Chicago Horror Meetup Group (Movies, Books, Etc., Etc.)

 
 
 

After making horror history with BASKET CASE and FRANKENHOOKER, the incomparable Frank Henenlotter unleashed BRAIN DAMAGE – the ultimate Grimm’s Fairy Tale for adults. This slimy slice of NYC life follows a poor schmo who is addicted to a drug called Aylmer. But unlike heroin or cocaine, Aylmer is a mutant penis monster that needs human brains to survive. BRAIN DAMAGE is hilarious, unsettling, and jam-packed with bad-taste gags that would make John Waters blush. Fifteen stars.
Uncut restoration courtesy Arrow Films and the American Genre Film Archive

https://drafthouse.com/chicago/show/brain-damage

 
 
 

Produced by legendary exploitation huckster Donn Davison (ASYLUM OF THE INSANE) with his real-life spouse Barbara, THE FORCE BEYOND is the most outrageous Cryptozoology/paranormal/UFO faux-documentaries of the 1970s. For 85 minutes, “Donn Davison, the producer of this motion picture”, ushers you through four segments detailing “Bigfoot Country,” “The Psychic Search For Atlantis,” “The Devil’s Triangle,” and “U.F.O.s Explained.” What this means is a road trip to The International UFO conference, fake interviews with fake mathematicians inside of not-really-flying airplanes, a speech by the leader of M.U.F.O.N. (The Mutual UFO Network), lots of questionable photographic evidence, and a sculpture of a supposed alien, which appears to be a giant egg clad in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA pajamas. This movie is a dream come true.
Media: Digital Projection

Runtime: 85 mins.
Curated and presented by Jason Coffman.
Programmed for Comfort Station by Raul Benitez, Emily Perez and Mathew Tapey.
Free

Screening is indoors.

https://comfortstationlogansquare.org/calendar/2023/5/31/comfort-film-presents-the-force-beyond-1977

 
 
 

Colorful and kinetic with scenes that blur the lines between horror, martial arts, and slapstick comedy, jiāngshī (Chinese “hopping vampire”) movies are a fun and fascinating alternative to Western tales of the living dead. Music Box of Horrors brings you a double feature of two equally essential sequels to the jiāngshī classic Mr. Vampire, bringing the action to Hong Kong circa 1986 as an undead family wreaks havoc in Mr. Vampire 2 before returning to China’s mythic past for the haunted threequel Mr. Vampire 3. Featuring Hong Kong cinema heavyweights like Sammo Hung, Moon Lee, Yuen Biao, and Lam Ching-Ying in his iconic role as a demon-busting Taoist priest, this will be a night to remember—so hop on those tickets!

https://musicboxtheatre.com/films-and-events/mr-vampire-2-mr-vampire-3

 
 
 

David Cronenberg returns to his science fiction and horror roots in a masterwork about the beauty of transformation.

Saul (Viggo Mortensen) is a renowned performance artist living in a dystopian future where the government scrambles to control the evolution of humanity. Human biology is changing at an accelerated rate, in some cases with the aid of surgery, provoking fear that “neo organs” will permanently alter our genetics and erase our humanity. The heroes are artists and activists who embrace change and choose their own evolutionary path.

Crimes of the Future also explores sexuality and body modification in a world where “surgery is the new sex.” The vast majority of the population no longer experience physical pain or infectious disease, and they heal much faster than ever before. Many individuals find pleasure under the scalpel in sublime displays of vivisection that resemble sadomasochism.

David Cronenberg, Canada/France/United Kingdom/Greece, 2022, 107 minutes, DCP

https://facets.org/programs/crimes-of-the-future-festish-film-forum/

 
 
 

One ticket per vehicle for up to 6 adults.

All spaces have excellent views of our large screen. You may face forward or back your car into your space. Buy your ticket in one of our 4 sections (small cars and small SUV’s only for green section). Your space within those rows will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis on the night of the show. Our restaurant delivers right to your vehicle and features great Mexican food. movie-theater popcorn, drinks, and snacks with our healthiest items on our $1 menu. Outside food or beverage is not allowed.

The movie starts at 11:00pm. Gates open at 10:30pm.

