Horror

CHICAGO – The sequel to the surprise horror hit “Smile” won’t give you anything to turn your frown upside down. It’s longer and gorier than the original, but it yields precious few surprises and is an ultimately pointless exercise in commerce and drudgery.

CHICAGO – The After Dark series at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) encompasses the “genre” category of films … horror, sci-fi, fantasy and the just plain bizarre. And the programmer behind it is film veteran Raul Benitez.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for “The Substance” a new release written/directed by Coralie Fargeat and featuring Demi Moore and Margaret Whalley portraying two sides of the same person … older and younger. In theaters since September 20th.

CHICAGO – The same day that director Ti West’s “MaXXXine” – the third film in his “Maxine” series – is released, why not catch up with the story beforehand at Chicago’s FACETS with a double feature/discussions on the first two films, “X” and “Pearl,” presented by film programmer Stephanie Sack. Click TI WEST for tickets/details.

CHICAGO – The After Dark series at the 59th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) encompasses the “genre” category of films … horror, sci-fi, fantasy and the just plain bizarre. And the programmer behind it is film veteran Raul Benitez. For more info and After Dark line-ups, click AFTER DARK.

CHICAGO – True unforgettable scares in a horror film are few and far between, despite many attempts. The unsettling air of the new film “Talk to Me” is lingering, as created by two Australian brothers and YouTube sensations, Danny & Michael Philippou. Their channel RackaRacka gave them the opportunity to make their debut film.

CHICAGO – Experienced horror fans will recognize this, but anytime a long running franchise has to resort to Telekinesis, you know you’re in for trouble. It didn’t work for Jason, It didn’t work for Freddy, It didn’t work for Michael Myers the first time he tried it in “Halloween 5” … it most certainly does not work here in “Halloween Ends.”

CHICAGO – One of the more popular series at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) – with Opening Night on October 12th, 2022 – is the After Dark series. The title screams horror films, but the series also focuses on outliers in categories such as sci-fi, fantasy and the just plain bizarre. Raul Benitez … the programmer of After Dark …

CHICAGO – Smile is unsettling and deeply unpleasant … its whole reason for being is to be unsettling and deeply unpleasant. And in that regard, it worked. I was uncomfortable sitting in a theater as these images flashed across the screen. But you know what else I was? Bored. The first kill happens around the 15 minute mark, and I know that because I was already checking my watch at that point.

CHICAGO – Day Three of the 57th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), and the festival kicks into gear with many notable films, including the much anticipated thriller “Antlers” at the ChiTown Movies Drive-In (click ANTLERS for details).