Horror Highlights: Windy City Horrorama 2018 Lineup, Nitehawk Shorts Festival, PARTS UNKNOWN Trailer, ANGELS VS. ZOMBIES

Windy City Horrorama 2018 is ready to blow into Chicago for the very first time this April, and our favorite resident from Crystal Lake's trip to Hell will be featured, as well as many other films. Also in today's Highlights, we have details on this year's Nitehawk Shorts Festival, the new Parts Unknown trailer, and a religious take on the zombie apocalypse with Angels Vs. Zombies.

Windy City Horrorama 2018 Lineup Revealed: Press Release: "3/26/18 CHICAGO, IL - WINDY CITY HORRORAMA has unveiled its slate of feature and short films for its inaugural festival, taking place from April 27th - April 29th in Lincoln Square’s Davis Theater. The festival will be home to a wide variety of exciting premieres of independent horror films from around the world, as well as anniversary screenings of horror classics and showcases of horror films made right here in Chicago.

Highlights include anniversary screenings of underrated cult horror gems THE BLOB (1988) and JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1993), with JASON director Adam Marcus, is attendance, along with his newest horror-comedy freakout SECRET SANTA. Horrorama will be world premiering MORE BLOOD!, a horror doc made by and for horror fans that examine the insatiable bloodlust of its community; as well as SOFT MATTER, an utterly singular blast of creativity that marries goopy creature horror with droll absurdist comedy and killer street art.

The festival centerpiece is a Chicago Showcase of short and feature films presented by Dark Sky Films. It includes the world premiere of HOUSESITTERS, the feature directorial debut of horror journalist Jason Coffman, preceded by Daniel DelPurgatorio’s THIRD WHEEL and the world premiere of Stephen Tramontana’s EYELASH. The fest will close with a rare theatrical screening of CHICAGO ROT, a genre-hopping ode to the city that pushes the limits of independent cinema.

Please visit our website windycityhorrorama.com for screening dates, times, and pairings.
Tickets for every screening are available now at our website, davistheater.com, or in-person at the Davis Theater box office for $12 each, unless otherwise noted. Stay in touch with us on social media for more additions to the schedule. The complete list of films is below:

FRIDAY 4/27 FEATURES:

Hostile
Chicago Premiere
Origin: France
Director: Mathieu Turi
Stars: Brittany Ashworth, Gregory Fitoussi, Javier Botet
Runtime: 83 min
Short film Give Me Your Heart will precede the screening
Accustomed to the desolate terrain of an apocalyptic Earth, Juliette sets out from her group for supplies. After losing control of the vehicle, she is trapped with a broken leg, a gun, and a long night ahead fighting against painful memories and a persistent creature scouring the desert for prey.

Central Park
Midwest Premiere
Origin: New York City, NY
Director: Justin Reinsilber
Starring: Grace Van Patten, Ruby Modine, Justin A. Davis
Runtime: 86min
Short film The Blazing World will precede the screening
Being a teenager in NYC definitely has its perks. Harold and his friends escape the stress of
school and chaotic family drama to party in the depths of Central Park. Unfortunately, a vengeful killer heads in blazing to pick off the group one by one.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
25th Anniversary
Origin: Crystal Lake, NJ
Director: Adam Marcus
Cast: Kane Hodder, Steven Williams, John D. LeMay
Runtime: 91 min
Short film Studded Nightmare will precede the screening

In this slick (and quite sick) sequel in the iconic Friday the 13th series, a hunter seeks to kill off Jason Voorhees once and for all. Jason, however, has other plans which include turning into an evil worm to possess a family member so he can be reborn.
Director Adam Marcus in attendance.

Secret Santa
Midwest Premiere
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Director: Adam Marcus
Stars: A Leslie Kies, Debra Sullivan, Ryan Leigh Seaton
Runtime: 90 min

Worst. Christmas. Ever. A family who sucks the fun out of dysfunction comes together for the holidays just in time to scratch open the wounds of sibling rivalry, awkward affairs, closeted emotions, life-long grudges, and serious mommy issues. Gather ‘round the fire and watch as the punches fly in this pitch-black comedy.

Writer/Director Adam Marcus, Producer/Writer/Actress Debra Sullivan, and more cast & crew in attendance.

