With a much earlier start than previous years, the Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) drops next week with some of the most buzzworthy horror titles of the year. From violent action in Boy Kills World to introspective French-Canadian vampires in Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person to a blood-soaked Juggalo road trip in Off-Ramp, there’s a little something for everyone in this year’s lineup. Your roving Festival reporters Jeffrey X Martin and I will be covering this year’s Boston Underground, and here’s a little preview of what’s in store over the next couple of weeks.
THE BECOMERS Dir. Zach Clark 2023 (USA)
A pair of Earth-marooned aliens must body-jump across America in search of each other and find their place in this big wide universe along the way. As the aliens grapple with the increasingly wilder circumstances into which they jump via their host bodies, an underlying violent insanity of the American landscape – in all senses of the word – becomes clear.
X: I’m looking forward to The Becomers because it features Russell Mael of the band, Sparks. I’ve been a fan of that group for years and I’m curious to see how Mael’s presence informs the film.
S: I love a great alien invasion, and I’m really excited at the promise of both “Cronenbergian body horror” and “a truly out-of-this-world, genre-bending, body-swapping rom-com road movie that defies all expectations.” The Becomers sounds like a ton of fun.
BOY KILLS WORLD Dir. Moritz Mohr 2023 (Germany, South Africa, USA)
Bill Skarsgård stars as “Boy” who avows revenge after his family is murdered by Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the deranged matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that left the boy orphaned, deaf and voiceless. Driven by his inner voice, one which he co-opted from his favorite childhood video game, Boy trains with a mysterious shaman (Yayan Ruhian) to become an instrument of death and is set loose on the eve of the annual culling of dissidents. Bedlam ensues as Boy commits bloody martial arts mayhem, inciting a wrath of carnage and blood-letting. As he tries to get his bearings in this delirious realm, Boy soon falls in with a desperate resistance group, all the while bickering with the apparent ghost of his rebellious little sister.
S: There was a lot of buzz around Boy Kills World at TIFF this year and one scene especially that involves the unexpected use of a cheese grater. Expectations are high for this blood-soaked action outing.
FATAL TERMINATION (Restoration) Dir. Andrew (Yeung-Wah) Kam 1990 (Hong Kong)
The bodies of cops, gangsters, and civilians alike begin to pile up when the goods required for a high-stakes arms deal go missing as part of an elaborate scheme to screw over its vicious middleman. But the situation really spirals out of control when two married officers are thrust into the middle of it all, forcing them onto the path of vigilante vengeance. With a star-studded cast including “girls with guns” legend Moon Lee (ANGEL TERMINATORS II), Phillip Ko (THE BOXER’S OMEN), and Ray Lui (HUNTING LIST) and a car chase so irresponsible that you’ll never forget it, FATAL TERMINATION is one of the wildest Hong Kong action films ever made.
S: I am envious of the folks that are attending this year’s BUFF in person for this title alone. The opportunity to see one of the craziest Hong Kong action films, one I’ve only seen on a beat-up VHS, on a big screen is delicious. I can’t wait to dive back into Fatal Termination.
FEMME Dirs. Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping 2023 (UK)
Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), known for his dazzling performances as Aphrodite Banks, finds himself the target of a brutal homophobic attack. Though he survives and physically heals, the mental and emotional trauma leads him to withdraw from the scene and his friends. Months later, by chance, he encounters his (closeted) assailant Preston (George MacKay) in a gay sauna. Befriending him, integrating into his social circle, and entering into a long-term relationship with him, Jules hatches the ultimate plan for revenge.
S: I caught Femme back at Fantastic Fest 2023, and it was one of the more powerful explorations of homophobia and revenge I’ve seen in a while. Bolstered by some great lead performances, this was one I haven’t stopped thinking about for months.
HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON Dir. Ariane Louis-Seize 2023 (Canada)
Sasha is a vampire who rebels against her family’s expectations by refusing to hunt for blood. When Sasha befriends Paul, a melancholic bowling alley attendant, their unlikely alliance takes on a new dimension. What starts as a simple agreement transforms into a nocturnal adventure as Sasha and Paul embark on a quest to fulfill Paul’s final wishes before sunrise.
S: Ariane Louis-Seize produced one of the most compelling trailers of the year for Humanist Vampire… and if the feature lives up to the promise of that trailer, it could be the sleeper standout of the festival.
IMMACULATE Dir. Michael Mohan 2023 (USA)
Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney), an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE Dir. Chris Nash 2024 (Canada)
The film begins with Johnny, our zombie-like murderer, awakening from his slumber in the depths of the forest. His peaceful existence is interrupted by the sounds of teenagers partying nearby, who unwittingly disturb his dead mother’s necklace buried in the earth. As Johnny emerges from his hiding place, the audience is thrust into his perspective, experiencing the world through his fractured mind. The sounds of the forest blend with dialogue that only gets audible when Johnny is within earshot of the speaker, creating an intricate and immersive sound design that draws viewers deeper into his psyche.
S: Nash’s first-person take on the slasher film is one of my most-anticipated horror movies of the year. This one got great reviews from the first part of it’s festival run and will be a huge treat for BUFF audiences.
