A Life in Waves (2017) Boston Underground Film Festival 2017

Portrait of composer, musician and electronic music pioneer Suzanne Cianni who is best known for creating the electronic music used in various TV commercials.

An almost too loving portrait of a woman who went here own way, A LIFE IN WAVES is full of all of Cianni's friends and family gushing about her and her achievements to the point that the film drifts in and out of the story of Cianni's life. By about a third of the way in I tuned out and stopped listening to everything that was being said in the film and simply listened to the music being played.

An okay film I wish this was a tad more focused

Saint Bernard (201?) Boston Underground FIlm Festival 2017

Visual effect master Gabriel Bartalos' second stab at directing a feature film is a one of a kind film. It is most definitely a unique viewing experience. Destined for a cult following this is exactly the sort of film that had it been released in the mid-1970's would have attained classic midnight movie status.

Nominally the story of Bernard, a white tux clad conductor on the run from himself, the film is a decent into insanity as Bernard and the people around him have strange things happen to them and occasionally mutate into weird beings. What it means and what is really happening is anyone's guess.

With an IMDB date of 2013, which is the date the Boston Underground press material claims was when it first hit the festival circuit, the print I saw had a copyright date of 2015. It now seems to be heading for release this year in 2017. In any year this is one messed up film.

Written directed and produced by Bartalos this is a singular vision. A wild walk on the truly brain damaged side this is a film that is best viewed at midnight ith an audience. A giant WTF!?! SAINT BERNARD is the sort of film that will never play during normal hours because a typical paying audience will flee for the exits. There is a reason why the Boston Underground FIlm Festival is running it at night- that's when a crowd most likely to be on its wavelength is going to be out and about. Its the same reason PINK FLAMINGOS and ERASERHEAD played for decades at midnight and rarely at any other time.

Personally I have no idea what in the hell this film is all about. I equally have no frigging clue if I like the film. That said I am truly glad that I saw it. It is rare that we get a chance to see a one of a kind vision- something so unique that words don't do it justice. That may sound like a backhanded compliment but it's not. I truly appreciate SAINT BERNARD as an antidote to 99.99% of other films.  This is a film that woke me back up cinematically and made me realize the wonders that are out there.

To be completely honest I don't know if the vast majority of people are going to like the film. The film is too weird, too strange too unique to find mas acceptance however I know that pretty much everyone who sees the film will know they saw something. Trust me, you can't see SAINT BERNARD and not have a reaction to it- not only a reaction but a burning desire to discuss it. Films should provoke a reaction and SAINT BERNARD does that in spades.

A must see for the truly adventurous- SAINT BERNARD plays Boston Underground at midnight tonight.

The Void (2017) Boston Underground Film Festival 2017

A wicked throw back to 1970's visceral horror with blood, cults, monsters and nastiness, THE VOID is sheer delight of the "that movie f-ed me up and I don't ever want to see it again-what time is the next showing" sort.

I have no idea how to explain the plot without revealing too much-a cop brings an injured man to a hospital that is closing and then things go south as everyone is trapped inside by robed figures...only to have things go real weird.

Dream like logic, and gore collide with practical effects and strong dose of WTF to create a film that deeply disturbed me pretty much from start to finish. I sat staring at the screen squirming in my seat afraid of where this is going. The fact that the film twisted several times in ways that make perfect sense made the film more unbearable to watch. This is one of the best horror films I've seen this year and it's nostalgic feeling made me fall deeply in love with it's blood soaked nastiness. Only an unnecessary coda remains a spot on an otherwise frightening film.

Echoing any number of films from the last 40 years THE VOID takes the best parts and refashions them into something that seems old but is entirely knew. I could guess that the film has homages to John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, George Romero, Don Coscarelli and Clive Barker and I might be right ...but I could also be wrong since the film is not full on homage or rip off but merely an echo. Ultimately the film can be said to be like other films, but ultimately it is it's own thing.

What I liked about the film was the realization that the film is full of small details that I missed the first time through. As the film was speeding into it's final third I suddenly began to realize that the film is full of small details I wasn't catching. At one point I noticed a woman and child behind one of the characters during a bit of nastiness- why they were there I'm not sure but it helped to create a weird sense of reality

One of a growing number of throw back films THE VOID stands near the top of the pack to be one hell of a scary film and one of my favorite films of 2017

THE VOID plays tonight at the Boston Underground Film Festival It open in theaters in April

A Dark Song (2016) Boston Underground FIlm Festival 2017

Liam Gavin's A DARK SONG is going to be one of those films that splits audiences. Those who need action, blood, gore and guts are going to drift off some where about the half hour mark. Those ho can go with it's slow burn long haul approach are going to be rewarded with a film that will potentially move them and result in long sessions of debate.

