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Boston’s buzziest genre fest is back, and it’s bringing a bona fide TV icon with it.
The Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF) has announced dates for its 26th edition, returning Wednesday, March 18, through Sunday, March 22, with more than 20 screenings of boundary-pushing features and shorts. This year’s fest will once again take over Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square while expanding to include the Coolidge Corner Theatre, marking a new chapter for the beloved cult celebration.
Opening night is set to be a major draw: director Ben Wheatley’s latest genre outing, “Normal,” will screen with star Bob Odenkirk in attendance for a live post-screening Q&A. The action-packed, darkly comic film is described as a love letter to shoot-’em-up cinema, a fittingly irreverent kickoff for a festival known for embracing the weird, wild and wonderfully offbeat.
Among the additional highlights: the TIFF Midnight Madness selection “Obsession” as a centerpiece screening and “Saccharine,” a Sundance thriller from “Relic” director Natalie Erika James, as one of the closing-night films.
BUFF’s repertory pick leans hard into horror history with a 40th-anniversary screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, presented by Rucking Fotten. The event will feature an in-person appearance by horror icon Bill Moseley for a Q&A and meet-and-greet, which should be catnip for longtime genre devotees.
This year also signals a leadership transition. After nearly two decades shaping BUFF’s fiercely independent identity, Artistic Director Kevin Monahan and Director of Programming Nicole McControversy are stepping down. Former technical directors Phil Healy and Adam Van Voorhis now serve as co-festival directors, joined by new artistic director Mark Anastasio, who also leads programming at the Coolidge. The team has pledged to preserve BUFF’s underground ethos while continuing to champion diverse voices and filmmaker-focused programming.
From horror and sci-fi to fantasy and singular indies, BUFF has become a vital gathering space for New England cinephiles who crave the five-day reminder that communal moviegoing still thrives.
Festival badges are now on sale here. The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks at bostonunderground.org.