The Music Box Theatre announced today the incredible first wave of programming and guests for the debut year of CINEPOCALYPSE (an evolution to the program design of Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival), which will take place November 2 – 9 at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre.

Bloody Disgusting is not only a presenting sponsor but also one of the programmers behind this badass genre lineup!

The Midwest’s largest gathering of genre films and fans, the festival’s organizers are proud to have acclaimed screenwriter Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest, Dead Birds, Blair Witch, A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S, V/H/S/2) guest host the entirety of the festival.

Writer/director Joe Carnahan (The Grey, Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) will guest curate “Blood, Guts, Bullets, and Octane” – a special program of 35mm repertory films screening during the fest.

Oscar-nominated thespian Eric Roberts will take part in a very special live recording of Doug Tilley and Liam O’Donnell’s acclaimed film podcast “Eric Roberts is the Fucking Man” – uniting the actor and the program that bears his name for the very first time!

Cinepocalypse’s first round of phenomenal feature films have also been unleashed upon the world. Featuring a wide variety of World, U.S., and Regional Premieres, they represent the latest and greatest in genre cinema from around the globe.

To purchase early bird badges, visit https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/cinepocalypse.

First Wave titles include:

Rendel – World Premiere

Finland, 2017

Director: Jesse Haaja

Finland’s first superhero film, Rendel is dystopian action/fantasy unlike anything ever witnessed Stateside. When a massive criminal organization takes over his town, a masked vigilante strikes back through a series of brutal attacks that leave blood spilled and cash ablaze. A dark adventure that harkens to the finest in 80s era comics, Rendel is the anti-Marvel crusader: an all-too-human superhero from the streets, driven solely by rage and revenge!

Attack of the Adult Babies – North American Premiere

UK, 2017

Director: Dominic Brunt

High-powered middle-aged men intend to refuel the world’s economy by very sinister, sick, and monstrous means in this British gross-out extravaganza.

$1 of each ticket sale will be donated to the ACLU to assist in continuing their support of defending the world from further adult baby attacks.

Lowlife – U.S. Premiere

USA, 2017

Director: Ryan Prows

The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a Luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong in this wildly clever – and incredibly brutal – modern LA noir.

Mohawk – U.S. Premiere

USA, 2017

Director: Ted Geoghegan

Over one very long day late in The War of 1812, a young Mohawk woman and her two lovers strike back at a squadron of American soldiers responsible for the death of her people. From the writer/director of We Are Still Here.

Poor Agnes – U.S. Premiere

Canada, 2017

Director: Navin Ramaswaran

A female serial killer and her next victim form an unexpected relationship in this intense thriller that won raves out of Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival.

Animals (Tiere) – Midwest Premiere

Germany, 2017

Director: Greg Zglinski

A vehicle colliding with a sheep on a country road starts into motion a series of strange and unsettling events for a couple in this darkly comical, Lynchian nightmare.

Before We Vanish – Midwest Premiere

Japan, 2017

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

In this Cannes smash, three aliens travel to Earth in preparation for a mass invasion, taking possession of human bodies and learning what it’s like to live and love in modern day Tokyo. From the writer/director of Pulse.

Dead Shack – Midwest Premiere

Canada, 2017

Director: Peter Ricq

While staying at a rundown cabin in the woods, three children must save their parents from a neighbor who intends to feed them to her undead family.

Hagazussa – A Heathen’s Curse – Midwest Premiere

Germany, 2017

Director: Lukas Feigelfeld

Set in the Austrian Alps during the Middle Ages, this morbid and visually-stunning tale deals with the fine line between ancient belief in magic and delusional psychosis.

Housewife – Midwest Premiere

Turkey, 2017

Director: Can Evrenol

On a snowy eve, a young girl’s mother kills her father and sister. 20 years later, as she’s slowly losing her grip on reality, the girl runs into a celebrity psychic who claims he is destined to help her. And then things get ultra weird. From the writer/director of Baskin.

Jailbreak – Midwest Premiere

Cambodia, 2017

Director: Jimmy Henderson

As all of Kol Kla Prison riots, a no-nonsense special task force is in to protect a key witness – and kick a whole lot of ass. Featuring a phenomenal, hard-hitting international cast, and a star-making turn from adult film star Celine Tran.

Sweet Virginia – Midwest Premiere

USA, 2017

Director: Jamie M. Dagg

A former rodeo champ with a dark past unknowingly starts a rapport with a young man who has a propensity for disturbing sociopathic violence that has suddenly gripped a small town.

Trench 11 – Midwest Premiere

Canada, 2017

Director: Leo Scherman

In the final days of World War I, a shell-shocked soldier must lead a mission deep beneath the trenches to stop a German plot that could turn the tide of the war. But what lies beneath is far more dark and sinister than he ever could have imagined.

Veronica – Midwest Premiere

Spain, 2017

Director: Paco Plaza

After making a Ouija with friends, a teenager is besieged by dangerous supernatural forces that threaten to destroy her entire family. From the writer/director of the [•REC] franchise.

Tragedy Girls – Illinois Premiere

USA, 2017

Director: Tyler MacIntyre

This clever twist on the slasher genre follows two death-obsessed teenage girls who use their online profiles dedicated to real-life tragedies to send their small Midwest town into a frenzy – and cement their legacy as modern horror legends.

Suspiria – 40th-anniversary screening, newly-discovered Italian Uncut 35mm print!

Italy, 1977

Director: Dario Argento

The Cinepocalypse Midnight Movie Challenge!

The production team at Boulderlight Pictures consists of 23-year-old JD Lifshitz and 24-year-old Raphael Margules. Alongside both Contracted films, they also produced Bad Match, which received its premiere at FrightFest; the upcoming Dismissed (starring Dylan Krause); and numerous other genre titles.

With their youthful exuberance and heavy output, we’ve issued them a challenge: produce a genre feature exclusively for Cinepocalypse 2017. There are no parameters other than it must be a feature-length midnight movie, and that they must begin production immediately upon release of this announcement.

Together, attendees of Cinepocalypse will all experience the World Premiere of this yet-untitled (and unwritten… and unfilmed) production during a special midnight slot in this year’s inaugural festival! WHAT.

Watch this spot for even more titles in the coming weeks!