The plot of the film is a simple one. A woman asks an occultist to perform a a ritual which will result in both of them getting what they want. He warns her that in order to do the ritual she must do whatever he asks of her and must be willing to to not leave the house for the six to eight months involved. She agrees but things deteriorate as she begins to change the conditions. What should be a relatively straight forward ritual becomes compromised, more so as the pair begin a battle of wills.

Slow building suspense and fear is instilled in the audience thanks to Gavin's low key approach. The dangers are not so much the things that go bump in the night so much as each other's psychological baggage.  Yes we are scared because things knock and rap on the floor boards, but also because we can't be certain what the characters to will do next. Of course as things go on the spirits seem to be be more present which complicate matters further.

This is a carefully modulated film with perfect choices from cast to music to cinematography. I can't imagine anything being better. Its a film that is going to delight anyone willing to go with it and not mind it's very intentional pace.

Very recommended when the film plays at The Boston Underground Film Festival tonight

Nightcap 3/19/17: Boston Underground starts Wednesday,Notes on NYC Comic Con, 887 at BAM, thoughts on Derrick Walcott and Capeman

NYICFF is now officially over-here is a sketch that I did on the back of a ballot card. A full report soon

The wonderful Boston Underground Film Festival starts Wednesday. This little gem of a festival shows a great selection of genre and out of the mainstream films. Last year I go to see some really good films that hung with me all the way to the end of the year.

This year the festival has come around and it looks to be a killer one. The fest is running Brian Harrison‘s HELL FOLLOWS which I loved. I loved it so much I even interviewed Harrison. It is also running DAVE MADE A MAZE which JB loved.

As this posts we’re still putting together our coverage- which is not going to be as big as we’d like because of real world events are colliding with our plans- however do expect some reviews and reports.

If you’re going to be in Boston this week and weekend I suggest you check it out-tickets and more information can be had here
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New York Comic Con- yea well.

NY Comic Con sent out an email Friday concerning this year’s Con. The key points of the email broke down as follows:

1. Pre-registration is required but if you did it last year you’re still registered. If you registered for last year you’re on the list for this year and you’ll get a shot at pre-sale tickets.

2. The on sales are going to be on a weekend (dates to be determined)

3. They have eliminated the 3 and 4 day passes. You will have to buy single day passes…They say that because the Javitts will have construction this will allow more people to attend…

… and I don’t believe it.

Sorry- I don’t. I think there is another reason behind it other than maximizing attendance. (And I know being bitchy will limit my chance for a press pass- but since they cut me off last year odds are they’ll cut me off again this year so I’m going to speak my mind.)

The trouble with the reasoning behind the elimination of the multi-day badges is faulty. Unless there is going to be severe construction that is going to close a huge chunk of the Javitts center it will be no different than what attendees had to deal with any number of the last five or six years when the Javitts was doing construction and sections were closed. There were pass-throughs the construction area which chopped up the con. Each year with the construction the convention set new attendance records.

I suspect that the real reason is the convention is eliminating the multi-day passes because that if you buy passes for each day you’re paying double or more than multiday. I think the real reason is they are doing it is to maximize profits.

Will I make an effort to go?

Yes.

Do I expect to get there?

No- I suspect that I will be cut off for a press pass and I suspect the on sales will be so jammed I’ll be lucky to get a badge.
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Robert Lapage’s 887 is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. On one hand the show is pure theatrical magic. We watch a giant doll house spins and turns and opens up like, in the words of Hubert Vigilla a giant Rubik’s Cube on a lazy Susan. On the other hand the show burns itself into your sub conscious and works on you in such a way that days later I’m still pondering it and it’s images and stories have become part of my DNA.

Nominally the story of Lepage’s attempt to learn a poem for a presentation the show spins out to be a memory play about growing up in the apartment he shared with his family, how we remember, Canadian history and a lot of other stuff I’m still pondering.

I still have no words beyond my mind is blown and its one of the most magical evenings I’ve ever spent in the theater. It moved me and made me rethink how we tell stories.

If you can you have to see this. The show runs through the 26th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. For tickets and more information go here.
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The great poet Derrick Walcott has died.

My introduction to his work through the book of Paul Simon's Broadway Musical CAPEMAN which starred Marc Anthony, Ruben Blades and Sara Rameriez.

Despite Simon's excellent score the show failed to find an audience.

