CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL 2014 review round-up!!!

The AC and the BC (Bobcat, rocking an amazing Bigfoot sweater)

Having traveled over hill, dale, oceans, and international borders over the past couple years, I've become a very big fan of the film festival scene. However, this spring, The Doc didn't have to travel any further than his own backyard to indulge in a special slice of pre-release big-screen cinematic goodness.

Created in 2013 by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), with a program that included Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Emily Hagins’ Grow Up, Katie Aselton’s Black Rock, Jonathan Levine’s All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, Jason Lapeyre & Robert Wilson’s I Declare War, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and the remastered director’s cut of William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, the Chicago Critics Film Festival offers a rich cornucopia of films comprised of recent festival favorites and as-yet-undistributed works from a wide variety of filmmakers. According to their website, the CCFF is the ONLY current example of a major film critics group hosting its own festival (Go Chicago!!!), showcasing works from around the globe and from all genres.

For horror fans, this year's lineup featured some impressive Windy City debuts, including Housebound (which recently won the Audience Award at Scotland's Dead By Dawn Festival), Bobcat Goldthwait's found-footage Bigfoot flick Willow Creek, Tommy Wirkola's follow-up to his 2009 Nazi zombie hit, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, and Elijah Drenner's celebration of the life and career of one of Hollywood's best-loved character actors, That Guy Dick Miller (shown as a double feature with Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood, one of Miller's rare leading turns).

WILLOW CREEK (2013) movie review

Willow Creek (2013) d. Bobcat Goldthwait (USA)

I’ll admit from the outset, it might seem odd to the casual observer that, after my lambasting of the Drew Barrymore-produced Happy Camp a few months back, I should be any less brutal in my treatment of yet another Sasquatch-themed found-footage flick that borrows heavily from The Blair Witch Project’s template. The fact that one succeeds wildly while the other only succeeded in testing my patience vividly illustrates that mere story or narrative approach are far less important than how those elements are utilized. It also helps that Goldthwait has proven himself over the years to be a resourceful and savvy filmmaker, knowing how and when to push his viewers’ emotional buttons; within the single-camera confines, this is an essential skill set and the writer/director perfectly orchestrates the onscreen action to full effect.

If all hamburger buns came with toes, life would be infinitely better.

HOUSEBOUND, WILLOW CREEK, DEAD SNOW 2, THAT GUY DICK MILLER at Chicago Critics Film Festival!!

Having traveled over hill, dale, oceans, and international borders over the past couple years, I've become a very big fan of the film festival scene. However, for the second year in a row, The Doc doesn't have to travel any further than his own backyard to get that special slice of pre-release big-screen cinematic goodness. It's time again for the Chicago Critics Film Festival, taking place May 9 - 15 at the historic Music Box Theatre!

Created in 2013 by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), with a program that included Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Emily Hagins’ Grow Up, Tony Phillips, Katie Aselton’s Black Rock, Jonathan Levine’s All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, Jason Lapeyre & Robert Wilson’s I Declare War, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and the remastered director’s cut of William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, the Chicago Critics Film Festival offers another cornucopia of films comprised of recent festival favorites and as-yet-undistributed works from a wide variety of filmmakers. The CCFF is the ONLY current example of a major film critics group hosting its own festival (Go Chicago!!!), showcasing works from around the globe and from all genres.

For horror fans, this year's lineup features some impressive Windy City debuts, including Housebound (which recently won the Audience Award at Scotland's Dead By Dawn Festival), Bobcat Goldthwait's found-footage Bigfoot flick Willow Creek, Tommy Wirkola's follow-up to his 2009 Nazi zombie hit, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, and Elijah Drenner's celebration of the life and career of one of Hollywood's best-loved character actors, That Guy Dick Miller (shown as a double feature with Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood, one of Miller's rare leading turns).

David Wain, Bobcat Goldthwait, Martin Starr, Jocelyn DeBoer, David Dastmalchian, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Collin Schiffli and Dick Miller are among the special guests slated to attend.

Festival passes and individual tickets can be acquired by visiting the Music Box box office or online HERE

FILM PASS PRICES
$150 = Full Festival Pass + Closing Night Party (May 9-15)
$100 = Weekend Pass (Fri-Sun – May 9-11)
$75 = Weekday Pass + Closing Night Party (Mon-Thurs – May 12-15)


INDIVIDUAL TICKET PRICES:
$12-$15

To learn more about the Chicago Critics Film Festival, or the individual films, visit http://chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com


Full Schedule below: