Behind the Scenes w/ Evillica

I recently had a chance to catch up with the mysterious videographer, Evillica, who is known for her analog #creepcore and liminal nightmare creations. We previously interviewed Evillica at our Horror to Culture website, which can be found – HERE -

This time, she’s excited to share her involvement in this year’s BUFF (Boston Underground Film Festival), where she unveiled a new short film. The long running festival, now in its 28^th (!) year, is host to independent films from across the globe. Evillica gives a little background into the event, stating:

“BUFF has a long history of showcasing boundary-pushing genre cinema, while my work mostly exists online through short analog horror pieces. What made this collaboration interesting is simply the way those two environments briefly intersect.

“Over the past few years, a noticeable amount of horror storytelling has started to emerge through short-form digital formats online. While these pieces exist outside the traditional film space, they often rely on the same language of tension, atmosphere, and unease that horror cinema has used for decades. Seeing that visual language connect with a long-running genre festival like BUFF felt like an interesting moment of crossover.”

Indeed, in recent years the idea of “analog horror” has become a booming sub-genre, kicked off by the late 2000’s and early 2010’s YouTube craze, as well as popular online “Creepy Pasta”. Notably, the divisive 2022 film Skinamarink is considered a major success of the genre, having a micro-budget of $15,000 dollars, that went on to make over $2 million during its brief theatrical release. One doesn’t have to look far to see that the mood of 80’s and 90’s horror has been a big influence on many modern releases.

Likewise, one of the most highly anticipated horror films of the year is Backrooms, which releases on May 29^th, based on a popular online Creepy Pasta web series. On this topic, Evillica goes on to state: “It also seems to reflect a broader moment where horror aesthetics that first developed online are beginning to move into more traditional film spaces. Ideas and visual languages that grew out of internet communities are increasingly finding their way into festivals, independent productions, and the wider genre landscape.”

Of their collaboration, Phil Healy, co-festival director of BUFF, shared the following note: “The genius of Evillica is the simplicity of tapping into the primal fear of home invasion with a dash of nostalgia and familiarity working against you. Plus, real great, creepy atmosphere and character design that elevates the set-up and the punch. It was a no-brainer to get them involved with BUFF.”

For additional context, the BUFF 2026 poster was illustrated by Maria Wolf and colored by Rico Renzi, both widely recognized figures in the comic book world. If you would like to step into Evillica’s strange and surreal world of unsettling horror, you can find her at the following

– LINK -

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Mad Mike Mandrake is the creator of the Horror to Culture website, host of the Insane Signals podcast and vidcast, Editorial Director at the House of Scream Magazine, and collaborator on the Scary Salad Network.