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The Definitive Chicago Halloween 2010 Scary Movie Guide

By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 28, 2010 9:00PM

2010_10_scarymovies.jpg The wind is howling and the witches are running for Senate: Halloween 2010 is upon us. If your cinematic chills can't be satisfied with just renting a horror movie, such as the ones we love, then you have more than a few opportunities to get out and get scared by something on the silver screen this weekend. Here is our guide to all the scary movies in theatrical exhibition during this weekend of Haloween 2010.


In Wide Release
First off, the big budget new releases that qualify: Paranormal Activity 2, Saw: The Final Chapter 3D and
My Soul to Take will surely be selling some popcorn in multiple locations around town.


With live musical accompaniment
The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein's silent, lyrical 1928 interpretation), will be shown at Facets with a live score performed by Cursed Bird. Saturday night.


With drinks specials
Drainiac about a demon in an abandoned house, is being shown at Delilah's. The $3 Chang Thai Lagers will probably make this movie a lot better. Saturday night.


Old School
Nosferatu, perhaps the grandaddy of all horror movies, can be seen Sunday at 6pm in two locations: at Delilah's or at the DANK-Haus in Lincoln Square, along with The Cat and the Canary.


Our pick
Doc Films has a doozy of a cult film on tap for Sunday afternoon: Hausu (or "House") is a legendarily trippy and campy haunted house film. It's a safe bet you've never seen anything quite like this one, because there is nothing quite like this one. Featuring the best killer piano sequence of the past 50 years. Sunday at 1pm.


Retro Homage
The House of the Devil, last year's love letter to 70s horror, shows at Chicago Filmmakers Friday evening.


The Classics
The Ghost of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula and Frankenstein meets Wolfman, and Ghost Story add up to a can't-miss classic horror marathon at the Portage theater on Friday night. We told you about it on Monday.


For the surgically inclined
Mad Love and The Face Behind the Mask make up a killer Peter Lorre double feature at Bank of America Cinema. Mad Love famously features a surgeon replacing a pianist's hands those of a murderer with a penchant for throwing knives. Saturday night.


For the Zombie fans
Martin, George Romero's 1970s teen vampire movie, is your only option if your horror has to be undead, but it is a great one. It's playing at Doc Films on Saturday evening (before a midnight costume contest and showing of John Carpenter's Christine) and Sunday afternoon.


Only considered scary in red states
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is playing Friday and Saturday night at The Music Box. The Friday showing is sold out, but Excalibur (the nightclub) luckily has a screening scheduled that night as well.


Meta
Demon Lover Diary, a documentary about two factory workers making a low budget horror movie in the midwest, shows at Northwestern University Block Museum of Art Friday night.


For the kids
Haunted Castle 3D is showing Friday afternoon at Navy Pier.


For... We don't actually know what the target is for this but it is definitely NOT for the kids
The Human Centipede is playing at the Music Box on Friday and Saturday nights at midnight. It's the movie that had our friends saying "Enough with the spoiler alerts, I really could have used a spoiler before we rented this." The same may or may not hold true for Nekromantik which is about exactly what you think it is about and screens Friday night at Facets.


Update
Two we missed: Aelita: Queen of Mars at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel in Hyde Park, Friday night, and Phantom of the Opera is on tap Sunday afternoon at Saint James Cathedral, with live organ accompaniment. [Chicago Reader]