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ZOMBIES, MURDERERS AND H.P. LOVECRAFT SET LOOSE IN FIRST EVER AFTER DARK COMPETITION
Chicago, IL-- The Chicago International Film Festival’s
After Dark programâ€"a perennial October favorite in the lead up to Halloweenâ€"has
been expanded in its first ever competitive year to include an international
mix of ten thrilling feature length and seven short films: things (human and
inhuman) will go bump in the night. A Gold Hugo will be awarded to the jury’s
selection for best After Dark feature.Â
“The
After Dark competition this year represents
the best new horror and genre cinema, including the first ever Israeli slasher
film and the first ever Cuban zombie film. It’s a thrilling opportunity to combine
the international focus the Festival is known for with an enhanced late night
slate that will have hardcore horror fans and
newcomers jumping in their seats…and coming back for more!,” said Festival Programmer
Penny Bartlett.Â
From Juan of the Dead,
a uniquely Cuban take on cult favorite Shaun
of the Dead to Rabies, Israel’s
critically acclaimed first foray into the slasher genre; A Lonely Place To Die, a breathlessly terrifying cat-and-mouse game
set in the Scottish Highlands; an eerily deft recreation of 1930’s studio
horror fare (Whisperer In Darkness);
a thrilling short film program (Shorts 3: Midnight Mayhem) and more, this
year’s After Dark competition will take audiences on a journey to the darkest
corners of the human soul.Â
Cold Sweat Argentina
(Director: Adrián GarcĂa Bolagno)-- Online dating? What’s the worst that could
happen? Well, apparently, you could find yourself trapped in an old house at
the mercy of a pair of aging right-wing revolutionaries turned sadists with a
penchant for torturing young women with decaying dynamite and buckets of
nitroglycerin. Prolific low-budget horror maestro Bogliano serves up a stylish
slice of extreme genre cinema, which also alludes to the troubled state of
generational politics in his homeland. Chicago Premiere. Director Adrián GarcĂa Bogliano is scheduled to attend.Â
Haunters
Korea
(Director: Min-suk Kim)-- A young thief’s ability to control minds is
frustrated when he meets one just beyond his reach in this fast-paced Korean
action thriller. On a routine robbery of a pawnshop, things go terribly awry
and an epic cat-and-mouse game quickly ensues, taking the viewer on a
supercharged tour of Seoul
at night. Chicago Premiere.Â
The Holding UK (Director:
Susan Jacobson)-- After Cassie murders her abusive husband, a manipulative
neighbor tries to run her off her land. Help seems to come in the form of gruff
Scotsman Aden, but Cassie soon regrets letting Aden into her life when his true nature
begins to manifest itself. Stylish direction and taut performances keep
adrenaline running high in this accomplished, atmospheric gothic thriller. US Premiere. Director Susan Jacobson is scheduled to
attend.
Juan Of The Dead Cuba (Director:
Alejandro Brugues)-- Juan is a lovable loser content to loaf around the streets
of Havana wisecracking, womanizing, and wiling away the days with a motley crew
of fellow drifters. But when what seems at first to be dissident rumblings in
the city turns into a full-on flesh-eating zombie onslaught, Juan and his gang
go into business as “Juan of the Dead” â€" a crack team of slayers specializing
in the undead. This wild romp through the streets of the Cuban capital is a
perfectly pitched blend of horror and laughs. Chicago Premiere.Â
Â
A Lonely Place To Die UK (Director:
Julian Gibley)-- A group of friends get much more than they bargained for when
a weekend of extreme mountain climbing turns into a terrifying ordeal. This
tension-filled thriller makes the most of its setting in the stunning but
treacherous landscape of the Scottish
Highlands with immersive
camerawork, an atmospheric Celtic soundtrack, and imagery straight out of The Wicker Man. Featuring a chilling
standout performance from Sean Harris (24
Hour Party People, The Red Riding
Trilogy). Chicago
Premiere. Rabies Israel (Director: Aharon Keshales)-- Take the classic horror movie formula - hot girls lost in the woods,
marauding homicidal maniacs, and gallons of blood and gore. Add some dark
humor, sharp, witty dialogue, and unexpected twists and voilá, you get Rabies,
Israel’s
critically acclaimed first foray into the slasher genre. Sophisticated enough
to appeal to a broad audience but with sufficient splatter to satisfy the
hardcore genre fan, Rabies is an
exhilarating and highly enjoyable viewing experience. Chicago Premiere.
