CHICAGO — Halloween comes early this year to Patio Theater, 6008 W. Irving Park Road, where 80 independent horror films will be shown over three days this weekend.
Between Friday and Sunday, the Chicago Horror Film Festival will convene filmmakers from around the world to show off their short and feature-length films, with craft vendors and live shows interspersed along the way.
The festival runs from 4-10 p.m. Friday and noon-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The films will be clustered in 2- to 2½-hour blocks, separated by intermissions, festival organizer Willy Adkins said.
"Even if you're not into horror films, there's a lot more involved here," Adkins said. "And the great thing about it is that a single pass gets you in all day, so you can take breaks to go grab food and come back in whenever you want."
The first day of the fest will culminate at 9:30 p.m. Friday with a performance by "gothic illusionist" Ron Fitzgerald, whose show organizers describe as featuring "dark/edgy illusions, strange Magic, cool music, and a mad magician who looks like the front man for a rock band."
For Saturday's headline show, the theater will screen the 1922 silent classic "Nosferatu" at 8:30 p.m. with live organ accompaniment by Silent Film Society of Chicago director Jay Warren.
The festival will finish at 9 p.m. Sunday with an award ceremony honoring the best films shown all weekend.
Meanwhile, art and craft vendors including Scavenged Antiques and Oddities and Disney animator Philo Barnhart will be operating booths all weekend long.
The festival schedule and full list of films can be found on the festival's website.
Online ticket sales have closed, but visitors can still buy their way into the festival at the door. Passes are $20 for a single day, $30 for two days or $45 for the entire weekend.
