Sleep, The Becomers, Strange Kindness, Femme… The Boston Underground Film Festival 2024 offered us a wild ride through the realms of horror, drama, and sci-fi. Discover our reviews.
The Film Fest Report returns to he Boston Underground Film Festival with a wide variety of horror, drama, sci-fi and wild creative films. Here’s a recap of what the distinctive and eccentric had to offer.
Sleep follows a newly married couple, Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) who must figure out how to stop her husband Hyeon-soon (Lee Sun-kyun) from his scary and horrific sleepwalking habits before he hurts those around him including their newborn baby or himself. This is a dark comedy horror film that comes from South Korea and features Lee Sun-kyun in his final performance. It’s an incredible performance from a talented actor and he shares a magnetic chemistry with Jung Yu-mi. Jason Yu is able to get the best from his actors in a film that darkens a phenomenal debut that will send audiences chills for a film that explores paranoia and marriage. Definitely, the best watch from the festival!
Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s film is a hyper sexual thriller that strives to great strengths with performances by George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Jules (Stewart-Jarrett) a drag performer is victim of being targeted and attacked that ultimately destroys him. After some time he meets up with one of his attackers, Preston (MacKay) in a gay sauna as Jules decides to seek out his revenge. It’s a complex queer story where Jules wants to take back his life as there is plenty of empathy for our main characters. The film is filled with provocative tension and unsettling for a revenge thriller that avoids it from being a predictable story. It’s a strong feature film debut from the filmmakers.
One of best visionary films to come from the festival is Kim Albright’s film. The ambitious sci-fi romance is set in the near future where hearts are made out of random objects repressing your emotions which is considered as self-care. Anabel (Anna Maguire) feels lonely and decides to give her heart to George (Hamza Haq). However, it leads to him running away with it. A film that sounds strange on paper, comes out to be original and quirky worthy of seeking out, and has a fantastic leading performance from Maguire. Maguire shows her great strengths as she has wonderful chemistry with Haq and recognition also needs to go to talent like Veena Sood. A film that takes inspiration from Yorgos Lanthimos and Charlie Kaufman this film is able to make its own.
Directed by Joseph Mault this film explores violence and empathy in an isolating watch. Mault’s film follows Chris (Deirde Madigan) as she is battling cancer living a reclusive life with the aid of care from her niece, Rose (Leanne McLaughlin). Chris’s home has an unexpected visitor show up, an unnamed injured gunman (Michal Vondel) on the run from the cops after committing a shooting who she takes great sympathy for. A film where the dialogue and story is mostly straightforward as it follows a traditional thriller with a 90-minute runtime. The film has solid performances as Madigan is truly terrific and out shines everyone. Mault is able to express a meditative watch that delicately explores its themes.
Zach Clark’s feature is a throwback to an old-school sci-fi film of an alien-invasion that goes on a zany adventure. The chaotic film is a body-snatching story of alien’s coming to earth and reconnect with their partner as they learn to manage to survive living in the modern day society. It’s a basic story of essential aliens looking for love as Sparks’ frotman Russell Mael takes charge guiding the audience. The aliens struggle to survive on earth that leads audiences on a journey wondering what could happen next. Clark’s film leaves where the unexpected could happen and it is all mostly engaging. It’s a weird film and definitely not made for all audiences.
HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON
Ariane Louis-Seize makes a coming-of-age feature film debut with a horror, dark comedy. The film follows a teenage vampire Sasha (Sara Montpetit) who is too sympathetic to kill people for blood. Her parents decide to cut-off her blood supply and she eventually meets a depressed boy named Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard) who is has suicidal tendencies and willing to give up his life to save Sasha. Suicide is a difficult subject to explore in film. A film that thrives on its chemistry with its leading characters but fails to achieve uniqueness. It had potential but does not fully connect with its theme, although it manages to be slightly charming. It doesn’t stand out compared to other vampire films.