Smuggler Japan (Director:
Katsuhito Ishii)-- From the man who created the celebrated “O-Ren Ishii”
animated sequence in Kill Bill, Vol. 1
comes this stylish and outrageous but brutal film that makes Tarantino’s work
look like family fare. In serious debt to local yakuza gangsters, Kinuta is
coerced into taking a job as a smuggler of dead bodies for the Japanese
underworld to settle the accounts, only to find himself caught in the middle of
a bloody gang war. Based on the popular eponymous manga, Smuggler has all the makings of a midnight classic. Chicago Premiere.Snowtown Australia (Director:
Justin Kurzel)-- Based on true events, this skillfully crafted psychological
thriller centers on 16-year-old Jamie, who lives in a squalid, crime-ridden
slum on the outskirts of Adelaide. When John Bunting, a charismatic older man,
enters his life, he offers friendship and escape from his deadbeat existence.
But as Bunting’s behavior becomes increasingly sinister, Jamie finds himself
caught up in horrors he could never have imagined as he realizes his new father
figure is actually a cold-blooded serial killer. Chicago Premiere.
The Yellow Sea South Korea (Director: Na Hong-Jin)-- When taxi
driver Gu-nam finds himself in financial straits, he accepts a proposal from a
local mob boss to travel to Seoul
to carry out a hit on a professor. Once Gu-Nam arrives in the capital city, he
discovers he isn’t the only person targeting the professor and in a quick turn
of events, finds himself on the run. Gu-nam must use every survival instinct he
has in order to stay one step ahead of his pursuers in this thrilling
man-on-the-run crime drama. Chicago Premiere.  The Whisperer In Darkness
USA
(Director: Sean Branney)-- Based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness is an eerily
deft recreation of classic 1930’s studio horror fare. Professor Albert Wilmart,
a smug skeptic, is forced to question his views by a series of increasingly
bizarre encounters with the supernatural. Genuinely terrifying and highly
entertaining, Whisperer is a fitting
homage for Lovecraft aficionados and, for newcomers, a perfect introduction to
one of the great horror masterminds of the 20th century. Chicago Premiere. Director
Sean Branney is scheduled to attend.
Shorts 3: Midnight
Mayhem--Â Thirty years after a
zombie epidemic, the undead are used for cheap labor in the stylish The
Unliving (Sweden).
A mysterious vagrant is hiding in an empty house in the menacing Ghost
(South Korea).
There’s a new addition to the family in the form of a benign severed head in
the darkly comedic Cropped (Australia).
A little boy and a yeti-like monster go on a disturbing adventure in Dream
Of 1st Of April 1999.
(France).
A gruesome scene
unfolds in a peaceful home by the sea in Bleeding Hearts (USA). A young
mother’s mental state deteriorates rapidly in the nightmarish Foal
(Austria) and an army of
mutant flies is unleashed in an orgy of bloodlust in Friend Of Flies (Sweden). Directors Christoph Rainer, Dave Wade and
Matthew Garrett are scheduled to attend.
Â
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TICKET INFOÂ
All events,
except Opening Night, are at the AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois Street. Tickets for the
47th Chicago International Film Festival are on sale now. Opening Night tickets
and festival passes may be purchased on the Festival website. All individual tickets
must be purchased by phone 312-332-FILM (3456), in person by visiting the
Festival box office at AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.), or through Ticketmaster.
FESTIVAL SPONSORS
Led by
Presenting Partner, Columbia College Chicago, the 47th Chicago International
Film Festival’s sponsors include: Premiere Partners-- American Airlines,
Lincoln; Producing Partners-- AMC Theaters, DePaul University's School of
Cinema and Interactive Media, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences;
Major Partners-- Allstate, Intersites; Supporting Partners-- Applitite,
Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Brugal Rum, Kodak, Second City Computers, WBBM, and
the Festival's Headquarters Hotel, JW Marriott Chicago.Â
ABOUT CINEMA/CHICAGOCinema/Chicago
is a not-for-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to
encouraging better understanding between cultures and to making a positive
contribution to the art form of the moving image. The Chicago International
Film Festival is part of the year-round programs presented by Cinema/Chicago,
which also include the International Screenings Program (May-September), the
Hugo Television Awards (April), CineYouth Festival (May), Intercom Competition
(October) and year-round Education Outreach and Member Screenings Program.
For images
and press materials go to http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/press/ ;
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