Terror Vision Unleashed: Inside Chicago’s Gritty Horror Pop-Up Next to the Iconic Music Box Theatre
Roll the opening credits: on a prim, quiet block in Lakeview, just steps from the cinematic cathedral that is Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, something wicked this way pops up. Terror Vision Records & Video—an analog dreamscape and horror cine-odyssey—has emerged at 3729 N Southport Ave, and it’s as badass and fleeting as a midnight VHS rewind.
Conceived by horror-obsessed impresario Ryan Graveface (of Graveface Records & Curiosities fame in Bucktown) and Chicago-born and bred indie auteur Joe Swanberg (director of Drinking Buddies and Netflix’s Easy), this pop-up is a six-month love letter to physical media—VHS, Blu-ray, DVDs, vinyl soundtracks, horror toys, oddball collectibles—the works.
Rolling in like a cinematic Frankenstein, the duo hauled boxes of thousands of titles from their personal archives—and from the famed Odd Obsession Movies vault—down to Lakeview, sharpening their stash to a curated 10,000–15,000 killer selections. Think cult classics woven with Lynchian surrealism, evergreen genre essentials, and under-the-radar obscure gems.
For $15 a month, locals can score a horror-fueled membership giving them up to three rentals at a time—no late fees, just pure, analog indulgence. They’re also selling vinyl, tees, books, and brain-melting oddities like middle-finger taxidermy squirrels. Yeah.
Why does this matter? Because in a world swiped left by streaming, Terror Vision is analog rebellion. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a midnight record-dig—hands-on, tactile, deeply communal. Swanberg dreams of impromptu filmmaker Q&As. Graveface wants to build a cinephile community—this is an indie micro-cinema reborn.
And here’s the plot twist: originally set to fade to black on September 30, the pop-up’s run has been extended through Halloween—which means an extra month of late-night scares, cult classics, and blood-red nostalgia under the flicker of Southport’s streetlights.
Because in Chicago this year, Terror Vision isn’t just a store—it’s a cult-classic event in real time.
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