Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse 2018: Part Four 29 Jun 201825 Sep 2019 Relaxer Early on in Relaxer, the protagonist—a shirtless, pantsless slacker named Abbie—vomits what looks like a quart of milk all over himself. I can't think of a better metaphor for the…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse 2018: Part Three 28 Jun 201825 Sep 2019 Satan's Slaves If you like Asian horror, jump-scares, and overpowering musical scores that punctuate every incident—scary or otherwise—with a SINISTER DRAMATIC SWELL OR STING!, you might find Joko Anwar's remake…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse 2018: Part Two 27 Jun 201825 Sep 2019 Short Film Program: Short Trip to Hell Page One Abunch of actors in a zombie movie are attacked by actual zombies, and then they get into a huge fight because…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse 2018: Part One 24 Jun 201825 Sep 2019 The Ranger Director/co-writer Jenn Wexler pits a pack of post-adolescent punk rockers (led by Chloe Levine) against a deranged park ranger (Jeremy Holm, who's recently done turns on House of Cards…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse: Trench 11; Animals 9 Nov 201713 Mar 2018 I saw two films on the final two days of the festival, Trench 11 and Animals. Trench 11 Canada. Directed by Leo Scherman. Starring Rossif Sutherland, Ted Atherton, Shaun Benson, Robert Stadlober,…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse: Mohawk; Applecart; secret screening 9 Nov 201713 Mar 2018 My fourth day of screenings (and sixth day of the festival overall) brought me Mohawk, Applecart, and the much-anticipated secret screening. Mohawk United States. Directed by Ted Geoghegan. Starring Kaniehtiio Horn, Justin…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse: Sequence Break; Dead Shack; Suspiria 7 Nov 201713 Mar 2018 On my third day at the festival, I saw two shorts (Feeding Time and Blood Shed), along with two new films (Sequence Break and Dead Shack), along with the Chicago premiere of…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse: The Crescent; Housewife 6 Nov 201713 Mar 2018 My second day at the festival (actually the festival's fourth day overall, Sunday, November 5) included screenings of The Crescent and Housewife, the latest from Baskin director Can Evrenol. The Crescent Canada. Directed…
Cinepocalypse… Cinepocalypse: Tragedy Girls; Get My Gun 4 Nov 201713 Mar 2018 This November marks the inaugural Cinepocalypse. While it can't accurately be said to be Chicago's first film festival dedicated to genre (Willy Atkins' Chicago Horror and Indie Horror Film Festivals probably…
Chicago International Film Festival… Chicago International Film Festival 2017: Offenders / Have a Nice Day 27 Oct 201722 Nov 2017 My third and final clump consisted of two World Cinema offerings: Offenders and Have a Nice Day. Offenders (Izgrednici) Serbia. Directed by Dejan Zecevic. 107 minutes. The CIFF program described Offenders as a…
