Chicago may be better known for comedies like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" or tough guy movies like "The Untouchables," but a respectable group of horror films have also taken place in Our Town.
From homegrown terrors from all corners of the city to imported evils from Europe, Asia and South America, villains of all types have surfaces in horror films that have been set in Chicago.
Some of cinema's most famous villains either made their homes in Chicago or made a notable stop at one time or another. One of the nicer cinematic shout outs the city has received came after the events of the horror classic "The Omen," when the young, ill-famed Damien had to find a new place to live. After growing up in Rome and London, Damien -- a.k.a. the spawn of Satan -- made the jump to Chicago for the second part of his quest to take over the world entitled "Damien: Omen 2."
An import that was just as strange happened decades later in 2006 with “The Grudge 2.” It's fairly reasonable to say it's a pretty big jump for the curse in "The Grudge" to make it from Japan to Chicago, but that's exactly what happens in the creepy "The Grudge 2," which partly takes place in the Windy City.
As for domestic frights, it may be easy to forget that the "Child's Play" series actually began in Chicago along with “Child’s Play 2,” which both starred a demonic doll named Chucky that terrorized everyone who crossed his path.
The city has even had the opportunity to see one of Hollywood’s favorite stars of the 90s get scared half to death. As part of an all-star cast featuring Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon's brash med student in "Flatliners" scared up some evil memories while riding on the el. Bacon also appeared in the horror flick "Stir of Echoes" as a Chicago man tormented by ghostly images (possibly after doing way too many movies in the mid 90s).
Ghosts both nameless and with stories centuries old have made their mark in the city, too. The gritty and disturbingly real feeling to the inner-city Chicago scare fest "Candyman" left an impact on countless viewers and generated a few sequels. On the other side of the socio-economic spectrum, after scaring the wits out of people in houses in the first two films, the titular ghost in "Poltergeist 3" decided instead to inhabit the residences of the Hancock Tower.
More recently, Gary Oldman and Odette Yustman came to Chicago for the teen scream "The Unborn," and who could forget the classic scenes in "The Relic" when some sort of creature tore through the exhibits at Chicago's Field Museum?
Can you think of any other horror films in Chicago? Have a favorite? Feel free to post a comment and let your voice be heard.