There have been several attempts to restage the musical all of which have been for naught. The reason was not what you think. The truth of the matter is the play hasn't been revived because Walcott wouldn't allow changes to be made to his script. I remember when the show was on Broadway there were reports of frantic meetings between Simon, the producers and director Mark Morris who were asking for changes but Walcott refused to make them with the result the show could never be fixed. This is the same problem that has prevented the show from being reborn.

This may piss off people I am hoping that with Walcott's passing the show can be rescued- assuming his estate allows changes to be made.

19th Annual Boston Underground Film Festival Unveils Final Wave of Cinemadness and Prepares Invasion of Harvard Square from March 22nd through the 26th Titles Include A Life in Waves, Hidden Reserves, A Dark Song, Fraud and More!

Cambridge, MA – Following up on last week’s feverish announcement, the Boston Underground Film Festival is proud to reveal the remainder of its eclectic 19th edition, taking place from March 22nd through the 26th at the Brattle Theatre and Harvard Film Archive. BUFF’s already dynamic lineup is rounded out with even more intriguing films from around the world, including over 80 short films and music videos that promise to disturb, dazzle, and delight.

​BUFF is honored and thrilled to be hosting the East Coast Premiere of hotly-anticipated doc A Life in Waves, an intimate portrait of one of the most influential electronic composers of the last 40 years, Suzanne Ciani. Documentarian duo (and BUFF alum) Brett Whitcomb and Bradford Thomason will be in attendance, along with the diva of the diode herself for a post-screening Q&A at the Harvard Film Archive. Fans of synth would be remiss to miss this! On the other end of the documentary spectrum is our New England Premiere of Dean Fleischer-Camp’s Fraud, an impossible to categorize hybrid-doc and bold experiment in filmmaking that explores the essence of “truth” in a post-truth era. Come and catch one of the most controversial films to take HotDocs by storm last year.

Lovers of all things dark and disturbing are advised to pencil in this quadruplet of narrative nightmares: A grieving mother and a bullying occultist (Steve Oram) face their demons in black magic thriller A Dark Song, from Irish, first-time director Liam Gavin. First time director, writer and star, Ana Asensio examines an undocumented immigrant’s day from hell in her gripping Most Beautiful Island, fresh from its World Premiere at SXSW. Valentin Hitz’s gorgeous and unnerving Hidden Reserves gives us a peek at the future-that-could-be (ponder this: death insurance) with his Austrian dystopian sci-fi masterpiece. And speaking of hidden, BUFF presents for the first time ever a Secret Screening; we can’t tell you what it is, but we can tell you that it’s one of the most highly anticipated genre titles coming out this year. Take the leap into the rabbit hole with your pals at BUFF and catch it before all your friends.

Lightening things up substantially is a triple threat of comedic treats: A group of awful idiots fail at throwing a party over and over in Slamdance smash Neighborhood Food Drive, with BUFF alum & director Jerzy Rose and writer Halle Butler in the house. Emerson College alum Michael Reich brings his surreal and sensational She’s Allergic to Cats to the Brattle; you’ll laugh, cry, and ponder duck boobs. Rounding things out is our anniversary screening of oft underappreciated Southland Tales, Richard Kelly’s gonzo anarchic vision of the near future (which may be closer to the near present), which we lift up and celebrate ten years later.

The festive environ would be incomplete without a set of accompanying parties: BUFF delivers in spades this year with our opening night, All Your Heroes Are Dead-themed shindig at Zuzu (hosted by Moon Button and all things vinyl). We’ll have a night of karaoke at Tasty Burger, themed Dystopioke (aren’t you curious), a late-night jaunt out to Boston Bowl for Big Lebowski-themed shenanigans (costumes highly encouraged, dudes), an incredible closing night happening at the Lilypad, hosted by our favorite merchants of awful, The Whore Church, and complete with synth soundscape provided by Dust Witch, Antoni Maiovvi, and Timothy Fife. And, of course, more! Save up your stamina because we work hard and play harder on team BUFF.

Grab Festival Passes, only available through Kickstarter, until March 17th: bit.ly/KickstartBUFF19

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BOSTON UNDERGROUND FINAL WAVE

A DARK SONG - East Coast Premiere
Liam Gavin | Ireland | 2016
A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

A LIFE IN WAVES - East Coast Premiere
Brett Whitcomb | USA | 2017
This incredible documentary explores the even more incredible life and innovations of composer and electronic music pioneer, Suzanne Ciani. Join us for a Q&A with Suzanne & the filmmakers following the screening!

FRAUD - New England Premiere
Dean Fleischer-Camp | USA | 2016
A struggling family commits fraud in this contentious docu-ficto hybrid.