SATURDAY 4/28 FEATURES:

Bride of Frankie & Posers
Origin: Cleveland, OH | Atlanta, GA
Director: Devi Snively | Sean Thiessen
Runtime: 46 min
Join us for a family-friendly double feature that highlights all things that go bump in the night!

Bride of Frankie is a charming take on a horror classic through the eyes of Dr. Shelley Stein
while Posers finds a group of teens battling a mud monster that is seriously ruining Halloween night.

Filmmakers scheduled to attend. Underwriters: Roselle Fernandez & José I. Vazquez

The Forest of Lost Souls
U.S. Premiere
Origin: Portugal
Director: Jose Pedro Lopes
Stars: Daniela Love, Jorge Mota, Mafalda Banquart
Runtime: 71 min
Short film Sol will precede the screening

Devastated by the death of his daughter, Ricardo enters a suicide forest ready to escape his
failures. He meets Carolina and is troubled at the young girls’ morbid perspective on life. As
their stories intertwine, so unfolds a wicked plot that brings death far past the forest edge.

Housesitters
Chicago Spotlight Presented by Dark Sky Films, featuring shorts Third Wheel and Eyelash
World Premiere
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Jason Coffman
Cast: Jamie Jirak, Annie Watkins
Runtime: 63 min
Horrorama is proud to feature a spotlight on 3 fantastic local films! Housesitters follows Angie and Izzy as they try to survive the night in a house where a tiny monster wreaks havoc. Third Wheel and the world premiere of Eyelash will precede the feature film.
Directors Jason Coffman, Daniel DelPurgatorio and Stephen Tramontana in attendance.

Soft Matter
World Premiere
Origin: Austin, TX
Director: Jim Hickcox
Cast: Devyn Placide, David Dillard, Ruby Lee Dove II
Runtime: 72 mins
Short film The Call Girls will precede the screening

When a street artist reluctantly agrees to participate in an art installation in an abandoned
hospital, he and his friends discover some slimy evil experiments. Fans of Adult Swim and 80’s creature features will find a lot to love in this film that has to be seen to be believed.

Dead Ant
Midwest Premiere
Origin: Santa Clarita, CA
Director: Ron Carlson
Cast: Jake Busey, Tom Arnold, Sean Astin
Runtime: 87 min
Short film Ultraviolet will precede the screening

Jake Busey, Tom Arnold, and Sean Astin star as members of an aging glam metal band that go out to the desert to take peyote and reinvent themselves. Ignoring the warnings of a native of the land, their drug binge brings about an awakening of a legion of giant, destructive ants.

Director Ron Carlson in attendance.

SUNDAY 4/29 FEATURES:

More Blood!
World Premiere
Origin: Las Vegas, NV
Director: Heidi Moore
Runtime: 82 min
Short film We Summoned a Demon will precede the screening
From the director of Dolly Deadly comes a documentary that explores the question of why fans enjoy gore in their horror films. Featuring a slew of gooey clips and interviews with genre experts, such as Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman, More Blood examines our inherent obsession with death and the macabre. Director Heidi Moore in attendance. Underwriters: Roselle Fernandez & José I. Vazquez

The Blob (1988)
30th Anniversary Screening
Director: Chuck Russell
Stars: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch Jr., Jeffrey DeMunn
Runtime: 95 min
Short film The Fear Within will precede the screening

When a deadly blob crash-lands on earth and begins devouring everything in its path, a group of plucky teenagers steps up to save their town. With propulsive storytelling, prescient social commentary and some world-class practical gore effects, this sci-fi horror gem are one of the rare remakes that surpasses the original.

Ruin Me
Chicago Premiere
Origin: Muskegon, MI
Director: Preston DeFrancis
Stars: Marcienne Dwyer, Matt Delapina, Chris Hill, Eva Hamilton
Runtime: 87 min
Short film Invisible will precede the screening

Alexandra reluctantly tags along with her boyfriend to Slasher Sleepout, a camping trip/escape room weekend for horror fans, but a deadly turn of events forces them to question if they really are just playing a game. This clever, twisty thriller set in the picturesque Michigan wilderness pays tribute to horror classics while carving its own terrifying path.

