Tibor Takács is a

Hungarian-Canadian Hungarian Canadians ( hu, kanadai magyarok) are persons in Canada of Hungarian ancestry. According to the 2016 Census, there are 348,085 Canadians of Hungarian ancestry. The Hungarian minority is the 24th largest ethnic group of Canada. The b ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, noted for directing '' The Gate'' (1987) and its sequel, '' The Gate II: Trespassers'' (1990). His career has largely been associated with

horror movies Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...

, though he has also directed many

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

-themed films, often for the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

. He also directed the

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Sabrina the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appear ...

'' which became the basis for the TV series of the same name.

Early life

Takács was born on September 11, 1954 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, but grew up in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He described his early experiences with cinema as being the result of his “European parents who watched a lot of foreign films with subtitles.” Around the age of ten, his family moved to a more urban area with several movie theaters, where he began to see multiple American films a week for several years. He attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, where he began to work in theater and directed several award-winning

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s, which eventually led to commercial directing work. His film career did not begin immediately, however. In the late 70's, Takács was involved with various Toronto-area

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

bands. He served as manager and producer for Toronto punk bands

The Viletones The Viletones are a Canadian punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, led by Steven Leckie on vocals. Other members from the original line-up were Freddie Pompeii, (some sources list him as 'Frederick DiPasquale') on guitar/vocals; Chris Hate (C ...

and

The Cardboard Brains The Cardboard Brains was a Toronto punk rock band from the first wave of punk rock and New Wave in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It helped define Toronto's 'Queen Street Circuit', playing clubs like The Edge and The Horseshoe Tavern. Formed in ...

, and is credited as producer on the Viletones' ''Screamin Fist'' (1977) single, and Cardboard BrainsWhite EP''" (1977) and ''Black EP'' (1978), as well as recording engineer on the Viletones' 1977 recording sessions (eventually released in 1994 as ''A Taste of Honey''). Takacs collaborated with Canadian author and filmmaker

Peter Vronsky Peter Vronsky is a Canadian author, filmmaker and investigative historian. He holds a PhD in criminal justice history and espionage in international relations from the University of Toronto. He is the author of the bestseller true crime histori ...

during the 1970s and acted as a cinematographer and art director on some of his films. In 1978, he released his first feature-length film, the independently-produced

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

Metal Messiah ''Metal Messiah'' is a Canadian rock opera musical science fiction film, directed by Tibor Takács and released in 1977. An adaptation of Stephen Zoller's theatrical stage musical, the film centres on a space alien (David Jensen) who comes to ear ...

'', which featured numerous Toronto-based musicians, including members of Kickback and the Cardboard Brains.

Film career

In 1987, Takács released his first studio-backed feature film, '' The Gate''. The production originated from Takács' attempt to secure funding for a film version of the 1975 young adult novel '' The Girl Who Owned a City'' by O. T. Nelson. Producer John Kemeny passed on that idea, but offered Takács three projects, including ''

The Wraith ''The Wraith'' is a 1986 independently made American action- fantasy film, produced by John Kemeny, written and directed by Mike Marvin, and starring Charlie Sheen, Sherilyn Fenn, Nick Cassavetes, and Randy Quaid.I, Madman ''I, Madman'' (retitled ''Hardcover'' in the UK, Europe and Japan) is a 1989 American horror film directed by Tibor Takács. Plot Second-hand bookstore clerk Virginia Clayton (Jenny Wright) becomes absorbed in the book ‘I, Madman’ by Malcol ...

'', an unusual horror film which combined elements of

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

and

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

(of which he was a collector). ''I, Madman'' was followed by a sequel, '' The Gate II: Trespassers'', in 1990. It was less financially successful than its predecessor. In the 1990s, Takács moved into

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, directing episodes of ''

Red Shoe Diaries ''Red Shoe Diaries'' is an American anthology erotic drama series that aired on Showtime cable network from 1992 to 1997 and distributed by Playboy Entertainment overseas. It is a spinoff of an earlier film by the same name, also directed by Za ...

'', the 1995 revival of '' The Outer Limits'', '' Police Academy (the series)'' and ''

'' (including the 1996 pilot movie for the latter and its 1998

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

). During the same decade, he continued regularly directing feature films as well as TV, including action and sci-fi films starring

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...

Mark Dacascos Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in ''Hawaii Five-0'' ...

and

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

. In 2000, he directed '' Once Upon a Christmas'', following it the next year with a

. In the early 2000s, he began to increasingly direct

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

movies, primarily for the

SyFy Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

(including ''

Mansquito ''Mansquito'' (also known as ''Mosquito-Man'') is a 2005 American made-for-television monster movie directed by Tibor Takács, and stars Corin Nemec, Musetta Vander and Matt Jordon. It shares many similarities with the 1986 adaptation of '' The F ...