HIDDEN RESERVES - East Coast Premiere
Valentin Hitz | Austria/Germany/Switzerland | 2016
Where death with dignity comes at a premium, an insurance salesman turned narc must reevaluate his ideology when he falls for the rebel he’s assigned to entrap.
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MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND - East Coast Premiere
Ana Asensio | USA | 2017
A chilling portrait of an undocumented young woman's struggle for survival as she finds redemption from a tortured past in a dangerous game.

NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD DRIVE - East Coast Premiere
Jerzy Rose | USA | 2017
A group of awful idiots fail at throwing a party over and over.

SECRET SCREENING - Secret Premiere
Secret Director | Secret Country | Secret Year
One of the best genre films coming out this year.

SHE’S ALLERGIC TO CATS - New England Premiere
Michael Reich | USA | 2016
A dog groomer in Hollywood aspires to be more than a dog groomer in Hollywood.

SOUTHLAND TALES - Anniversary Screening
Richard Kelly | USA | 2006
During a three day heat wave just before a huge 4th of July celebration, an action star stricken with amnesia meets up with a porn star who is developing her own reality TV project, and a policeman who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.
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View the full 2017 BUFF lineup and buy tickets now
at www.bostonunderground.org & www.brattlefilm.org.

9th Annual Boston Underground Film Festival Unleashes Cinematic Sensory Onslaught on Cambridge from March 22nd through the 26th Titles Include Prevenge, Hounds of Love, The Void, Bitch and More!

Cambridge, MA – The 19th annual Boston Underground Film Festival returns to Harvard Square to kick off New England’s Spring festival season, bringing with it a smorgasbord of phantasmagoria, dark comedy, thrillers, killers, and chillers to the Brattle Theatre and Harvard Film Archive from March 22nd through the 26th. This year’s schedule boasts an eclectic selection of weird, wonderful programming packed with flavors for cineastes of all tastes!

Bookending this year’s festival of sensory-melting bliss are 2016 TIFF Midnight Madness juggernaut Prevenge and ferocious feminist satire Bitch, on the heels of its 2017 Sundance world premiere. Veteran actress, co-writer of 2012’s Sightseers, and first-time director/writer/star Alice Lowe’s bloody British baby bump (off) slasher comedy Prevenge appropriately births BUFF’s five days of cinemania and cinemonstronsity when it splatters the Brattle Theatre screen Wednesday March 22nd, fresh from its SXSW 2017 screening. And closing out this year’s filmic feast is filmmaking triple-threat director/writer/actor Marianna Palka’s delightfully disturbing dive into dissociative doggone delirium, Bitch.
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Bubbling up from down-under, also coming to Boston fresh from SXSW 2017, is not-to-be-missed Aussie crime thriller Hounds of Love, a masterful feat of tension, terror, and restraint from Perth-based, wildly talented first-time feature filmmaker Ben Young. In stark contrast to some of BUFF’s darker fare, prepare to meet your new obsession with first-time filmmaker Bill Watterson’s Slamdance 2017 standout Dave Made a Maze, which will beguile and a-maze with its hilarious odyssey through one man’s intricately crafted, booby trapped, livingroom box fort labyrinth; awe-inspiring stop-motion animation and strong lulz await.


​BUFF alum Steven Kostanski & co-directing partner Jeremy Gillespie, both of Astron-6 fame, are coming to Boston, bringing with them their moody, atmospheric, tentacular modern horror masterpiece The Void. Speaking of creatures, BUFF is beyond thrilled to welcome legendary creature creator and make-up effects maestro Gabe Bartalos, who will present his phantasmagorific nightmare Saint Bernard for the first time ever to a North American audience.

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BUFF is psyched beyond belief to be hosting the East Coast Premiere of 68 Kill from mad genius Trent Haaga, director of BUFF’s 2011 Director’s Choice Award-winner Chop and writer of 2013’s Cheap Thrills & 2008’s Deadgirl. Haaga’s highly anticipated punk rock heist film unites BUFF regulars AnnaLynne McCord & Matthew Gray Gubler in the ultimate highway to hell road film. Additional beloved BUFF alumni will be in attendance with fresh cuts this year, including multi-award-winning, Massachusetts-based horror filmmaker Skip Shea, who unveils his deeply personal first feature, Trinity, to a hometown audience.

As usual, we’ll have: Our kid-friendly annual Saturday Morning Cartoons program with cereal smorgasbord, programmed by renowned curator, author, and Monster Fest Festival Director Kier-La Janisse; a veritable bounty of shorts programming celebrating fantastic music videos, animation, transgressive horror; and more! So. Much. More!