Tickets are non-refundable.

https://www.universe.com/events/chitown-movies-presents-friday-the-13th-tickets-1G5CB7

 
 
 

Genders, sexualities, and relationships merge lanes in one of the sexiest and most controversial films of the 1990s.

After a near-death experience colliding with another vehicle, filmmaker James Ballard (James Spader) discovers a community of symphorophiliacs aroused by car crashes, and he never looks back. All of the central characters of Crash attain fulfillment in queer intimacy or gender nonconformity. The phenomenal cast also include Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, and Rosanna Arquette, who plays a car crash survivor in an intricate body brace that resembles fetish couture in its layering of steel and black leather.

The film received the Special Jury Prize “for originality, for daring, and for audacity” at the Cannes Film Festival, and it was met with extreme censorship and public outrage around the world.
David Cronenberg, Canada, 1996, 100 minutes, 4K UHD Blu-ray

https://facets.org/programs/crash-fetish-film-forum/

 
 
 

Long live the new flesh!
Max Renn (James Woods) is a network executive who discovers a pirate broadcast of erotic torture called Videodrome that might be a real as it looks. On a talk show discussing the prevalence of graphic sex and violence on television, he meets sensual radio host Nicki Brand (Deborah Harry) who inspires sadomasochistic relations between them, and Max is suddenly entangled in a media cold war for the fate of humanity.

Cronenberg’s 1983 film is one of his kinkiest, fetishizing analog video to truly spectacular effect. Video technology becomes glistening flesh with bulging veins, and Max grows a new vulva-like opening on his stomach, probes it with a gun, and uses it to ingest throbbing video cassettes. The film also has subtle shades of queerness as multiple men ask Max to “open up to me.”

David Cronenberg, Canada, 1983, 89 minutes, DCP

https://facets.org/programs/videodrome-fetish-film-forum/

 
 
 

One ticket per vehicle for up to 6 adults.

All spaces have excellent views of our large screen. You may face forward or back your car into your space. Buy your ticket in one of our 4 sections (small cars and small SUV’s only for green section). Your space within those rows will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis on the night of the show. Our restaurant delivers right to your vehicle and features great tacos, wings, pizza. movie-theater popcorn, drinks, and snacks with our healthiest items on our $1 menu. Outside food or beverage is not allowed.

The movie starts at 11:00pm. Gates open at 10:30pm.

Tickets are non-refundable.

https://www.universe.com/events/chitown-movies-presents-nightmare-on-elm-street-tickets-J5069M

 
 
 

Prepare for a completely unclassifiable trip into phantasmagoric funk. Directed by genre genius Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (SISTER STREET FIGHTER), Sonny Chiba's karate-horror mashup WOLF GUY is an intense addition to the pantheon of unheralded ‘70s classics -- and an eye-popping reminder that, at that time, the Japanese put more care towards cinematography and production design than any of their exploitation contemporaries (save for maybe the Italians.)

Chiba stars as the only survivor of an ancient werewolf clan who rely on supernatural powers to solve crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unknown force, Chiba uncovers a conspiracy to harvest his blood in order to steal his powers!

https://musicboxtheatre.com/films-and-events/wolf-guy

 
 
 

Savor a penetrating performance by legendary porn star Marilyn Chambers in a horror film that defies gender roles.

Rose (Marylin Chambers) and her boyfriend are motorcycle enthusiasts in matching black leather gear who get into an accident that sends Rose to a nearby plastic surgery resort for skin grafts, leading to the growth of a new orifice with a phallic protrusion under her arm. In vampiric fashion, she uses her unique appendage to impale lovers mid embrace and suck their blood for sustenance. Her victims deteriorate into homicidal maniacs who spew green foam and attack everyone in sight to feed on their flesh.

Rabid marks the first time Cronenberg imagines the growth of a new sex organ, and Marylin Chambers makes her character’s transformation intensely believable. At the time of Rabid’s release, Chambers was well-known for her groundbreaking pornographic films Behind the Green Door (1972), an early hardcore depiction of interracial sex, and Resurrection of Eve (1973), which daringly presented sex between men for a heterosexual audience. With Cronenberg’s guidance, Chambers shattered more taboos.

David Cronenberg, Canada/United States, 1977, 91 minutes, DCP

https://facets.org/programs/rabid-fetish-film-forum/