Music Box of Horrors Archives

a man in a glittery shirt, with three reflected prismatic versions of himself behind him

What’s old becomes new again

by Kat Sachs December 20, 2022December 20, 2022

Rather than make a list of my favorite new films of the year, I’ve made a list of my favorite repertory screenings of 2022.

an old black-on-white drawing of two men holding anguished their faces

Film

Sex Demon: pornographic camp and long-lost queer history

by Micco Caporale October 20, 2022October 20, 2022

J.C. Cricket’s Sex Demon is not for the faint of heart—it’s for the depraved of mind, and Chicago is blessed to have it showing one night only at the Music Box on October 26.

Film

Before American slasher movies, there was giallo

by Becca James January 12, 2022January 12, 2022

Since 2017, January Giallo has celebrated the subgenre of Italian cinema popular in the 70s and 80s, known for applying striking psychedelic cinematography and shocking graphic violence to whodunit plots.

Theaters across the city are dusting off their projectors.

Film

Now playing: a return to the movies

by Kat Sachs April 12, 2021August 18, 2021

After several pandemic pivots and herd immunity on the horizon, local movie theaters and film programs are returning to business not-quite-as-usual.

Film

A Chicago International Film Festival unlike any other

by Kat Sachs September 24, 2020August 18, 2021

The 56th annual celebration of cinema features nearly 60 films, seven of which are world premieres, online and at the drive-in.

Music

Because Count Orlok can’t speak for himself

by Leor Galil October 15, 2019August 18, 2021

Maxx McGathey of Gramps the Vamp scores silent horror films, including Nosferatu and The Man Who Laughs, which opens the Music Box of Horrors—and whose disfigured hero inspired the Joker.