself, or I have failed as a filmmaker. That being said, perhaps a little context is not a bad thing. 

I live in Dilley, Texas, which is a small town in South Texas that is the location of one of the largest detention centers in the United States of America. Its primary purpose is to incarcerate families. As of this writing on June 13, 2026, over five hundred babies have been imprisoned here. This place is run by the for-profit corporation Core Civic. The Orwellian name of this place is the South Texas Family Residential Center. In actuality, it is a concentration camp to enrich shareholders. I live next door to this monstrosity. 

I think a lot about evil. I also think about a phrase that is uttered many times, “This is not us.” These four words negate a 250-year history of the United States of America. This is us. We live, operate, and benefit from the machine and systems of cruelty of this country. 

My motivation in crafting this cinematic experience was my attempt to stay sane so I can assist people who are being devastated by the United States of America, so I can continue to decolonize my mind as well as continue the work of dismantling the systems of cruelty I live in. I am a lifelong student of Midnight Movies, and with all earnestness, I have done my best to craft a film worthy to be called weird. The movie is ultimately about complicity. 

 
 

tiff50 DEAD LOVER: Closing Night Midnight Madness Poster Reveal

 

 

Dead Lover is the 2025 Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival closing film. The last midnight madness screening of the year is always a bittersweet night/morning. It is also a celebration of the programme and the filmmakers who premiered their films throughout the ten nights. Tonight Dead Lover directed by Grace Glowicki and co written by Grace and Ben Petrie has a new poster ahead of the closing night screening. 

tiff50 SOLDIER OF CINEMA'S TOP THREE MOST ANTICIPATED MIDNIGHT MADNESS MOVIES

 

                                             Robert Aaron Mitchell aka Soldier of Cinema

There is nothing like Toronto in September. The Toronto International Film Festival arrives and brings such a great energy and vibe to Canada's largest metropolitan area.The energy of the city gets amped up even more than any regular day. The cinematic world descends upon the downtown streets. Red carpets are rolled out. Doors of tinted windows are opened. Actors and filmmakers from Argentina to Tokyo and everywhere else step onto the streets. Crowds gather eager for a glimpse, a selfie or a hastily scrawled signature on a blu-ray or a glossy photo or a restaurant receipt. There is nothing like Toronto in September. Except for me, all of the above is true, except there is nothing like a Midnight Madness premiere in Toronto in September. 

Curator Peter Kuplowsky tirelessly searches for the ten films of cinematic genre note. The Midnight Madness programme has such a storied history. It is a film festival within a film festival. Many have noted the audiences of TIFF. Those audiences by 11:59 p.m. are still up, amped and ready. Beach balls are hit and smacked around the venue. Peter's selected playlist - curated for each of the ten movies - is playing loud. 

As the Royal Alexandria  aka The RAT fills up so to does the din of the buzz of the crowd anticipated what genre delights will soon unfold. Will it be an intense, look at the screen through fingers covering your eyes horror film. An action film where the sound of effects of bone-crunching kicks rattles the ear drums of the over thousand people in attendance, will the movie be a gross out funny genre destroying cinematic opus you may only see once?

I will preface the following with this...I am anticipated all of the 2025 Midnight Madness movies. If I had to pick three these are the three I will pick today...tomorrow, well that maybe a different story. 

                                            NIRVANA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE

I have been following the movies of Matt Johnson and his motley crew of filmmakers since The Dirties (2013) This extremely talented group crosses genres, tones and film making techniques with ease. I cannot wait to see their latest film. 

 

                                                                       KARMADONNA 

Just look at at just one of the publicity stills which was released to the media. I have been covering film festivals since 2007. I cannot recall such in your face publicity photos. This comes as no surprise as the director of Karmadonna Aleksander Radivojevic also directed a film entitled A Serbian Film by many accounts, mine included one of the most intense films ever made, I was at the international premiere of A Serbian Film at SXSW in 2010. That film still haunts me. Good luck Toronto. 

