Bruce Campbell once again finds himself on top of the horror world this year, as we’re mere months away from the Halloween night premiere of the Starz original series Ash vs. Evil Dead. Decades later, Campbell finally reprises his most iconic role, but before that he hosts his own horror film festival.

From August 20th through the 23rd, Wizard World Comic Con takes over the Muvico Theater in Rosemont, Illinois, and the event will be highlighted by the second annual Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival. Programmed by The Awesome Fest, in conjunction with Campbell, the festival is four nights of horror fun.

“With this program we covered just about all of our favorite scary things,” says festival director Josh Goldbloom. “Vampires, psychotic breakdowns, cannibals, killer dogs, contagious diseases, mummies, bad decisions, and easily the most evil half man, half bunny rabbit of all time. I can’t wait to present it to our fellow film nerds in Chicago!”

“You can have your rom-coms, your indie darlings and your blockbusters,” adds Campbell. “I’ll take a good old-fashioned horror movie any day or night of the week!”

Here’s the full schedule of events, per the press release…

Opening Night gives audiences the chance to see the highly-anticipated horror anthology film Tales of Halloween, which features shorts from some of the best filmmakers in independent horror including Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, The Descent), Darren Lynn Bousman (the Saw franchise) and Lucky McKee (May, The Woman), and starring Lin Shaye, Adrienne Barbeau, Greg Grunburg, Lisa Marie and more.

U.S. premieres include the gruesome Contracted: Phase 2; the ferocious Australian import The Pack; and the certifiably insane Bunny the Killer Thing.  Special film events include a 30th anniversary screening of Fright Night (1985), with writer/director Tom Holland in attendance; a “Cannibal brunch” featuring mountains of breakfast meats followed by a 35mm screening of the infamous Cannibal Holocaust (1980) introduced by Green Inferno director Eli Roth; and a special screening of Don Coscarelli’s cult classic Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), followed by a discussion with Bruce Campbell himself. Plenty of surprises are in store for audiences throughout the four-day event.

Jason Krawczyk’s He Never Died closes the Festival, starring Henry Rollins as Jack, a social outcast thrust out of his comfort zone when the outside world bangs on his door and he can’t contain his violent past. The film is a masterful combination of film noir, crime thriller, character study and horror story.

Films will screen at the Muvico Rosemont 18, 9701 Bryn Mawr Ave., mere blocks from the Wizard World convention hall. Screenings are free for Wizard World badge-holders (space permitting), and a limited number of festival badges and single tickets are available for fans who are not registered for Wizard World.

Festival badges are on sale for $100, and single screening tickets are available for $12. To purchase badges or tickets and view Festival schedule updates, visit www.bchff.com. 

Films:

Body — Chicago Premiere

Three bored young women break into a house for cheap laughs, stumble across someone who shouldn’t be there, and commit a terrible deed.

Cast: Helen Rogers, Lauren Molina, Alexandra Turshen and Larry Fessenden

Dir: Dan Berk & Robert Olsen

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) — followed by a Q&A with lead actor Bruce Campbell!
Elvis and JFK, both alive and in nursing homes, fight for the souls of their fellow residents as they battle an ancient Egyptian Mummy.

Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Heidi Marnhout and Bob Ivy

Dir: Don Coscarelli

Bunny the Killer Thing — U.S Premiere
A group of Finnish and British people get stuck in a cabin when a creature — which is a half human & half rabbit — attacks them. The creature is Bunny the Killer Thing, and it is after anything that resembles female genitalia. Yes, really. Based on the 2011 short film of the same name.

Cast: Gareth Lawrence, Veera W. Vilo, Roope Olenius and Enni Ojutkangas

Dir: Joonas Makkonen

Cannibal Holocaust (1980) — 35mm screening introduced by Eli Roth!
A New York professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon with footage shot by a lost team of filmmakers. And it’s pretty damn gruesome.

Cast: Robert Kerman, Perry Pirkanen, Francesca Ciardi and Luca Barbareschi

Dir: Ruggero Deodato

Contracted: Phase 2 – North American Premiere – Cast & Crew in attendance!
Picking up directly where the creepy indie hit Contracted left off, Phase II follows Riley, one of the last people to come in contact with the ill-fated Samantha, as he scrambles to track down those responsible for the outbreak before the highly contagious disease not only consumes his body, but possibly the world as we know it.