Chicago Rot
Origin: Chicago, IL
Director: Dorian Weinzimmer
Stars: Brant McCrea, Shira Barber, Dave Cartwright, Jonez Jones
Runtime: 103 min

Les, a wrongfully imprisoned outcast, returns to the mean streets of Chicago to get back at the immortal coven that killed his mother and stole his soul. Come enjoy a rare theatrical screening of this visually stunning fantasy horror cocktail that celebrates our city in all its filth and glory.

Closing Party to follow in Carbon Arc bar with a screening of short film Restoration."

---------

6th Annual Nitehawk Shorts Festival Announced: Press Release: "BROOKLYN, NY - Nitehawk Cinema’s Nitehawk Shorts Festival will return for a 6th year over November 7-12, 2018. The Festival features six days of screenings, special events, and parties that highlights and supports a diverse range of voices in short films. As the festival continues to expand, this year the Festival will also include more prize partners, new workshops and even the inclusion of Nitehawk Cinema’s second location.

HuffPost joins again as the official media sponsor and will provide the HuffPost Impact Award for the third year as well as host a panel discussion about short films during the festival. Early submissions open Friday, April 6, 2018.

ABOUT NITEHAWK SHORTS FESTIVAL
Nitehawk Cinema’s annual Nitehawk Shorts Festival is a celebration of independent short filmmaking, featuring six days of screenings, special events, and parties that highlight and support a diverse range of voices in short films.

The Nitehawk Shorts Festival consists of the festival’s main slate Opening Nite and weekend Matinee programs, a specialty music program called Music Driven, the popular Midnite horror program, and a “Contenders” secret screening. Programs feature short films under twenty minutes in all forms (animation, documentary, narrative, non-narrative, artist films, music videos, genre) by local, national, and international filmmakers.

Since 2013, the mission of the Nitehawk Shorts Festival has been to highlight exceptional short-form film and videos by artists and filmmakers. The Festival’s main slate programming features a range of filmmakers, from emerging film school students to Academy Award nominees, in curated screenings that prioritize conversations between the films over categorical listings. The Nitehawk Shorts Festival provides an inclusive platform for filmmakers to encourage an engagement with new audiences and to establish a dialogue with the New York film community.

The Nitehawk Shorts Festival is held exclusively at Nitehawk Cinema, New York’s premiere dine-in theater that pairs exemplary first-run and repertory film programming along with table-side food and beverage service."

---------

Parts Unknown Trailer: "Parts Unknown will have its world premiere in Arlington, MA, on Saturday, June 9, 2018.

All beauty must die.
Wrestling. Horror. Neon.

After putting their bodies on the line for countless years, a family of professional wrestlers seeks a brand new way to satisfy an impeccable bloodlust.

Starring William DeCoff, Alexandra Cipolla, Sarah Michelle, Lizzie Havoc, Jake 'the Snake' Roberts, Alexander Hauck, Ralph Regine, Christina Costello, Stephen Cwiok, The Devil's Doormen, Brian Zane Schiedel, Melantha Blackthorne.

Directed and Produced by Richard Chandler
Shot by Denez McAdoo
Wardrobe Design by Jenny French

For more cast and crew, click on the IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5759188/?ref_=nv_sr_2"

---------

Angels Vs. Zombies First Details: "Synopsis: Seven Arch Angels take on Satan’s Army of the Undead after an apocalyptic asteroid hits planet Earth.

Produced, written, and directed by Emmanuel Saez (‘Overcast’, ‘The Roads of Fear’), ‘ANGELS VS. ZOMBIES’ is part of the “new wave of zombie movies” – ones about the chaotic and uncontrollable fall of social order due to the apocalypse. Saez’s French, post-apocalyptic film has created the comeback of the longtime zombie genre in a unique way. Containing religious overtones as a retelling of the New Testament, with the ultimate twist of Satan’s army of the dead has risen – and that the end of days could truly be a zombie-like apocalypse.

Rome is destroyed in one day, June 16, 2016. It is said that it was God, himself, who destroyed the city of seven hills, irritated by crimes and blasphemies. Only a Pope, forced into exile away from the city, since February 28, 2013, survived the fall of the Vatican.

Eventually leading the characters to a hospital, where they discover a dark spot on the mind leading to an infectious rapid-spreading zombie-like disease."