By MICHAEL GINGOLD
For just its second installment, taking place next month, Chicago’s Cinepocalypse festival has lined up an impressive slate of fright features and other genre fare. Read on for the full details.
Cinepocalypse 2018, which takes place June 21-28 at the Windy City’s Music Box Theatre, boasts SINISTER and DOCTOR STRANGE director and writer Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill as co-presidents of their feature film jury. And there are lots of promising movies to choose from, including the following world premieres:
- Mike P. Nelson’s THE DOMESTICS, a postapocalyptic survival-horror story starring Kate Bosworth, Tyler Hoechlin, Sonoya Mizuno and Lance Reddick
- Brad Michael Elmore’s BOOGEYMAN POP, a punk-rock genre anthology from Blumhouse, starring James Paxton (son of Bill)
- Yedidya Gorsetman’s EMPATHY INC., in which a virtual-reality startup has sinister goals, starring Zack Robidas, Kathy Searle, Eric Berryman and Jay Klaitz
- Adam Krause’s GAGS (pictured), the movie whose marketing stunt, in which an evil-looking clown roamed the streets of Wisconsin, became a viral sensation last year. DARLING and IMITATION GIRL’s Lauren Ashley Carter stars
- Michael Winnick’s MALICIOUS, a haunting saga starring THE COLLECTOR’s Josh Stewart, Bojana Novakovic, Melissa Bolona and Delroy Lindo
- Johnny Kevorkian’s AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS, in which a family falls under siege by a mysterious and deadly phenomenon on Christmas morning, starring David Bradley
- Matt Osterman’s HOVER, a sci-fi thriller about agricultural technology gone wrong, starring Cleopatra Coleman (who also scripted), Craig muMs Grant, Shane Coffey, Leo Fitzpatrick and Beth Grant
- Michael S. Ojeda’s THE RUSSIAN BRIDE, with Corbin Bernsen as a billionaire who takes in the title character (Oksana Orlan) and her young daughter (Kristina Pimenova) at his remote estate, and turns their lives into a living hell
- Kurt Knight’s THE APPEARANCE, a medieval thriller centering on the investigation into the bizarre murder of a monk, starring Jake Stormoen and Kristina Nairn
Cineapocalypse will also host the North American premieres of:
- Jonathan Li’s THE BRINK
- Alexander Andrushenko’s THE COP BABY
- Gonzalo Calzada’s LUCIFERINA
- Kevin Cline, Zach Harris and Sean Pierce’s THE SECRET POPPO
And the Midwest premieres of:
- Tommy Avallone’s THE BILL MURRAY STORIES: LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A MYTHICAL MAN
- Robert Schwentke’s THE CAPTAIN
- Bridey Elliott’s CLARA’S GHOST
- Aislinn Clarke’s THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY
- Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren’s HEAVY TRIP
- Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN
- Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund’s PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH
- Joel Potrykus’ RELAXER
- Joko Anwar’s SATAN’S SLAVES
- Vivieno Caldinelli’s SEVEN STAGES TO ACHIEVE ETERNAL BLISS BY PASSING THROUGH THE GATEWAY CHOSEN BY THE HOLY STORSH
- RKSS’ (Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell) SUMMER OF 84
- Colin Minahan’s WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE
- Andre Gower’s WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS
Plus the Illinois premiere of Jenn Wexler’s THE RANGER, a special screening of BOUND with writer/director Lana Wachowski in attendance, screenings of TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT and JUICE with appearances by director Ernest Dickerson (who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award), a showing of JUDGMENT KNIGHT with Stephen Hopkins in attendance, a rare 70mm screening of HOWARD THE DUCK (!!), a rare 35mm screening of the 1932 classic DOCTOR X and a live ’80’s All Over podcast recording with special guest Jonah Ray. Four-day access and festival badges are now on sale at the official website, and individual tickets go on sale next Wednesday, May 23.