'' (2005), ''

The Black Hole ''The Black Hole'' is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnin ...

'' (2006), '' Ice Spiders'' (2007), and ''

Mega Snake ''Mega Snake'' is a television film by Syfy, Sci Fi Pictures. It was first aired on August 25, 2007. The film was produced by the company Nu Image Films as an original movie for broadcasting on the Sci Fi cable television network. It was shot in ...

'' (2007)) as well as the

(where he has directed multiple

-themed films).

Selected directorial filmography

* *''

'' (1978) *''The Tomorrow Man'' (1981) *'' The Gate'' (1987) *''

I, Madman ''I, Madman'' (retitled ''Hardcover'' in the UK, Europe and Japan) is a 1989 American horror film directed by Tibor Takács. Plot Second-hand bookstore clerk Virginia Clayton (Jenny Wright) becomes absorbed in the book ‘I, Madman’ by Malcol ...

'' (1989) *'' The Gate II: Trespassers'' (1990) *''

Tropical Heat ''Tropical Heat'' (known as ''Sweating Bullets'' in the United States) is a Canadian action series produced in co-operation with Mexico and Israel that aired between April 8, 1991 to October 18, 1993. The series ran for three seasons totaling ...

'' (1991) TV Series *''

'' :*"Double Dare" (1992) TV Episode :*"Borders of Salt" (1994) TV Episode *''Bad Blood'' (1994) *'' The Outer Limits'' :* "Blood Brothers" (1995) TV Episode :*" White Light Fever" (1995) TV Episode :* "The Voyage Home" (1995) TV Episode :* "I, Robot" (1995) TV Episode :* "If These Walls Could Talk" (1995) TV Episode *''

'' (1996) Showtime original movie *''Sabotage'' (1996) *'' Redline'' (1997) aka ''Deathline'' aka ''Armageddon'' *'' Earth: Final Conflict'' :*"Pandora's Box"(1998) TV Episode :*"If You Could Read My Mind"(1998) TV Episode *''

Sabrina Goes to Rome ''Sabrina Goes to Rome'' is a 1998 television film produced for ABC. The film is a part of the ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' TV series franchise and is the second TV film made for the series following the 1996 ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' film ...

'' (1998) (TV) *'' The Crow: Stairway to Heaven'' :*"Through a Dark Circle" (1999) TV Episode :*"The People vs. Eric Draven" (1999) TV Episode *'' Once Upon a Christmas'' (2000) *''Nostradamus'' (2000) *''

Twice Upon a Christmas ''Twice Upon a Christmas'' is a 2001 film directed by Tibor Takács. A sequel to the 2000 PAX television film, '' Once Upon a Christmas'', it stars most of the original cast from the first film. The filming location was in Vancouver, British C ...

'' (2001) *''Tornado Warning'' (2002) *''Killer Rats'' (2003) *''

'' (2005) *'' Nature Unleashed: Earthquake'' (2005) *''

'' (2006) *'' Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep'' (2006) *'' Ice Spiders'' (2007) *''

'' (2007) *'' NYC: Tornado Terror'' (2008) *'' Lies & Illusions'' (2009) *''Meteor Storm'' (2010) *''

My Babysitter's a Vampire ''My Babysitter's a Vampire'' (released as ''My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Movie'' in some regions) is a 2010 Canadian comedy horror television film directed by Bruce McDonald. It stars Vanessa Morgan and Matthew Knight. The film's plot cente ...

'' **"Double Negative" (2011) TV Episode **"Smells like Trouble" (2011) TV Episode **"Die Pod" (2011) TV Episode **"The Brewed" (2012) TV Episode **"Welcome Back Dusker" (2012) TV Episode **"Fanged and Furious" (2012) TV Episode **"Flushed" (2012) TV Episode **"Hottie Ho-Tep" (2012) TV Episode **"Independence Daze" (2012) TV Episode **"Siren Song" (2012) TV Episode *''

Spiders 3D ''Spiders'' (also marketed as ''Spiders in 3D'') is a 2013 American 3D science fiction monster horror film directed by Tibor Takács. The film was released on February 8, 2013. Plot Debris from a destroyed Soviet space station (where experimen ...

'' (2013) *'' Bunks'' (2013) *'' Destruction: Los Angeles'' (2017) *''Rocky Mountain Christmas'' (2017) *''It's Christmas Eve'' (2018) *''Memories of Christmas'' (2018) *''A Christmas Miracle'' (2019) *''The Secret Ingredient'' (2020) *''The Christmas Aunt'' (2020) *''Blowback'' (2022) *'' Black Warrant'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Interview on Iconsoffright.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takacs, Tibor 1954 births Living people Canadian film directors Horror film directors Hungarian emigrants to Canada