TIFF 2026 is underway, and the Toronto International Film Festival has opened with a huge slate of features from around the world. The lineup includes a four-hour Elon Musk documentary, a thriller starring Mahershala Ali and Bassam Tariq, and a stop-motion fantasy from Laika. The streamers are also making their presence felt, with Halloween-adjacent series like Netflix’s Below, Peacock’s Crystal Lake, and Amazon’s Carrie on the schedule.
Elon Musk: Four Hours Of Preaching To The Choir
Alex Gibney’s latest documentary, “Elon Musk,” runs nearly four hours and offers a comprehensive look at the entrepreneur’s rise. Gibney has previously directed docs about Theranos and Steve Jobs, and his approach here is chronological, tracing Musk from his days as a dot-com millionaire to his current role as a major figure in government departments.
The film opens with shots of space and a voiceover of Musk discussing his sci-fi ambitions. It then moves through his ousting as CEO of PayPal, his involvement with Tesla, and his claims about autonomous vehicles. The doc juxtaposes those bombastic statements with visceral footage of a deadly crash involving a Tesla on autopilot. It also drops in poignant interviews, including one with Ashley St Clair, mother to one of Musk’s many children, who declares in a terrified voice: “Elon is a nuke.”
“For everyone else, a demanding runtime just shy of four hours might prove too much of a barrier to being convinced.”
The film is thorough and convincing, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of revelation for viewers already familiar with Musk’s catastrophic influence on the world. Those who aren’t aware of that history might find the runtime too much to bear.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother: A Thriller Worth Watching
Marvel’s Blade reboot was a disappointment, but the festival offers a consolation prize. Mahershala Ali and director Bassam Tariq have collaborated on “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” a powerful thriller that the reviewer saw during a hectic third day at TIFF.
Each film on that day was drastically different from the last, ranging from a drama about drifting cars to a throwback horror flick based on a famous Japanese ghost story. The reviewer’s takeaway: there are still plenty of new ideas left in the world of film.
Laika’s Wildwood Looks Smooth
Laika is the stop-motion studio behind ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings. Its new film, Wildwood, is hitting theaters next month, and the early look suggests the studio’s work has steadily gotten more impressive on both a technical and artistic level.
The film looks incredible, and the reviewer managed to catch an early glimpse despite a scheduling mishap on their second day at the festival.
Streamers Are Out In Force
Netflix previewed Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited Frankenstein and the third Knives Out movie last year. This year, the streamers are showing off Halloween-adjacent series in the form of Netflix’s Below, Peacock’s Crystal Lake, and Amazon’s Carrie.
The festival also features new films from directors like Takashi Miike, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and Werner Herzog. The reviewer is aiming to see just shy of 30 films and series over the next week or so, writing daily dispatches covering every single thing they see with a brief review.
A Look At The Slate
| Film | Studio |
|---|---|
| Elon Musk | Alex Gibney |
| Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Mahershala Ali / Bassam Tariq |
| Wildwood | Laika |
| Below | Netflix |
| Crystal Lake | Peacock |
| Carrie | Amazon |
The comparison shows the range of what TIFF offers. A four-hour doc sits alongside a thriller and a stop-motion fantasy, with streamer previews scattered throughout.
What TIFF Means For Film Fans
TIFF is a preview of the months ahead in film. The festival mixes mainstream fare, awards contenders, indie surprises, and genre flicks destined to be cult classics. It’s also a reminder that there are still plenty of new ideas left in cinema.
The reviewer’s enthusiasm is obvious. They pack in five movies in a single day, see films from around the world, and tell readers about them with bite-sized reviews published each day. The sheer volume of content is part of the appeal.
See the video the story is built around at The Verge.
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