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BUFF 2019 Recap

The Baphomet statue featured prominently in Hail Satan?, the doc which opened the 2019 Boston Underground Film Festival.

The Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF), the festival that boasts “Cutting-edge films—and films with a cutting edge,” celebrated 21 years this year, by continuing its rich tradition of delivering the some of the most unique underground films from all over the world to Boston cinephiles.

Taking place over five jam-packed days at the Brattle Theatre from March 20-24, BUFF once again assembled a diverse lineup of genre-spanning narrative and documentary films, many of which I was fortunate enough to consume. The following collection of reviews is a smattering of some of the best new release films screened at the festival.

Hail Satan?; Penny Lane; USA, 2019; 95 min

Hail Satan? isn’t just a goofy title meant to evoke the comic uncertainty of someone flummoxed like Ron Burgundy; it’s an actual question that Penny Lane’s uproarious and informative documentary asks and answers. Lane’s question isn’t whether to worship Satan, but whether we should support The Satanic Temple in their fight for religious freedom in the United States. Her reply is a resounding, “Yes!” Through hilarious interviews, Lane’s zippy film deftly traces the origins of this modern organization by laying the historical groundwork for its formation, mainly as a counterpoint to an unconstitutional government preference for Christianity that has gained momentum over the past 70 years in the U.S. As she explains, The Satanic Temple, based in Salem Massachusetts and helmed by its delightfully mischievous founder Lucien Greaves, doesn’t preach worshipping Satan and they don’t advocate for violence, death, chaos, or destruction. For them Satan is a symbol of rebellion against authority and an icon “who questions sacred laws and rejects all tyrannical impositions.” Guided by a set of seven brilliant tenets, they exist to troll the status quo by fighting for secularism and pluralism, but also to provide a place of belonging for outcasts who feel unaccepted by mainstream society and reject traditional religion. What emerges from Lane’s film is a compelling portrait of an activist organization with a wicked sense of humor and diverse membership (like the “zesty” bow-tie-and-suit-wearing Southerner) engaged in a noble legal battle against authority for liberty and justice for us all. Hail Satan? Yes, please!

Read the rest of my reviews at The Independent.

Evan Crean: Hello! My name is Evan Crean. By day I work for a marketing agency, but by night, I’m a film critic based in Boston, MA. Since 2009, I have written hundreds of movie reviews and celebrity interviews for Starpulse.com. I have also contributed pieces to NewEnglandFilm.com and to The Independent, as a writer and editor. I maintain an active Letterboxd account too. In addition to publishing short form work, I am a co-author of the book Your ’80s Movie Guide to Better Living, which is available on CreateSpace and Amazon. The book is the first in a series of lighthearted self-help books for film fans, which distills advice from ’80s movies on how to tackle many of life’s challenges. On top of writing, I co-host and edit the weekly film podcast Spoilerpiece Theatre with two other Boston film critics. I’m a founding member and the current treasurer for the Boston Online Film Critics Association as well. This site, Reel Recon.com, is a one-stop-shop where you can find links to all of my past and present work. Have any questions or comments after checking it out? Please feel free to email me (Evan Crean) at: ecrean AT reelrecon DOT COM .
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