                                                                    THE FURIOUS

I cannot wait to see this movie! Kenji Tanigaki action choreographer SPL, Flash Point and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In helms his own action movie. Get ye to the theater as fast as humanly possible!

 

FIRST LOOK: The Next Film by Award-Winning Filmmaker Robert Aaron Mitchell

 Robert Aaron Mitchell deep in South Texas filming a rattlesnake for his next film. (Do not attempt this at home) 

"I am making something vastly different than The Bobby Diamonds Story) I am an American living during this time in America. I have a lot of rage inside because of the fascism this country has become. As I say this another mass shooting has taken place. This time in Minneapolis. Year after year after year these tragedies occur and nothing positive has been done. Gun laws have gotten more lax as time goes on. This country is entering a period of severe instability. The civil war never truly ended. It has remained as embers of hate all these years later. We are entering another period of civil war. While this film I am currently mired in does not directly address these issues the film is serving as a primal scream and it would be naive to think my environment is not playing a role in my artistic endeavors. At the end of the day during the production and post-production phases on my new work I am striving to make a scary fucking movie." 

 Here is a first look teaser trailer:

THE CROW (1994) Robert Aaron Mitchell in Conversation on the Bratt's Bin Movie Podcast

On the latest episode of the Bratt's Bin movie podcast The Crow (1994) is discussed. Robert Aaron Mitchell joins Jared Bratt and Carl Diamond as the trio conduct a deep-dive conversation about the movie which premiered thirty years ago this year. Entertaining and informative here is the video.

tiff 24 THE GESUIDOUZ ザ・ゲスイドウズ: World Premiere Director Kenichi Ugana in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

I was able to have a great interview with director and writer Kenichi Ugana over zoom. We spoke about  The Gesuidouz and the reception the movie had at the world premiere at the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival. We spoke of our mutual love of punk music and horror films. The challenges of making the movie and how they were overcome. The incredible cast he assembled to realize the movie. Here is our conversation.

tiff 24 U ARE THE UNIVERSE ТИ - КОСМОС: Director Pavlo Ostrikov Interview with Robert Aaron Mitchell

On my last day at the 2024 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival I was able to have a sit down conversation with Ukrainian filmmaker Pavlo Ostrikov. We spoke about his science fiction movie U Are The Universe. The seven year journey it took to realize the film, finding his cast, the design of the movie as well as what life is like during the war to stop the Russian invasion.  

 

Here are some more exclusive stills from U Are The Universe. 

 

tiff 24 ICK World Premiere Zeke Jones Interview with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

The first Saturday is very special during the Toronto International Film Festival. King street is closed for festival street. There are a lot of food trucks, film related vendors, music fills the air. The hot humid late Toronto summer gives way to a brisk evening. The sun sets, the city glows and around The Royal Alexandria the buzz of the audience making their way to midnight movie can be heard. This year the buzz was palpable as Joseph Kahn returned to the Midnight Madness programme with his latest film, Ick. A creature feature, much different then his underground hip hop battle movie, Bodied - which was a huge hit in 2017 at tiff. Joseph assured me that the audience would have a different yet equal amazing film experience. At the red carpet world premiere I was able to talk with actor Zeke Jones who plays Griffin in the movie Ick. Here is our conversation. 

tiff 24 ICK World Premiere Interview Harrison Cone with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

Excitement was definitely in the air surrounding The Royal Alexandria theatre as the first Saturday of the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival was nearing the midnight hour. Anticipation was high as Joseph Kahn's new film Ick was set to have it's World Premiere. Kahn's previous film Bodied also received it's World Premiere at Midnight Madness. That screening was one of the all time great premieres of the programme. Ick is Kahn's take on the creature feature. As he said to me he wanted to make a film that he watched as a kid in the 1980s. I spoke with actor Harrison Cone who plays quarterback Dylan on the red carpet

tiff 24 DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY 鬼才之道 World Premiere John Hsu & Gingle Wang interviews with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

For a movie to be premiere during the first Friday at the Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival you know it has to be special. John Hsu's Dead Talents Society is a film made with a lot of love and heart. The story itself is infused with a lot of love, heart and found family. 