Cast: Matt Mercer, Alice Macdonald, Stacy Burcham, Laurel Vail, Anne Lore and Morgan Peter Brown

Dir: Josh Forbes

Dude Bro Party Massacre III — Special Screening with Filmmakers & Greg Sestero in attendance!
In the wake of two back-to-back mass murders on Chico’s frat row, loner Brent Chirino must infiltrate the ranks of a popular fraternity to investigate his twin brother’s murder at the hands of the serial killer known as “Motherface.”

Cast: Alec Owen, Michael Rousselet, Jon Salmon, Paul Prado, Brian Firenzi, Tomm Jacobsen, Greg Sestero, Andrew W.K., Nina Hartley, Larry King and Patton Oswalt

Dir: Tomm Jacobsen, Michael Rousselet, Jon Salmon

Fright Night (1985) — followed by a Q&A with writer / director Tom Holland!

A teenage boy is convinced that his new neighbor is a bloodthirsty vampire, but nobody will believe him — until he enlists the assistance of a fussy old actor who used to kill the creatures all the time. In movies, that is.

Cast: William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys and Roddy McDowall

Dir: Tom Holland

He Never Died — Chicago Premiere – Filmmakers in attendance!

Jack, a social outcast, is thrust out of his comfort zone when the outside world bangs on his door and he can’t contain his violent past. A masterful combination of film noir, crime thriller, character study, and horror story.

Cast: Henry Rollins, Booboo Stewart, Jordan Todosey and Steven Ogg

Dir: Jason Krawczyk

Hellions — Chicago Premiere
A troubled teenager must survive a Halloween night from Hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. And refuse to go away. From the director of festival favorite Pontypool.

Cast: Chloe Rose, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson and Robert Patrick

Dir: Bruce McDonald

Nina Forever — Chicago Premiere
After his girlfriend Nina dies in a car crash, Rob unsuccessfully attempts suicide. As he begins to overcome his grief, he falls in love with a coworker, Holly. Their relationship is complicated when Nina, unable to find rest in the afterlife, comes back to life to sarcastically torment them whenever they have sex.

Cast: Abigail Hardingham, Cian Barry, David Troughton and Fiona O’Shaughnessey

Dir: Ben Blaine & Chris Blaine

The Pack – North American Premiere
A farmer and his family must fight for survival after a ferocious pack of wild dogs infiltrates their isolated farmhouse. Through a series of frightening and bloody encounters they are forced into survival mode to make it through the night. An exercise in suspense, in the same vein as OPEN WATER & BACKCOUNTRY, this grisly Australian horror/thriller packs a ton of bite.

Cast: Anna Lise Phillips, Jack Campbell, Hamish Phillips and Katie Moore

Dir: Nick Robertson

Some Kind of Hate — Chicago Premiere
A bullied teenager is sent to a reform school where he accidentally summons the spirit of a girl, herself a victim of bullying, who takes vengeance on his tormentors.

Cast: Grace Phipps, Lexi Atkins, Ronen Rubenstein, Spencer Breslin and Noah Segan

Dir: Adam Egypt Mortimer

Sun Choke — Chicago Premiere
Recovering from a violent psychotic break, Janie is just trying to get well under the care of her lifelong nanny and caretaker. She begins to veer off the road to recovery when she develops an obsession with a young woman to whom she feels an inexplicable yet profound connection.

Cast: Sara Malakul Lane, Sarah Hogan, Evan Jones and Barbara Crampton
Dir: Ben Cresciman

Synapse — Wizard World Presents a World Premiere!
Voyeuristic technology has surpassed our wildest nightmares and our most explicit fantasies. Running from SYNAPSE, an agency tasked with memory drug enforcement, a rogue agent fights against the organization that once employed him.

Cast: Henry Simmons, Joshua Alba, Sophina Brown, Adam Simon, Charley Boon and Will Rubio

Dir: Adam Simon

Tales of Halloween — Chicago Premiere – Filmmakers in attendance!
Ten stories are woven together by their shared theme of Halloween night in an American suburb, where ghouls, imps, aliens and axe murderers appear for one night only to terrorize unsuspecting residents.

Cast: James Duval, Greg Grunberg, Pollyanna McIntosh, Keir Gilchrist, Grace Phipps, Barry Bostwick, Lin Shaye, Adrienne Barbeau, Booboo Stewart, Barbara Crampton, Lisa Marie, Sam Witwer, Clare Kramer, John Savage, Ben Woolf, Alex Essoe, Elissa Dowling, Noah Segan, Kristina Klebe, Caroline Williams, Graham Skipper, Robert Rusler, Dana Gould, Marc Senter, Ben Stillwell, Adam Green, Pat Healy and many more! 

Dir: Axelle Carolyn, Darren Lynn Bousman, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Kasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Paul Solet