The Music Box Is Extra Horrible This October
By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 2, 2012 4:00PM
Over the years, the Music Box has learned a few lessons about what gets people to go to the movies (and, incidentally, they're the same lessons the studios learned in in the 1950s): give the folks something they can't get at home.
Their annual October horror movie marathon is a case in point. You might think that watching hours and hours of scary movies would be readymade for a couch potato-type situation. But oh, how wrong you'd be. For the Music Box of Horrors, a 24-hour event running October 13-14, highlights numerous movies you can't see at home, and it spices up those you can with special guest appearances. The whole schedule is worth checking out, but we want to cover a few of the must-sees on our list:
Squirm
A cataclysmic lightning storm sends millions of volts into the muddy clay of a backwater burg named Fly Creek, driving some very angry worms out of the ground and into the body cavities of the town's residents. This movie scared the snot out of us as a kid; though it's less frightening now that we're all grown up, the on location filming in Georgia adds a fascinating texture to the wriggly creepiness. Also, special effects wiz Rick Baker worked on the makeup. Director Jeff Leiberman is scheduled to appear (and will also introduce his most recent movie, Satan's Little Helper, which screens immediately after Squirm).
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
Between the 60's and the late 70's, Amicus Productions released a series of star-studded horror anthologies, including the original Tales from the Crypt. We've seen nearly all of them—except for Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, their very first, which has never been released on a decent quality DVD in the US. In a delightful coup, the Music Box has arranged to project an original Techniscope/Technicolor print. Featuring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Donald Sutherland, it spins five tales of the macabre (as well as the all-important framing story, which always supplies the final ironic twist).
The Burning
We must admit we don't know the first thing about this Friday the 13th clone, but any movie that was partially written by the Weinstein brothers, features gore effects by Tom Savini, and includes early performances by Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens, and Holly Hunter has got our attention.
All told there are 14 movies in the lineup, ranging from classics like The Golem and The Invisible Man to the not-yet-released Eddie the Sleepwalking Cannibal. Food trucks have been promised, in case the grisly movies don't leave you fully nauseated, as well as memorabilia vendors. It's the perfect way to get into the swing of October. Next: prep for the re-release of Halloween.
Tickets are $35 in advance at the Music Box Theatre Box Office, 3733 N. Southport Ave., online; or $40 day of show.