In the world of Dead Talents Society when one has passed away and entered the realm of the newly dead the person has to start scary the living or in 30 days they will cease to exist all together. Gingle Wang plays The Rookie, a teen who has suddenly passed away. She must start to scare people to acquire a hunter's license to stave off complete non-existence. There is only one giant, glaring problem, The Rookie does not posses any talent to scare anyone. 

Having failed spectacularly in front of a jury of specters. The Rookie meets Makato (Bo-lin Chen) who is sympathetic to her dilemma. He introduces her to his crew. Most notably, Catherine (Sandrine Pinna) and a hilarious side kick played by Soso Tseng. 

Here is my conversation with director/writer John Hsu and actor Gingle Wang:

tiff 24 ICK World Premiere Mena Suvari interview with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

The last time I saw Mena Suvari in Toronto was in 2007 when she was at the Midnight Madness World Premiere of Stuart Gordon's Stuck. It was great to speak with her ahead of the World Premiere of Joseph Kahn's new creature feature, Ick. Always a delight, smart, funny and insightful. Here is Mena and I's conversation on the Midnight Madness red carpet at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

tiff 24 ICK World Premiere Brandon Routh interview with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

The excitement was very present the first Saturday of Midnight Madness at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. As present as the mysterious substance that is everywhere in Joseph Kahn's new creature feature, ICK. The ick is around doing not much, until it is doing something...trying to consume everyone in it's path. Leading the stellar cast is Brandon Routh. Brandon plays Hank a guy who had it all, quarterback, the girl Staci (Mena Suvari) and then it's all gone like a Mellencamp song. He starts working at the high school as a janitor and becomes a science teacher. He is still in contact with Staci and her husband Peter (Ted Kim) As the ick begins to threaten the town Brandon leads the town in a heroic charge against the mysterious substance. In person, Brandon is a delight, charming, charismatic and possessing great sense of humor. Here is our conversation.

tiff 24 ICK World Premiere Interview with Joseph Kahn with Robert Aaron Mitchell

Joseph Kahn has returned to the Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival with his latest film ICK. He premiered Bodied here in 2017 and that screening was one of the all time best premieres I have attended at Midnight Madness. This time around Kahn and his team of collaborators are shifting gears and take us to a small town focused on the high school. A mysterious gross substance has been around for years. Not doing much just....around... It has been dubbed the ick. Then one day it is not static, it has started to move and consume. The town is very much in denial. Conversations mirror those that were centered around a certain corona virus of this decade. It is always great when I am able to talk to Joseph Kahn. He is a filmmaker I can listen talk about the craft for hours. Here is our conversation from the red carpet. 

tiff 24 DANIELA FOREVER World Premiere Interview with Bèatrice Grannô

 

Nacho Vigalondo's Daniela Forever received it's World Premiere at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film played in the prestigious Platform section. I was on the red carpet and spoke with actor Bèatrice Grannô who plays the title role Daniela.

tiff 24 DANIELA FOREVER World Premiere Interview with Henry Golding

 

 

Nacho Vigalondo's latest film Daniela Forever received it's World Premiere in the prestigious Platform section at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. I was on the red carpet for the premiere and spoke with actor Henry Golding about his acting process, grief and working with Nacho Vigalondo.

tiff 24 DANIELA FOREVER World Premiere Interview with Nacho Vigalondo

 

 

Nacho Vigalondo's latest film Daniela Forever received it's World Premiere at the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was in the prestigious Platform section of the festival. I was on hand and was able to talk about the movie, dreams, grief, the internal struggles of being an artist. The first time I interviewed Nacho was in 2011 when one of his short films was included in ABC's of Death which also had a world premiere at tiff in the Midnight Madness programme.

tiff24 THE SUBSTANCE: A Reflection by Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

                   Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in Coralie Fargeat's The Substance. 

