'Halloween' and 'The Predator' to World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival

Two of the most highly-anticipated horror movies hitting theaters this fall are the sequels Halloween and The Predator, which both hope to rejuvenate their respective franchises that have stagnated in recent years. Fans who are attending the Toronto International Film Festival will get the chance to see the horror sequels slightly earlier than the rest of the world, as they'll both be debuting at the acclaimed festival as part of their Midnight Madness slate of screenings.

The Predator will be kicking off the Festival on September 6th, with its theatrical release following soon after on September 14th. While Halloween's screening hasn't been officially scheduled, the timeframe of the Festival means it will debut well over a month before it comes to theaters on October 19th.

Other films premiering as part of the Midnight Madness lineup include Assassination Nation, Climax, Diamantino, In Fabric, The Man Who Feels No Pain, Nekrotronic, The Standoff, and The Wind.

The last film in the Predator franchise, Predators, landed in theaters in 2010 and, while it wasn't a complete disappointment, failed to resonate with fans in the same ways as the original film. Making the wait for the film's debut feel even longer is the multiple changes to its release date. The film was originally set to land in theaters this past February, before the date was pushed to August, before ultimately settling on September 14th.

Fans of the Halloween franchise have also had a long wait, with the last film being the sequel to Rob Zombie's reboot film, which hit theaters in 2009. This new installment marks the 11th entry in the franchise, leaving fans apprehensive about whether or not it can capture the magic of the original film. Given how far ahead of its domestic release the film is being screened, the studio is likely confident that they have a hit on their hands.

Despite many of the films in the franchise showing a severe drop in quality from the 1978 original, filmmakers Danny McBride and David Gordon Green have scrapped the events of all sequels, crafting their film as a continuation of just the events depicted in the first film.

"The original is all about tension. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) doesn't even know that Michael Myers exists until the last minutes of the movie," co-writer McBride shared with the Charleston City Paper. "So much of it you're in anticipation of what's going to happen and the dread that [director John] Carpenter spins so effortlessly in that film, I think we were really trying to get it back to that. We're trying to mine that dread. Mine that tension and not just go for gore and ultra-violence that you see some horror movies lean on."

The Predator hits theaters on September 14th and Halloween arrives on October 19th.

Are these world premiere dates promising for the films? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Collider]