In one of the most creatively assembled Chicago film offerings since this stupid pandemic came along, the annual Halloween-themed Music Box of Horrors film festival has left the building and will relocate, for 31 schlock- and scream-filled nights in October, to the Chitown Futbol drive-in located in Pilsen.
The Music Box Theatre has presented several outdoor screenings with Elevated Films at the Chitown drive-in this summer. Located in the parking lot behind the Chitown Futbol building at 2343 S. Throop St., the Pilsen location accommodates up to 130 cars.
The breadth of programming is nothing short of hilarious. The “Grindhouse Fridays” double features lay on 1970s, ’80s and ’90s offerings to “turn your stomach” and “offend your sensibilities,” according to the Music Box website. Those will cover everything from “Blacula” (1972) to “Def by Temptation” (1990) to an evening of outlandish Hong Kong horror, “Black Magic 2” and “Evil Cat,” neither of which are for children. None of this stuff is, really.
“Rip-Off Saturdays,” another double feature programming subset, pairs familiar smash hits such as “Alien” (1979) or “The Omen” (1976) with “blatant, unauthorized” knock-offs made on the cheap. “Sequel Sundays” presents end-of-the-line fare such as “Hello Mary Lu: Prom Night II” (1987) and “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday” (1993).
Other nights on the October calendar are to be filled by true, grisly classics such as “Carrie” (1976), counterweighing the presentation of brand-new horror and thriller entries making their Chicago premieres: Brandon Cronenberg’s “Possessor,” for one, and “The Stylist” from director Jill Gevargizian. There’ll be Zoom question-and-answer sessions with some of the filmmakers throughout the month, including Gevargizian.
Along with programmers William Morris, Katie Rife and Mike Vanderbilt, Music Box operations manager Ryan Oestreich tripled the number of Music Box Halloween titles. Instead of a single, 24-hour marathon of “12 or 14 titles, he said Tuesday, “we’re doing 42 films across 31 days of programming. It’s more like a film festival.”
Classic cinema fans, meantime, can check out the 1945 “Dead of Night” and the ghostly, recently restored 1933 Mexican landmark “La Llorona,” shepherded into the Music Box festival by veteran Chicago film programmer Raul Benitez.
The Pilsen drive-in, said Oestreich, is ideal for two reasons. “One, it’s easy to find, easy to get to.” (Editor’s note: it’s tucked away on South Throop Street at a nice, quiet dead-end, so you may think you made a wrong turn for a minute there.) “Two, I love the menu. They have great food — the tacos and the frozen mango are my favorites — and it’s delivered right to your car.”
Cost is $30 per car for single features, $40 for double features, with five dollars off for Music Box members, good for up to six moviegoers per vehicle. No car? “Come with your lawn chair and your radio. Not a problem,” Oestreich said.
For the complete, head-swiveling line-up, including a never-before-released sequel to “Grizzly” (Grizzly II: Revenge”) shot in 1983 featuring a very young George Clooney, Laura Dern, Charlie Sheen and a big bear snacking on teenaged concertgoers, go to musicboxtheatre.com.
Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
Twitter @phillipstribune
