In a few days it opens its doors Sundance Dinner Festivalwhich once again includes in its programming the Midnight section, dedicated to genre cinema, which in previous years has hosted the premiere of instant classics of contemporary horror, such as Babadook (2014), Mandy (2018), Hereditary (2018) or the Spanish little pig (2021) in the previous edition.
The selection of “Midnight” for this 2023, in which the festival returns to face-to-face mode in Salt Lake City, after two virtual editions, covers a total of eight feature films that range from wild comedies to surprising and shocking thrillers.
INFINITY POOL (Brandon Cronenberg)
The new work written and directed by Brandon Cronenbergafter the recognized Antiviral (2012) y Possessor (2020): Infinity Poolcon Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) and Mia Goth (X and ‘Pearl’). Surreal horror in the R-rated story (“Restricted”, due to its adult content) of a couple who, during an idyllic vacation on the fictional island of La Tolqa, fall into an unimaginable spiral of violence due to a terrible accident in which they come involved.
POLITE SOCIETY (Nida Manzoor)
Four titles arrive directed by women: Polite Society, Run Rabbit Run, Birth / Rebirth y My animal. The first is the feature film debut of the writer-director Nida Manzoor, television producer, with several episodes of ‘Doctor Who’ directed in 2020, and creator of the series ‘We are Lady Parts’, about a Muslim female punk band. ‘Polite Society’ is a hilarious cocktail of genres (action, comedy, Bollywood, social horror) about an up-and-coming martial artist who devises a crazy plan to stop her sister’s impending wedding.
RUN RABBIT RUN (Daina Reid)
the australian Daina Reiddirector of series such as ‘The Visitor’, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ or ‘Las Luminosas’, presents worldwide at Sundance Run Rabbit Run, his second feature film, thirteen years after the comedy ‘I love you too’ (2010). A mysterious thriller starring Sarah Snook, from the ‘Succession’ series, and with the participation of the Italian actress Greta Scacchi (‘The Hollywood Game’). As a fertility doctor, Sarah has a strong opinion about the cycle of life. However, when she is forced to make sense of her daughter’s increasingly bizarre behavior, she will be forced to challenge her own beliefs and confront ghosts from her past.
BIRTH / REBIRTH (Laura Moss)
Another twisted story related to motherhood and inspired by ‘Frankenstein’, by Mary Shelley’, which from Sundance assures that it will become one of the greatest hits of the year, is Birth / Rebirth. First feature by the writer and director Laura Mosscenters on a morgue employee obsessed with resuscitating corpses and a single mother who discovers that her little girl has come back to life.
MY ANIMAL (Jacqueline Castel)
Canadian production My animal It is the first feature film directed by Jacqueline Castel, internationally recognized with short films scheduled at Sundance, South by Southwest, Rotterdam, Sitges or Fantasia. A new take on the myth of lycanthropy through a horror romance about a teenage outcast, imprisoned in her own house every full moon for her animalistic condition, who falls in love with a tormented figure skater new to town.
IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN (Kenneth Dagatan)
On the other hand, Kenneth Forget signs Philippine production In my mother’s skinset in the year 1945, near the end of World War II, when a girl trusts a carnivorous fairy to save her dying mother.
TALK TO ME (Danny and Michael Philippou)
The list is completed with two works signed by new creators experienced in social networks. On one side, Talk to me of the twin brothers Danny y Michael Philippou, responsible for the YouTube channel @RackaRacka. With extreme scenes of violence and gore, it is a terrifying ghost story, in which a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits, but go too far and open a door to the afterlife. In the cast, the name of Miranda Otto (‘The Lord of the Rings’) stands out.
ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS (Andrew Bowser)
Also, Andrew Bowserpopular for his virtual alter ego, “the strange satanist” Onyx, who has directed four independent films and countless viral videos with millions of views, debuts his feature film Onyx The Fortuitous and the Talisman of Soulsan eccentric comedy with the participation of Jeffrey Combs.
The 2023 edition of the Sundance Film Festival will take place from Thursday, January 19 to Sunday, January 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City.