The year is not yet over, yet the 2025 festival season is upon us. The great cycle of life, it never ends!
Sundance is known as the direction-setter for US independent cinema, and in 2025 runs from January 16 to January 26, in its dual in-person and online format. With its mix of premieres, panels, and networking opportunities, the festival remains a vital meeting point for filmmakers and audiences worldwide. Ok, that’s the boiler-plate out of the way. Here are the fifteen films for which I’m most excited:
Horror
- Dead Lover (Dir: Grace Glowicki) – A bereaved grave-digger goes to morbid lengths to resurrect her dream man through madcap scientific experiments, resulting in grave consequences and unlikely love. Frankensteinian fun from promising Canadian director Glowicki.
- Didn’t Die (Dir: Meera Menon) – As the zombie apocalypse unfolds, a podcast host struggles to maintain their dwindling audience amidst the chaos. Meera Menon comes straight from directing episodes of the very charming Ms Marvel.
- Opus (Dir: Mark Anthony Green) – A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan. A head-turning cast of Ayo Ediberi, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis and Amber Midthunder make this one to watch.
- Rabbit Trap (Dir: Bryn Chainey) – When a musician and her husband move to a remote house in Wales, the music they make disturbs local ancient folk magic, bringing a nameless child to their door who is intent on infiltrating their lives. Starring Dev Patel in rural Wales? Yes please.
- The Ugly Stepsister (Dir: Emilie Kristine Blichfeldt) – An gory horror-comedy take on Cinderella, seen through the eyes of her stepsister, Elvira, who battles to compete for the Prince’s eye against her insanely beautiful stepsister, in a kingdom where beauty is a brutal business. Norwegian cinema is on a run right now – hopefully this will continue it.
- Together (Dir: Michael Shanks) – With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh. A body-horror rom-com? You might even call it Cromcombergian (sorry). Starring and produced by my favourite cheese, Alison Brie, and her husband, everyone’s favourite Franco, Dave Franco.
- Touch Me (Dir: Addison Heimann) – 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. From Addison Heimann, director of the Golden Claw-winning Hypochondriac,
- The Virgin of the Quarry Lake (Dir: Laura Casabé) – One hot summer a group of girls fall in love with a boy called Diego. But when he starts hanging out with a 30-year-old woman he met in a chat room, one of the girls wards off the disappointment with an ancient dark power. Laura Casabé directed one of my favourite Spanish-language horrors, The Returned, so hopes are high for her latest.
Non-horror (because we have range, baby)
- Bubble & Squeak (Dir: Evan Twohy) – Accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where cabbages are banned, Declan and Delores must confront the fragility of their new marriage while on the run for their lives. I love the absurd premise, and am highly anticipating the supporting turns by Matt Berry and Stephen Yuen (pictured) as the pursuing officials.
- Bunnyluvr (Dir: Katarina Zhu) – A drifting Chinese American cam girl struggles to navigate an increasingly toxic relationship with one of her clients while rekindling her relationship with her dying estranged father. Zhu’s feature debut marks her out as one to watch.
- Love, Brooklyn (Dir: Rachael Abigail Holder) – Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city. Andre Holland and Nicole Beharie star – Beharie in particular deserves to be a star, so hopefully this film will showcase her talents.
- Plainclothes (Dir: Carmen Emmi) – A promising undercover officer assigned to lure and arrest gay men defies professional orders when he falls in love with a target. It’s in the US Dramatic Competition, but this is vaery much a UK/US co-production, starring British acting talent Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey.
- The Things You Kill (Dir: Alireza Khatami) – Haunted by the suspicious death of his mother, a professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. But as secrets resurface, the police tighten their noose, and doubts begin eroding his conscience. Iran has a great tradition of moral thrillers, and this looks to be another Dostoyevskian tale in that mould.
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (Dir: Bill Condon) – Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna. Previously shot in 1985 by Hector Babenco, I’m looking forward to seeing how its been updated by the director of Gods And Monsters, Dreamgirls and Twilight Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2.
- Lurker (Dir: Alex Russell) – 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. Featuring Archie Madekwe and Théodore Pellerin (both in Beau Is Afraid), and Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms).
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Dir: Mary Bronstein) – With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Absurd fun with a sci-fi twist, starring Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, and Conan O’Brien.
More Sundance 2025 information can be found at their website, here.
Whitlock&Pope 