Great Movies
One of the year's most sneakily effective horror films, writer/director Jason Miller’s “Ghosts of the Void,” will have its Chicago premiere at 7:30pm on Monday, July 31st, as part of the Midwest Film Festival at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164. N. State St. With heartbreaking authenticity, Miller portrays the financial desperation eating away at a young couple, Jen (Tedra Millan) and Tyler (Michael Reagan), as they attempt to get through the night by sleeping in their car, while wracked with the gradual paranoia that they are being watched.
“The driving force of this movie for me was to capture the anxiety and fears that so many of us experience as we struggle to find our footing in the world, and to express those feelings through my favorite genre, horror,” Miller told RogerEbert.com. “I think the thing that draws people to this genre more than anything is the ability to face and process real world anxieties from the safety of a theater seat, and for me and for many others, the fear, anxiety, and shame of not knowing how you’ll crawl out from under debt, or pay rent, or take proper care of your (mental) health, is a very real thing. I wanted this movie to make those people feel seen.”
The screening will be preceded by a 6:30pm networking session and followed by a filmmaker Q&A moderated by yours truly as well as an afterparty.
“It’s fitting that we’re premiering the movie with the Midwest Film Fest because this movie would not exist without the hard work and dedication of an incredible Midwest crew — braving 19 freezing cold nights in a dark parking lot, giving me the support and confidence to adjust the vision to the circumstances of an indie shoot, and putting their all into building and polishing a great story in post,” Miller added.
“Ghosts of the Void” screens at 7:30pm at Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center as part of the Midwest Film Festival. For tickets, click here.
Matt Fagerholm is the former Literary Editor at RogerEbert.com and is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association.
