We’re finally here! The Windy City Horrorama Film Festival is finally upon us this week. Horror Society has taken over The Davis Theater for a weekend filled with special guests, parties, and of course films. We’re proud and excited to host the 25th Anniversary screening of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday with director Adam Marcus in attendance, a 30th Anniversary screening of 1988’s The Blob, a midnight screening of the Full Moon Entertainment cult classic HP Lovecraft’s Lurking Fear, along with a whole mess of premieres.
We’ll be hosting the world premiere of the sure to be future cult classic Soft Matter, as well as the world premiere of the locally made, female driven, horror comedy Housesitters. We’ll also have the Chicago premieres of the hilarious Dead Ant starring Tom Arnold, Jake Busey and Sean Astin with director Ron Carlson in attendance, of Secret Santa from Jason Goes to Hell director Adam Marcus with him and co-writer and star Debra Sullivan and various members of the cast and crew in the house, and of Ruin Me, the horror festival favorite with director Preston DeFrancis in attendance.
We’re very excited to be hosting a Spotlight on Africa this year with two genre heavyweights coming out of the continent. We have the Midwest premiere of Number 37, the white knuckle Hitchcockian thriller that took this year’s SXSW festival by storm. We also have the Chicago premiere of the action film from Uganda that truly has to be seen to be believed, Bad Black.
Below, you’ll find the entire lineup. You can get your tickets now from the davistheater.com or the Davis Theater directly. Tickets will be available at the time of shows as well. Don’t miss out! Tickets are selling fast.
FRIDAY, APRIL 27th
4:00 PM
Hostile
Chicago Premiere
Origin: France
Director: Mathieu Turi
Stars: Brittany Ashworth, Gregory Fitoussi, Javier Botet
Runtime: 83 min
Accustomed to the desolate terrain of an apocalyptic Earth, Juliette sets out from her group for supplies. After losing control of the vehicle, she is trapped with a broken leg, a gun, and a long night ahead fighting against painful memories and a persistent creature scouring the desert for prey.
Plays with Short: Give Me Your Heart
6:00pm
Central Park
Midwest Premiere
Origin: New York City, NY
Director: Justin Reinsilber
Starring: Grace Van Patten, Ruby Modine, Justiin A. Davis
Runtime: 86min
Being a teenager in NYC definitely has its perks. Harold and his friends escape the stress of school and chaotic family drama to party in the depths of Central Park. Unfortunately, a vengeful killer heads in blazing to pick off the group one by one.
Plays with Short: The Blazing World
8:00pm
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
25th Anniversary
Origin: Crystal Lake, NJ
Director: Adam Marcus
Cast: Kane Hodder, Steven Williams, John D. LeMay
Runtime: 91 min
In this slick (and quite sick) sequel in the iconic Friday the 13th series, a hunter seeks to kill off Jason Voorhees once and for all. Jason, however, has other plans which includes turning into an evil worm to possess a family member so he can be reborn.
Director Adam Marcus in attendance.
Plays with Short: Studded Nightmare
10:15PM
Secret Santa
Chicago Premiere
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Director: Adam Marcus
Stars: A Leslie Kies, Debra Sullivan, Ryan Leigh Seaton, Drew Lynch
Runtime: 90 min
Worst. Christmas. Ever. A family who sucks the fun out of dysfunction comes together for the holidays just in time to scratch open the wounds of sibling rivalry, awkward affairs, closeted emotions, life-long grudges, and serious mommy issues. Gather ‘round the fire and watch as the punches fly in this pitch-black comedy.
Director/Co-Writer Adam Marcus, Actress/Co-Writer Debra Sullivan, and more cast & crew in attendance.
12:00am
Day 1 After-party at Celtic Crown
2356 W Cullom Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
It’s going to be one hell of an after party! Join Windy City Horrorama, Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan, and the rest of the cast and crew from Secret Santa as we head down the street to Celtic Crown to party the night away! This will be an exclusive party for Horrorama attendees! $20 that gets you 2 hours of all you can drink (some exceptions apply). Tickets available here for that.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28th
10:00am
Family-Friendly Double Feature:
Bride of Frankie & Posers
Bride of Frankie
Origin: Cleveland, OH
Director: Devi Snively
Runtime: 18 min
Posers
Origin: Atlanta, GA
Director: Sean Thiessen
Runtime: 29 min
Join us for a family-friendly double feature that highlights all things that go bump in the night! Bride of Frankie is a charming take on a horror classic through the eyes of Dr. Shelley Stein while Posers finds a group of teens battling a mud monster that is seriously ruining Halloween night.
Filmmakers scheduled to attend.
Screening Underwriters: Roselle Fernandez & José I. Vazquez
11:30am
The Forest of Lost Souls
Midwest Premiere
Origin: Portugal
Director: Jose Pedro Lopes
Stars: Daniela Love, Jorge Mota, Mafalda Banquart
Runtime: 71 min
Devastated by the death of his daughter, Ricardo enters a suicide forest ready to escape his failures. He meets Carolina and is troubled at the young girls’ morbid perspective on life. As their stories intertwine, so unfolds a wicked plot that brings death far past the forest edge. Courtesy of our friends at Wild Eye Releasing
Plays with Short: SOL
1:15pm
Number 37
Midwest Premiere
Origin: South Africa
Director: Nosipho Dumisa
Stars: Irshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, David Manuel
Runtime: 111 min
From first time female director Nosipho Dumisa comes the white knuckle thriller that took SXSW by storm. Confined to a wheelchair, Randal sets his sights on the gangsters across the block and concocts a plan to end to his life of crime. This Hitchcockian edge of your seat experience is not one to be missed.
