11 Horror And Genre Films We Are Excited To Watch At Sundance

From director Grace Glowicki, Dead Lover centers on a lonely gravedigger “who stinks of corpses.” According to the film's official synopsis, when she finally meets her dream man, their romance is cut short after he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap scientific experiments, resulting in grave consequences and unlikely love.

The Canadian feature premieres January 24 as part of Sundance's Midnight programming.

From writer-director Meera Menon, Didn't Die follows a podcast host during a zombie apocalypse. Here's the official synopsis:

Vinita (Kiran Deol) hosts a snarky post-apocalyptic podcast, hiding her fear behind an armor of ironic distance. Rabid “biters” roam the Earth, and Vinita's dwindling audience — including her traumatized siblings — live in quarantine. When her philandering ex Vincent (George Basil) suddenly arrives clutching a baby, Vinita's armor begins to crack.

One of our most anticipated titles of the festival stars The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri as a young writer invited to the compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.

The cast is stacked across the board, and also includes John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis (Yellowjackets), Murray Bartlett, and Amber Midthunder (Prey).

Bryn Chainey's British folk horror stars Dev Patel as one half of a couple who moves to a remote house in Wales. The music they make disturbs local ancient folk magic, bringing a nameless child to their door. Chainey's debut feature premieres January 24.

This dark folklore is set in 2001, and follows teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires as they all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.

The Virgin Of Quarry Lake is the first on-screen adaptation of author Mariana Enríquez’s unsettling short stories.

Michael Shanks' feature directorial debut centers on a couple after their recent move to the countryside. With the move already testing the limits of their relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.

Together premieres at Sundance January 26.

Two codependent best friends become addicted to the heroin-like touch of an alien narcissist who may or may not be trying to take over the world. Writer and director Addison Heimann’s second feature film is being touted as “provocatively comedic, inventive, and unhinged in the best possible way. ”

An ode to the deliriously stylistic lens of Japanese cinema in the ’60s and ’70s, Touch Me dares to “go there” with its themes of mental health, desire, and Hentai-infused sexual abandon.

Read more in our interview with Touch Me star Olivia Taylor Dudley.

In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira battles to compete with her incredibly beautiful stepsister, and she will go to any length to catch the prince’s eye. The Ugly Stepsister is landing on Shudder later this year, following its Sundance debut.

Categorized as a sci-fi thriller, BLKNWS: Terms And Conditions Preeminent West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu’s magnum opus, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, writer-director Dylan Southern adapts Max Porter's novella Grief Is the Thing with Feathers for the big screen. This dramatic thriller follows a young father struggling to process the sudden and unexpected death of his wife. As he loses his hold on reality, a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.

Since I haven't seen it yet, I don't know where this one lands on the horror scale but the concept of obsession, parasocial relationships and intentionally infiltrating an inner circle has all the makings of a horrifying tale.

A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

Lurker marks Alex Russell's (The Bear, Beef) feature directorial debut, premiering at Sundance January 26th.

And of course, while we are wildly excited for the above horror features gracing the Midnights category, let's not forget about the genre short films headed to the fest. Short film blocks are a great place to find emerging talent and gives you some pretty hefty bragging rights when they release a feature everyone is raving about. The $50 Short Films Pass for Online viewing is a pretty accessible option to discover some exciting new artists.