Individual screening ticket prices vary and will be available online and at the Brattle Theatre box office on the day of screening. Festival passes, which include admission to all films and parties, are available at a significantly reduced rate through BUFF’s ongoing Kickstarter through March 17th. Passes, thereafter, will be available for $180 at www.bostonunderground.org/tickets.

Festival Passes & Ticket Package Presales are available through Kickstarter until March 17th: bit.ly/KickstartBUFF19

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BOSTON UNDERGROUND FIRST WAVE:

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BITCH - East Coast Premiere
Marianna Palka | USA | 2017
Caged in the suburbs of our discontent, a woman (Marianna Palka) snaps and enters a fugue state, consumed by the psyche of a vicious dog. Her philandering, stay-at-work husband (Jason Ritter) must grudgingly assume the role of family caretaker, forcing him to engage with his four children and sister-in-law (Jaime King) as they attempt to strengthen their familial unit and entice mom back to reality. Marianna Palka writes, directs, and stars in her bitingly funny and profound fourth feature.
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DAVE MADE A MAZE - East Coast Premiere
Bill Watterson | USA | 2017
Dave (Nick Thune) is an artist who has yet to complete anything of significance in his short career; out of frustration, he builds an elaborate box fort in his living room. When his girlfriend and friends (including Kirsten Vangsness, Adam Busch, and Meera Rohit Kumbhani) enter against his protests, he must save them all from a series of fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and creatures of his own creation. Actor Bill Watterson writes and directs his hilarious and idiosyncratic first feature.

HOUNDS OF LOVE - East Coast Premiere
Ben Young | Australia | 2016
In Ben Young’s tense, chilling feature debut, 17-year-old Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple and held prisoner in their home. As she observes the volatile dynamic between her captors, she soon realizes the key to survival lies in driving a wedge between them.

PREVENGE - East Coast Premiere
Alice Lowe | UK | 2016
In her directorial debut, Alice Lowe (Sightseers, Hot Fuzz, Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place) writes, directs and stars in a pitch black comedic tale of vengeance about seven-months-pregnant Widow Ruth and the unborn serial killer that compels her on her homicidal rampage.


SAINT BERNARD - North American Premiere
Gabe Bartalos | USA/France | 2013
Prolific creature designer Gabe Bartalos (Brain Damage, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, Gremlins 2, and the Leprechaun series) crafts a phantasmagoric vision of a classical music conductor descending into insanity with his sophomore feature. Seemingly vanished from a short-lived run on the festival circuit in 2014, BUFF is proud to give this must-see nightmare, and the visionary filmmaker who created it, a proper North American premiere.

68 KILL - East Coast Premiere
Trent Haaga | USA | 2017
Trent Haaga (writer of Deadgirl, Cheap Thrills) returns to the director’s chair following 2011’s Chop with a punk-rock after hours thriller about femininity, masculinity and the theft of $68,000. When Liza (AnnaLynne McCord) asks her boyfriend Chip (Matthew Gray Gubler) to help her rob her wealthy sugar daddy, he can’t say no. Once they step into the man’s home, Chip & Liza embark on a breakneck roadtrip to hell. Adapted from Bryan Smith’s 2013, no-holds-barred crime novel of the same name.

THE VOID - New England Premiere
Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski | Canada | 2016
ASTRON-6’s Jeremy Gillespie & Steven Kostanski return with a Carpenteresque saga of brutal, cosmic dread, packed with creatures straight out of hell. In the middle of a routine patrol, officer Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) happens upon a blood-soaked figure limping down a deserted stretch of road in the middle of the night. When he rushes the young man to a nearby rural hospital, he finds that patients and personnel are transforming into something... inhuman. As the horror intensifies, Carter must lead the other survivors into the subterranean depths of the hospital in a desperate bid to save their lives and end the nightmare before it's too late.

TRINITY - Boston Premiere
Skip Shea | USA | 2016
Award-winning Massachusetts-based filmmaker, writer, artist and actor Skip Shea brings to life a deeply personal and disturbing first feature based on the true story about a moment in the life of a clergy abuse survivor. While at a coffee shop, a man accidentally bumps into the priest who abused him when he was a child, triggering a surreal, PTSD-induced dissociative moment that sends him on a twisted journey through his past.

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Stay tuned for upcoming announcements, including our second wave of feature film title announcements, attending guests, and a bountiful program of short films. The full BUFF 2017 Program, and individual ticket sales, will go live on March 8, 2017 at www.bostonunderground.org & www.brattlefilm.org.
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