Plays with Short: Cloth
3:45pm
Chicago Showcase
Presented by Dark Sky Films
Third Wheel
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Daniel DelPurgatorio
Runtime: 4 mins
Eyelash
World Premiere
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Stephen Tramontana
Runtime: 26 mins
Housesitters
World Premiere
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Jason Coffman
Cast: Jamie Jirak, Annie Watkins
Runtime: 63 min
Horrorama is proud to feature a spotlight on 3 fantastic local films! Housesitters follows Angie and Izzy as they try to survive the night in a house where a tiny monster wreaks havoc. In Eyelash, we see just how far will one woman go to make sure her wishes don’t run out. And in Third Wheel, a first date goes hilariously south when an unlikely third wheel emerges.
Directors Jason Coffman, Daniel DelPurgatorio and Stephen Tramontana in attendance.
6:15pm
Soft Matter
World Premiere
Origin: Austin, TX
Director: Jim Hickcox
Cast: Devyn Placide, David Dillard, Ruby Lee Dove II
Runtime: 72 mins
When a street artist reluctantly agrees to participate in an art installation in an abandoned hospital, he and his friends discover some slimy evil experiments. Fans of Adult Swim and 80’s creature features will find a lot to love in this film that has to be seen to be believed.
Filmmakers scheduled to attend.
Plays with Short: The Call Girls
8:30pm
Dead Ant
Midwest Premiere
Origin: Santa Clarita, CA
Director: Ron Carlson
Cast: Jake Busey, Tom Arnold, Sean Astin
Runtime: 87 min
Jake Busey, Tom Arnold and Sean Astin star as members of an aging glam metal band that go out to the desert to take peyote and reinvent themselves. Ignoring the warnings of a native of the land, their drug binge brings about an awakening of a legion of giant, destructive ants.
Director Ron Carlson in attendance.
Plays with Short: Ultraviolet
10:45pm
Bad Black
Chicago Premiere
Origin: WAKALIWOOD, Uganda
Director: Nabwana I.G.G.
Cast: Alan Ssali, Nalwanga Gloria
Runtime: 70 min
In a crime-ridden slum, a mild-mannered doctor learns kung-fu from a child named Wesley Snipes so he can face off against Black, the hardest gangster in town. Made on a budget of pure passion and elbow grease with the support of an entire Ugandan village, this is the can’t-miss apex of indie genre filmmaking.
Screening sponsored by Odd Obsession Movies & Deadly Prey Gallery.
12:30am
Midnight Movie Party: H.P. Lovecraft’s Lurking Fear
Origin: The Full Moon Entertainment Universe, USA
Director: C. Courtney Joyner
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Ashley Laurence, Jon Finch
Runtime: 80 mins
Through the twisted lens of 90s era Full Moon Entertainment (Puppet Master, Demonic Toys), comes a haunting and quite fun HP Lovecraft adaptation. When a man returns to a deserted town to claim his family’s inheritance, he learns about the underground monstrosities that drove everyone out all while thwarting criminals looking to steal his loot. The film stars Ashley Laurence from Hellraiser, and features appearances from Jeffrey (Re-Animator) Combs in another doctor role, character actor Vincent (Ghost) Schiavelli, and Jon Finch from Hitchcock’s Frenzy!
SUNDAY, APRIL 29th
12:00pm
More Blood!
World Premiere
Origin: Las Vegas, NV
Director: Heidi Moore
Runtime: 82 min
From the director of Dolly Deadly comes a documentary that explores the question of why fans enjoy gore in their horror films. Featuring a slew of gooey clips and interviews from genre experts, such as Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman, More Blood examines our inherent obsession with death and the macabre.
Director Heidi Moore in attendance.
Screening Underwriters: Roselle Fernandez & José I. Vazquez
Plays with Short: We Summoned a Demon
2:00pm
The Blob (1988)
30th Anniversary Screening
Director: Chuck Russell
Stars: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch Jr., Jeffrey DeMunn
Runtime: 95 min
When a deadly blob crash-lands on earth and begins devouring everything in its path, a group of plucky teenagers step up to save their town. With propulsive storytelling, prescient social commentary and some world-class practical gore effects, this sci-fi horror gem is one of the rare remakes that surpasses the original.
Plays with Short: The Fear Within
4:00pm
Ruin Me
Chicago Premiere
Origin: Muskegon, MI
Director: Preston DeFrancis
Stars: Marcienne Dwyer, Matt Delapina, Chris Hill, Eva Hamilton
Runtime: 87 min
Alexandra reluctantly tags along with her boyfriend to Slasher Sleepout, a camping trip/escape room weekend for horror fans, but a deadly turn of events forces them to question if they really are just playing a game. This clever, twisty thriller set in the picturesque Michigan wilderness pays tribute to horror classics while carving its own terrifying path.
Filmmakers scheduled to attend.
Plays with Short: Invisible
6:15pm
Chicago Rot
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Dorian Weinzimmer
Stars: Brant McCrea, Shira Barber, Dave Cartwright, Jonez Jones
Runtime: 103 min
Les, a wrongfully imprisoned outcast, returns to the mean streets of Chicago to get back at the immortal coven that killed his mother and stole his soul. Come enjoy a rare theatrical screening of this visually stunning fantasy horror cocktail that celebrates our city in all its filth and glory.
Cast & Crew scheduled to attend.
w/ FREE Closing Night After-Party at Carbon Arc Bar featuring a screening of RESTORATION
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Ryan Oliver
Runtime: 47min
A vintage find for a mechanic might just be a death sentence for the whole shop when a ghost girl emerges from the trunk.
Tickets are available now at davistheater.com