INFESTED Dir. Sébastien Vaniček 2023 (France)
Kaleb, a street-smart hustler with a passion for exotic animals, unwittingly unleashes chaos when he brings home an unusual spider named Rihanna. As the neighborhood is overrun by Rihanna’s deadly offspring, Kaleb and his neighbors find themselves in a desperate battle for survival against the relentless arachnids.
X: At of all the films in the BUFF, I want to see Infested most of all. I grew up watching old American International movies about mutant arachnids roaming through the desert and eating old farmers in beat-up trucks. I’m glad people are still making spider movies like this, even if they have evolved into something more fearsome than camp.
OFF RAMP Dir. Nathan Tape 2023 (USA)
Released after a stint in prison for a violent crime, Trey (Oswald) embarks on an interstate journey to Ohio with his best friend Silas (Schofield). They are bound for the annual Gathering of the Juggalos, a Shangri-La for freaks, outcasts, and miscreants to cavort in clown paint while spraying Faygo, having loads of tent sex, shitting in garbage cans, and bumpin’ to filthy rhymes. When Trey accidentally knocks into the local sheriff, soiling his shirt with soda pop, a chain reaction of unfortunate encounters with guncrazy cops, crazed necromancers, and other nasty folk along the way is ignited. Now on the run, it will take all the clown life resilience they can muster to make it to the Gathering in time.
X: Normally, I wouldn’t be interested in a movie about Juggalos like Off Ramp, but as a professional wrestling fan, I would be remiss if I skipped over this one. Remember when Insane Clown Posse was in WCW for a cup of coffee? Just me? Okay.
OMEN Dir. Baloji 2023 (Belgium, Congo)
Koffi is a Congolese expat living in Belgium who is preparing to return home to present his pregnant girlfriend Alice to his family; the two will have to endure traditional rituals as well as the paying of a dowry to Koffi’s family. However, Koffi’s departure from his homeland was not a happy one—taunted as someone who bears the mark of the devil due to his birthmark, Koffi is ostracized and demonized in equal measure by his community. One small act of kindness will cause his family to spiral out of control, bringing into the fray his sympathetic sister Tshala, his mother, and a young gang leader Paco. A collision is inevitable.
S: Omen looks like an awesome vibe with style for days. Congo could be the next horror hotspot if Baloji’s film does well here.
SLEEP Dir. Jason Yu 2023 (S. Korea)
Expecting parents Soo-jin and Hyun-su find themselves in a waking nightmare when Hyun-su develops a frightening sleep disorder. What begins as harmless, if unsettling sleepwalking soon transforms into terrifying somnambulatory behavior, leaving Soo-jin questioning both her husband’s sanity and her own safety.
S: I was fortunate enough to catch Sleep back at TIFF last year, and it was one of my favourite horrors from that lineup. With some DNA and inspiration from Bong Joon-Ho, Sleep will surprise and delight audiences who let themselves drift away with it.
STRANGE KINDNESS Dir. Joseph Mault 2024 (USA)
Rose’s wayward brother returns home on the same morning their quiet neighborhood is roiled by a violent crime. Across town, their ailing aunt Chris lives in self-imposed isolation with no interest in receiving phone calls or mail. As a house-to-house manhunt is underway, Chris finds a bloodied gunman hiding in her living room. She calmly assures him, “I’m not going to scream.”
TIGER STRIPES Dir. Amanda Nell Eu 2023 (Malaysia)
Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) is a rebellious preteen navigating life at a conservative all-girls school in rural Malaysia. She’s the first of her classmates to menstruate and the descent into puberty is uniquely harrowing — replete with hair loss, full-body rashes and newfound claws. Former besties Farah (Deena Ezral) and Mariam (Piqa) ostracize and bully Zaffan, shattering the dynamics of their once-close friend group. As her other close relationships violently unravel and spirits begin to haunt the town, our heroine learns to embrace the monster within.
WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN Dir. Kim Albright 2024 (Canada)
In a fantasy world paralleling our own, two lost souls find a fleeting connection amid a landscape of toxic self-care. The majority of people inhabiting this realm exist in a detached emotional state, and plan their lives virtually through an app called LifeZapp. On the fringes of this society, human hearts are glowing objects that people can rip from their bodies and exchange with one another.
The story follows Anabel (Maguire), a passionate artist working a dull job at a virtual insurance company. Her high-strung emotional attachment can be a bit extra for the others in her sphere who bury their own feelings. We also find George (Haq), an impassive young man who is content living a bland existence with his overprotective mother Mona (Sood). When Anabel meets George in a park one day, she is struck by his peculiar point-of-view. When she offers him her heart, George doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, but runs off with Anabel’s luminous organ anyway. This act sets them both on a course to confront unresolved issues stemming from generational trauma.
S: A high-concept sci-fi horror fantasy from Canada seems like it’s exactly up my alley, and Kim Albright’s twisted romance has been getting tremendous buzz so far. With a bit of body horror and a whole lot of, ahem, heart, With Love and a Major Organ might be the most unexpectedly poignant and sweet selections from the BUFF lineup this year.
The Boston Underground Film Festival runs from March 20-24, 2024, at Boston’s Brattle Theatre. For more information, including the film schedule and ticket information, check out the Festival’s website.