What's Happening In Beverly/West Beverly/Mt. Greenwood

OCTOBER, 2018

The 95th Street Farmers Market ~ Sundays in October.

Visit the 95th Street Business Association Farmers Market which takes place every Sunday morning until the end of October from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1835 W. 95th Street.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari  ~ October 3 at 7:30PM

The great silent film classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) is not the first horror film ever made, but it is certainly the most expressive. Kicking off our Ominous October with not a bang OR a whimper (because there’s no sound) but rather a series of images depicting an off-kilter society ruled by a madman. It would be a mistake to view Caligari as mere historical interest. Such a mindset carries with it a suitcase full of superiority, and the truth is that Caligari is still, in fact, more engaging, more provocative and more fun than most horror films made today. Certain images do attain the quality of nightmares; Cesare, the somnambulist, awakening in his open coffin before a throng of people; an unconscious woman carried by a lanky figure along a dizzying maze of a path elevated above a town with no lights; shadows creeping against walls. It’s called German Expressionism, and it may even be the only true German Expressionist film, period. This should not deter one from simply letting themselves get lost in its world, which might be the true definition of a good ‘atmospheric’ horror film. Beverly Arts Center, Beffes Theatre, 2407 W. 111th, Concessions, Full bar, free parking. $6 ($5 BAC Members)

Monsters of the Midway: The Chicago Bears ~ October 4 @ 10:00 am

Late Night Catechism ~ October 6, 2018 at 8 pm

A Chicago original and international hit, LATE NITE CATECHISM turns 25 in the city where it all started. Chicago actress Rosie Newton will star as “Sister,” a role she has performed since 1997, both in Chicago and on tour. The role of Sister, the wise-cracking, lovable character of LATE NITE CATECHISM, was created by Vicki Quade and Maripat Donovan, both products of the Catholic school system. Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., full bar and free parking, tickets $30 ($27 for BAC members)

Glass Pumpkin Patch ~ October 11 @ 10:00 am

The Craft Concert ~ October 12 at 7:30pm 

Creators Revolutionizing (and) Advancing (the) Future Together, Railway Gamblers, South City Revival, Coyote Riot. Doors open at 7:00PM – first band at 7:30PM. Local artists will be showing their work in the lobby for viewing before and in between music sets. Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W 111th st. Tickets $15 in advance, $18 at the door

Open House Chicago features Beverly/Morgan Park ~ Oct. 13/14

The Exorcist ~ October 17 AT 7:30pm

The power of Christ compels us to show this seminal 1970s horror film as part of Ominous October. Based on a book by William Peter Blatty that itself was purportedly based on true incident (though the particulars of the true incident have long been considered suspect), The Exorcist didn’t just make Ellen Burstyn’s career and took practical special effects to a new level; it also gave the Catholic church some real business. There was a reported uptick in people choosing to become priests and nuns in the film’s wake and the film is infused with a certain fanatical Christian sensibility that did not go unnoticed by critics. It’s all part of what made it, at the time, among the most controversial of movies. Of course, there’s also the green slime, the crawling-backwards up the stairs, and “Captain Howdy.” Unlike other horror films, this one does not so much play on the fear of the unknown as fear of repressed common knowledge; that evil is a force that could affect anybody, even a sweet twelve year-old girl. Come to have your pants scared off, just don’t bring your children. (This last warning is quite serious. The Exorcist is rated R and would receive this rating in any age. The film contains violent and disturbing imagery, language and some sexual references. It is not advisable that children younger than sixteen see the film without parental approval). Beverly Arts Center, Baffes Theatre, 2407 W 111th, tickets $6 ($5 BAC members)

Hereditary ~ October 20 at 7:30 pm

As far as 2018’s films go, Writer-Director Ari Aster’s Herediary blows the socks off most everything surrounding it and re-knits the fabric into something made for shoes from hell. If that sentence isn’t as terrifying as it is ridiculous, please bypass the rest of this description and go straight for the film itself (and it’s no comedy, but don’t listen to those who claim the film has no sense of humor). For those of you still here; Hereditary is an impeccably crafted modern take on the domestic family tragedy that manages to welcome in aspects of foreign psychological horror and the popular—familiar, but presented here with a somewhat quirky spin—occult horror film. When her estranged and mentally ill mother dies, reclusive artist Annie (an amazingly stylized performance from Toni Collette) begins to experience some truly strange happenings in her household that appear to be having an effect on her husband (Gabriel Byrne), her teenage son (Alex Wolff) and especially her social misfit young daughter, Charlie (Milly Shapiro). But it’s only when a second, more gruesome tragedy occurs that the evil that has been hiding in her family and herself really comes to life. Hereditary draws on past and recent horror cinema even as it re-shapes certain genre elements, with completely unexpected, and terrifying, results.

(Hereditary is a brand new release, and as it is still in its second theatrical run in some areas, BAC is running it as a special event on Saturday. As with several other films this month, it is every bit of an R-rated movie. Children should not see it. Furthermore, anybody who has recently experienced the death of a loved one, or personal trauma, is advised that the film may be upsetting.) Special Screening Night, Beverly Arts Center, Baffes Theatre, 2407 W 111th, tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door. 

Get Spooky 2018 ~ October 28 from 2-4pm

Enter our Haunted Theatre – if you dare! (Little ones will enjoy our kid-friendly, not-so-spooky Haunted House). Crafts, treats, fun costumes, games, & more. Free event. Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W 111th

Insidious ~ October 31 at 7:30PM

For our final Ominous October film, we head back to the present day of scary movies. More than any other type of film, there’s a certain reactionary tone that surrounds the genre of horror. The consensus is that horror has become debased, anti-intellectual and reliant on jump-scares and pure concept in the place of character, plot and atmosphere. On the other side of the equation, there’s the simple desire any viewer of horror films have before they enter the theater; to get scared. The means by which those scares arrive is a moot point. So on Halloween night we bring to you 2010’s Insidious, at the time one of the surprise commercial hits of the year, by now a series of four films. Bearing resemblance to family-centered scary stories of the past (The Exorcsit, The Shining), and, plot-wise, to the recent Netflix series Stranger Things, the film unravels the tense story of a comatose child sucked into a sinister alternate dimension known as “The Further” and his parent’s efforts to bring him back to the real world. Tightly paced and by turns jump-scary and atmospheric, Insidious is a bridge between old and new school horror. Take a break from trick or treating and come see it, but understand this film is quite the treat.

(Insidious is rated PG-13. It is relatively devoid of profanity and nudity or adult content, but is nonetheless quite frightening and features some disturbing imagery, sometimes involving children. Discretion is advised for younger teenagers.) Beverly Arts Center, Baffes Theatre, 2407 W 111th Street, Tickets $6 ($5 BAC MEMBERS)