    Coralie Fargeat emerged on the midnight madness scene when her feature film debut Revenge received its world premiere in the midnight madness programme in 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival.
    Revenge was a film of extremely violent violation towards the body. In this case, a mistress Jen (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz) was brought along to a remote house on a “guys” hunting weekend. The wealthy predators view Jen as an object to be assaulted and then discarded. Jen survives and then sets out to pursue exactly what the film’s title states. Revenge. Jen changes the balance from victim to virulent vindicator. Fargeat’s debut is a portrait of vivid violence. Fargeat stated in interviews that the film had so much blood that the prop team would often run out of fake blood. Fargeat’s style as a filmmaker was already very much apparent in Revenge. The use of color to contrast. Jen’s fluorescent pink star earrings frame the dirty face of a person who has been to hell. Pink becomes a color of determination and strength. Revenge was also comprised of beautifully photographed shots.
    Almost seven years to the day Coarlie Fargeat has returned to midnight madness at tiff with her second feature, The Substance. The film won the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival. Expectations for Miss. Fargeat’s sophomore film were high. This could be seen in the demand for tickets for the North American premiere. This was the first screening of the movie at tiff, preceding even a Press & Industry screening. A seat in the Royal Alexandria Theatre was running upwards of three hundred dollars. The demand could also and rightfully so be ascribed to Miss Fargeat’s leading actors, Demi Moore, and Margaret Qualley.
    The first hint of what lied ahead for the midnight madness audience was the oversized pink headbands inscribed, “Pump It Up” that were given to people arriving at the cinema. Throughout the 1200 people in the audience - that all too familiar buzz of 600 hundred conversations happening at the same time - little pink dots could be made out in the sea of people.
    The Substance continues Miss Fargeat’s themes of violence upon the body. Where Revenge was a paroxysm perpetrated by predators, The Substance is self-inflicted bodily harm in a society that craves self harm visited upon others.
The film begins with - what is already one of my favorite opening sequences in a movie. We see the creation of a star on Hollywood Boulevard. From workers installing the star, pouring concrete, and smoothing it out, to the star being placed and polished. People pass by the star and stop to take pictures, pause to look at it, and touch it lovingly. The years go by. Not kindly. Heavy foot traffic has taken its toll. People spill food onto the star. Some try to clean it half-assed. The years continue. Cracks begin to emerge. A perfect visual metaphor for the film.
    Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle a television fitness personality. High energy. Once high ratings. Elisabeth overhears the show’s producer Harvey, played with obnoxious fury by Dennis Quaid stating that the show needs a younger lead and Elisabeth needs to be fired. The name of the producer is also not lost on anyone paying attention to monsters in Hollywood.
    Clearly and rightfully distraught, Elisabeth drives away from the television studio. Out of nowhere tragedy strikes. It strikes sidelong into Elisabeth’s car when another car crashes into her car. Elisabeth is now sitting in a doctor’s office in one of those barely enough material temporary gowns. The doctor informs her she is fine and can leave. The doctor then leaves. A leering assistant approaches Elisabeth and says there is one last test. She incredulously sits as the assistant trails his hand up her very visible spinal column through the opening of the gown. He states that she is a perfect candidate and hands her a small envelope.
    Elisabeth is now in the luxury house that years in the spotlight have afforded her. A giant portrait of a younger Elisabeth is hung on the wall opposite the giant windows overlooking Los Angeles. The painting is ever present reminding an older Elisabeth that she is aging. Alone, depressed, and replaying the conversation. Elisabeth opens the envelope to find a large black USB key with white letters stating The Substance. She inserts the key into the side of her television. The video begins with two eggs being fried in a pan. “Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? Younger, more beautiful, more perfect. One, single, injection unlocks your DNA. Starting a new cellular division. That will release another version of yourself. This is The Substance. You are the matrix. Everything comes from you. Everything is you. This is simply a better version of yourself. You just have to share. One week for one. One week for the other. A perfect balance. Seven days each. The one and only thing not to forget. You. Are. One. You cannot escape from yourself.” This is punctuated by a great sound from the movie’s sound design. A creepy near indescribable guttural sound. 
 

