Spring is here. We all think of spring as a time of rebirth, and that’s true enough: Look at the buds forming on the once-withered vines, the legions of young animals making their way across the fields, and the increasing intensity of the sun. But underneath it all, the cycle continues – after all, that’s why it’s rebirth – and what may come may wish you’d joined the fallen leaves and rotting roadside carcasses in the pitch-black night. Cue the Vincent Price laugh from “Thriller.”
But there’s always one amazing thing about early spring for New England locals with a taste for the macabre and bizarre, and that’s BUFF – the Boston Underground Film Festival – which will take over the Brattle Theatre from March 20 through March 24, bringing you some of the best upcoming horror and genre releases of the year. It’s got something for everyone: Erotic nun horror, cute but doomed Pomeranians, and Bill Skarsgard going gamer mode, among many other selections. But there’s only so much time in the day, so we’ve selected five picks that we’ve seen at other festivals or piqued our interest in the program. Just be sure to bring a spare pair of glasses – we’ve all seen that episode of Twilight Zone. Poor Burgess Meredith.
Immaculate
Fresh off bringing the rom-com back to box office glory (even if it was a slow-burn to profitability) and starring in one of the strangest superhero flicks you’ll ever see, Sydney Sweeney stars in this nunsploitation horror about, you guessed it, immaculate conception. She plays a young American nun set loose in Italy, where the old-time religion comes for her in truly biblical ways, and you can guess it’s gonna get kinda steamy. Sweeney last worked with the director, Michael Mohan, on the erotic thriller The Voyeurs (which we actually quite liked, in its goofy and trashy way), so expect that R-rating to justify itself.
IMMACULATE :: Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m. :: Tickets
Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person
Co-presented with the good folks at IFFBoston, this French-Canadian horror-comedy seems tailor-made for people unsatisfied with Lisa Frankenstein. It’s about the oddball journey of a vampire who refuses to drink blood and her bowling alley attendant charge who wants nothing more than to die. But let’s be real: That’s an absurdly funny title, which is 90 percent of the reason we chose this (although we’re sure you’ll be satisfied with your choice to see it). Let’s hope they strategically deploy a “Meat is Murder” needle drop here.
HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKS CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON :: Thursday, March 21 at 8:15 p.m. :: Tickets
Sleep
Animal lovers beware: this very good Korean horror flick features some bad stuff happening to very cute dogs, but if you can stomach it, you should definitely check this one out. We saw Jason Yu’s sleepwalking-possession thriller at TIFF last September, and it’s a ball and a half, following a couple (Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun) who find themselves in a bit of a pickle when the husband starts sleepwalking. And eating raw meat in his sleep. And scratching his face. Before you know it, Yu’s taken you to some wacky and wild places, and it’s a winding trek you’ll want to undertake — unless you own a Pomeranian. If you do, you should probably stay home and play with them. Cherish. Every. Second.
SLEEP :: Friday March 22 at 9:45 p.m. :: Tickets
In a Violent Nature
We absolutely loved this avant-garde slasher when we saw it at Sundance a few months back, but we’d like to just go ahead and tell you that there’s about a 50-50 chance you’ll fucking hate this movie. A slow deconstruction of your average Friday the 13th, In a Violent Nature follows, quite literally, a supernatural killer as he makes his way through the forests surrounding a campsite. Director Chris Nash wisely toes the line between full avant-garde indulgence and giving the people what they want – gorehounds, take note, because there’s some gnarly shit on display here – and winds up with a meditative exploration of a genre’s rhythms and motions.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE :: Saturday, March 23 at 9:30 p.m. :: Tickets
Boy Kills World
The closing night film of this year’s BUFF is one that we weren’t, well, the world’s biggest fans of when we saw it at TIFF, but we’re certain that some other folks in the Greater Boston Area would enjoy this. It’s a high-camp martial arts thriller in the vein of Deadpool minus the branding, in which a mute “boy” (Bill Skarsgard, who is swole as fuck here) has to go and topple a fascist regime in the aftermath of some society-ending catastrophe. The humor is of the Ryan Reynolds variety, the blood CGI, and the action competent – so if you’re all right with those things, you might get something out of it. Give it a shot!
BOY KILLS WORLD :: Sunday, March 24 at 8:15 p.m. :: Tickets