13 Amazing Genre Films Coming to Sundance in 2025

The year in movies doesn’t start until Sundance. Since the 1980s, some of the biggest names in the film industry and up-and-coming talent have traveled to Park City, Utah in hopes of making history. Sundance is where many of the most popular and vibrant independent films begin their journeys to box office success. or critical acclaim, and since the festival now has an annual online component, audiences everywhere can participate.

Sundance may be best known for its dramatic play (Oscar winners love it Coda: and: Little Miss Sunshine! got their start there), but it’s also a great place to discover great horror, sci-fi, and other genre films. That’s where io9 comes in. The festival used to be a testing ground for such films saw The Blair Witch Projectdonnie darko Talk to Me28 days later The Descent:, and: Primer. Earlier this year, That’s what’s inside, my old ass, I saw the glow on the TV and: Violent in nature everyone premieres there.

So the year is 2025 I saw the glow of the TV playing Sundance? It’s time to see the contenders and find out. If you want to watch them for yourself, the festival will be held from January 23 to February 2, 2025 in Park City, Utah and online from January 30 to February 2. You can buy tickets here and check out the genre fare below.

Note:Below are the official Sundance descriptions, in alphabetical order.

By design / USA – A woman switches bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair. Cast: Juliet Lewis, Mamoudou Athi, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier: World Premiere. Fiction. Available to the public online.(Director and screenwriter: Amanda Kramer, Producers: Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jacob Ager)

A dead lover / Canada – A lonely gravedigger who reeks of corpses finally meets the man of her dreams, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea.Grieving, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect herself through mad science experiments. one that leads to dire consequences and incredible love. Cast: Grace Glowitzki, Ben Petrie, Leah Dose, Lawen Morrow. World premiere. Fiction. (Director, Writer and Producer: Grace Glowitzki, Writer and Producer: Ben Petrie, Producer: Jonah Strauss)

Not Dead / USA – A podcast host desperately clings to an ever-shrinking audience in a zombie apocalypse. Cast: Kiran Deol, George Basil, Samrat Chakraborty, Katie McQueen, Vishal Vijayakumar: World Premiere. Fiction. Available Online Public Directed by (Writer and Producer: Mira Menon, Writer and Producer: Paul Gleason, Producers: Erica Fishman, Joe Camerota, Luke Patton)

The Legend of Ochi / USA – In a remote village on a Carpathian island, a farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an animal known as Ochi, but when Yuri discovers an injured baby Ochi has been left behind, she runs off on an adventure to bring him home. Cast: Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe: World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Writer and Producer: Isaiah Saxon, Producers: Richard Peet, Tracy Carlson, Jonathan Wang)

LUZ / Hong Kong, China – In the neon-lit streets of Chongqing, Wei desperately searches for his estranged daughter Fai, while Hong Kong gallery artist Ren confronts his ailing stepmother Sabine in Paris. Their lives collide in a virtual reality world where a mystical deer is revealed truths, sparking a journey of discovery and connection. Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Pinna, Xiao Dong Gu, Lu Huang, David Chiang, Ann C. Deng: World Premiere. Available to the public online.(Director, Writer and Producer: Flora Lau, Producers: Yvette Tang, Joseph Sin Gee Chan, Steven Lam)

WRITING / USA – Connor Marsh lives a lonely life with his dog Sandy, until one day he starts playing OBEX, a new modern computer game. When Sandy disappears, the line between reality and the game blurs, and Connor must enter OBEX- into a strange world to bring him home. In rolesAlbert Birney, Cali Hernandez, Frank Mosley: World Premiere. Fiction. Available online to the public (Director, Writer and Producer: Albert Byrne, Writer and Producer: Pete Ohs, Producers: Emma Hanaway, James Belfer)

Opus / USA – A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago.Surrounded by a cult of the star and a cult of drunken journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan. In rolesAyo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliet Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder: World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Writer and Producer: Marc Anthony Greene, Producers: Colin Creighton, Brad Weston, Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson, Josh Bachov)

Rabbit trap / United Kingdom – When a musician and her husband move to a remote house in Wales, the music they play disturbs the local ancient folk magic, bringing to their doorstep an unnamed child intent on infiltrating their lives. In rolesDev Patel, Rosie McEwen, Jade Krut: World Premiere. Fiction. (Director and screenwriter: Bryn Chaney, producers: Daniel Noah, Lawrence Ingle, Elijah Wood, Eliza Lleras, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz)

Rains on Babylon / Colombia, USA, Spain – A group of misfits gather at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory, presided over by La Flaca, the city’s Grim Reaper, where souls gamble with him by daring to overestimate their years death. In rolesSarai Reboledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodriguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda, Celina Burrún: World Premiere. Fiction. Available to the public online.(Director, Screenwriter and Producer: Gala del Sol, Producers: HA Hermida, Ana Cristina Gutierrez, Andres Hermida, Natalia Rendon Rodriguez)

The Thing with Feathers / United Kingdom – Struggling to cope with the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, a young father loses track of reality when a seemingly malevolent presence begins to haunt him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons. In rolesBenedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Wynette Robinson, Sam Spruell. World premiere. Fiction. (Director and screenwriter: Dylan Souter, producers: Andrea Cornwell, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland)

Together / Australia, USA – Moving to a village that already tests the limits of the couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, life and body. In rolesAlison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman. World premiere. Fiction. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Shanks, producers: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Mike Cope, Andrew Mittman, Eric Feig, Max Silva)

Touch Me! / USA – Two co-dependent 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. In rolesOlivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paige Brewster: World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Writer and Producer: Addison Heyman, Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr.)

The ugly stepsister / Norway – In a fairytale kingdom where beauty is a cruel business, Elvira struggles to compete with her impossibly beautiful half-sister, and she will do anything to win the prince’s eye. In rolesLea Mirren, Thea Sophie Loch Ness, Anne Dal Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isak Kalmroth, Malte Gardinger: World premiere. Fiction. (Director and screenwriter: Emily Blichfeldt, producer: Maria Eckerhovd)

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