2021 Chicago Film Festival After Dark’s Program

Big day for genre nerds of the midwest! There’s some more horror films coming for folks in the Chicago-area. Chicago International Film Festival’s After Dark section, which plays October 13 to October 24, has unleashed its programming upon an unsuspecting populace. Some of the screenings will be in-person, some virtual, some at a drive-in, and some a combination of those. You can pick up tickets or find out more information about After Dark by visiting its website (here). Below you’ll find information about the titles and when/where to check them out.

ANTLERS

(dir. Scott Cooper, 99m)

From the visionary world of acclaimed director Scott Cooper (CRAZY HEART, HOSTILES) and horror maestro Guillermo del Toro (THE SHAPE OF WATER) comes ANTLERS. In an isolated, economically depressed Oregon town, a middle-school teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Jesse Plemons) become embroiled with her enigmatic student (Jeremy T. Thomas) whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them.

Based on the short story “The Quiet Boy” by Nick Antosca, ANTLERS draws from the Wendigo myths found in Native American folklore.

Friday, October 15, 7:00PM at Chi-Town Movies Drive-In.

THE BETA TEST

(dir. Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe, 91m)

When hot-shot Hollywood talent agent Jordan Hines receives a mysterious purple envelope containing an invitation for an anonymous sexual encounter, the offer proves too tempting to resist. But the liaison has surprising ramifications. Jordan becomes ensnared in a web of conspiracy, paranoia, and guilt that threatens to upend both his career and his personal life. Writer-director Cummings (THUNDER ROAD, THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW) delivers a hilariously manic performance as Jordan who embarks on a mission to determine the origins of the envelope. THE BETA TEST is a wickedly funny, blood-stained satire of the blind arrogance and toxic masculinity that runs rampant in the movie business.

Saturday, October 16, 10:30 PM and Wednesday, October 20, 3:30 PM both at AMC River East

Broadcast Signal Intrusion

(dir. Jacob Gentry, 104m)

On November 22, 1987, a masked figure interrupted broadcasts on two Chicago TV stations in a mysterious hack that was never solved. In 1999, while archiving videotapes in the basement of one of the stations, AV tech whiz James (CRAZY RICH ASIANS’ Harry Shum Jr.) stumbles across grainy footage of a cryptic figure in the middle of an old news program. The discovery sends James on a search for answers, and he soon uncovers unexpected connections to the inexplicable disappearance of his wife years earlier. Channeling Antonioni’s classic BLOW-UP and ’70s paranoid cinema, this throwback thriller cleverly taps into the uncanny allure of analog technology as it charts the perils of personal obsession.

Available virtually: October 14-24; Thursday, October 14, 9:30 PM at AMC River East

HELLBENDER

(dir. Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, and John Adams, 82m)

A spooky forest, a monstrous witch going up in flames, a mother-and-teen music duo cranking out a ferocious rock song—that’s just the beginning of this freaky coming-of-age occult horror film. Conceived, directed, and acted by the Adams family (THE DEEPER YOU DIG), HELLBENDER follows lonely adolescent Izzy who lives with her loving, if overbearing, mom in a secluded woodland home. Although the two share a largely harmonious bond, tensions begin to rise after Izzy encounters some kids her age in a nearby house, setting in motion a series of revelations about her personal health and her ancient mystical ancestry. With echoes of THE WICKER MAN, RAW, and MIDSOMMAR, HELLBENDER is a wholly unique, deeply unsettling watch that explores the frightening complexities of mother-daughter relationships.

Friday, October 15, 10:00PM at ChiTown Movies Drive-In

THE HOUSE OF SNAILS

(dir. Macarena Astorga, 104m)

In this wholly original take on the werewolf tale, novelist Antonio Prieto (Javier Rey) arrives at a remote mountain town in Southern Spain hoping to find peace and quiet to work on his next novel. Once there, he meets and falls for the alluring Berta (Paz Vega) and encounters an array of other eccentric citizens who find their way into his manuscript. But local color soon turns menacing when Antonio realizes the town is harboring a dark and terrifying secret, forcing him to question where reality ends and fiction begins.

Available virtually: October 14-24; Saturday, October 23, 9:00 PM at AMC River East

MAD GOD

(dir. Phil Tippett, 84m)

Set in a hallucinogenic hellscape populated by mad scientists, defecating monsters, crushed humanoids, and voracious pig-beasts, this wildly imaginative stop-motion animated adventure follows a lone intrepid soldier on a mission through the nightmarish morass. From the warped mind of master creature-maker and special effects guru Phil Tippett, famous for everything from THE EMPIRE STRIKE BACK’s AT-AT walkers to JURASSIC PARK’s dinosaurs, MAD GOD is a visually inventive, hand-crafted cinematic creation—decades in the making—like Dante’s Inferno by way of Hieronymus Bosch and CLASH OF THE TITANS on acid, and yet a strikingly original dark fantasy all its own.

Available virtually: October 14-24; Friday, October 22, 10:30 PM at AMC River East

THE SADNESS

(dir. Rob Jabbaz, 95m)

After a mysterious virus begins to spread throughout Taipei, violent packs of infected citizens— driven to kill, rape, torture, and mutilate—begin to hunt unsuspecting citizens. Before long, destruction consumes the city, leaving young couple Kat (Regina) and Jim (Berant Zhu) to brave unimaginable chaos as they journey through the carnage in an attempt to reunite with one another and escape the deadly hordes. Both a delightfully cringe-inducing gorefest and timely social critique, THE SADNESS conjures unforgettable visions of a catastrophic pandemic as it careens toward a very, very bloody conclusion.

Saturday, October 23, 10:30 PM at AMC River East

Shorts 3: Unexpected Terrors

These six shorts spanning four countries show the real world is just as terrifying as the supernatural, highlighting how the uncanny and the unexpected can be found even in mundane situations.

A Black family whose land is overwhelmed with ghosts from the past must confront the apparitions in INHERITANCE (U.S.). A woman tries to flee from a sentient home that isn’t keen to let her get away in AS IF I NEVER EXISTED (Turkey). In THE LAST MARRIAGE (Sweden), a couple must navigate serious relationship issues as a zombie apocalypse rages outside. A tattoo artist is confronted by a client who knows the meaning of his body art in MARKED (U.S.). A supernatural entity shadows a thief named Manuel in Mexico City in THE LAST SUPPER (Mexico). In THUMB (U.S.), a woman sorting out her artist mother’s estate encounters an unexpected visitor who has shown up to claim an especially notorious piece.

Available virtually: October 14-24; Friday, October 15, 10:30pm at AMC River East

You can find out more information on all of the films, the screenings, and more by visiting Chicago International Film Festival’s After Dark page.