               The Substance promotion in Toronto. Photo by me and enhanced by me. 

    Elisabeth goes to a train wreck of a dinner with Harvey watching him consume shrimp with a wildly gross abandon. He informs her she is done. She goes to the studio where he delightfully greets Elisabeth and shoves a banker’s box into her arms.
    Now back at home. The painting is still young, Elisabeth is older by another day and calls the number. The voice from the video answers. She informs the voice that she is interested in The Substance. Elisabeth is given an address. She goes to it and retrieves a key card. 503. She then proceeds to an alleyway and enters, quite comically into a stark white room with numerous numbers. She approaches box 503. The box opens to reveal a large box. Once back at home, Elisabeth opens the box to reveal three other boxes. She opens them to reveal needles, bottles, tubes, and instructions for use. She then goes to a large stark white-titled bathroom and inserts the needle filled with a green substance. What follows is a pure midnight movie.
    Miss Fargeat is a student of the horror genre. There are numerous references throughout the movie, Both intentional and perceived by me. Much like another French extreme film that opened the 2023 Midnight Madness programme, Titane. Both films are direct descendants of the early work of David Cronenberg. I also saw Odes to Re-Animator, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Society, and Tarantino. Even with all of these nods to other films and filmmakers, Although the DNA of The Substance is influenced by other horror cinema, the majority of The Substance’s adenine and thymine are wholly a unique stylized look at the themes of aging, identity, and self-harm.
    Moore and Qualley are incredible playing off one another. If lesser known actors had been cast in these roles what would follow in all likelihood under the vision and direction of Miss Fargeat would be still an insane midnight move. With Moore and Qualley, The Substance is poised for major mainstream audience appeal. The Toronto International Film Festival has been a proverbial launching ground for Academy Award buzz. Perchance Oscar (tm) will recognize the work of two actors very much steeped in a horror film? I think so. Demi Moore has said in interviews that the first time she read the script, “...this could either be amazing or it can be a fucking disaster.” I can attest that The Substance is fucking amazing. 

Robert Aaron Mitchell Joins TALES OF ZONE 7 (An Oral History of the Making of Cherry 2000) as a Co-Producer

 

I have joined the feature length documentary Tales of Zone 7 (An Oral History of the Making of Cherry 2000) as a co-producer. This making of documentary will be featured on the 4K release of Cherry 2000 which was written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt who also wrote and directed Miracle Mile. 

Cherry 2000 is a cult movie from 1987. It stars Melanie Griffith who plays E. Johnson who is a tracker hired by a businessman Sam Treadwell (David Andrews) to replace his android wife - the titular character Cherry 2000 (Pamela Gidley) who has shorted out. 

Johnson and Treadwell wind up in the wasteland and wander into Zone 7 which is a lawless and dangerous place currently under the tyrannical rule of Lester (Tim Thomerson). What does it mean to love? What does it mean to be human? 

                                      Robert Aaron Mitchell with director Steve De Jarnatt

 There is still time left to join the campaign. There are lots of different options available to contribute to the finishing of this making of documentary and other supplemental materials. Click here.

 

THE BOBBY DIAMONDS STORY North American Premiere at The Toronto Smartphone Film Festival

 

                     Robert Aaron Mitchell on the red carpet at The Toronto Smartphone Film Festival 

                    With Executive Producer Sarah Dillard Mitchell

                                                    Director Robert Aaron Mitchell

Here is the post-screening Q&A