“Hatching”
Weird-ass horror certainly seems to have carved out a niche and “Hatching” is already one of Sundance’s most buzzed-about titles for its mystifying premise alone. Wishing to please those who most want her to succeed, young gymnast, Tinja, discovers a large, strange egg, tucking it away in her bedroom. The debut of Finnish filmmaker Hanna Bergholm, “Hatching” is “a fascinating portrait of the nature of material instinct, as Tinja battles to come to terms with the genuine emotional bond with her grotesque and bloodthirsty newfound family.” The description makes one think of “Titane,” so count us in.
“Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul”
Remaking their acclaimed short film of the same name, “Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul” (has no one else used this outstanding title before?) marks the first feature-length film from talented up-and-coming duo, Adamma and Adanne Ebo. Starring Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown in key roles, the humorous film finds the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist church forced to close its doors following a scandal. Produced by Daniel Kaluuya and partly shot in faux-documentary style, the Ebo twins’ satire bitingly “explores both the on-camera desperation in image rebranding and the hard truths that fester behind the scenes.”
“Master”
Recently instated as Master/dean of students at a New England university, Gail Bishop (Regina Hall, her second Sundance title) soon discovers an insidious specter of racism buried in the campus history. She learns the school was built on the site of Salem-era gallows, supernatural horrors of the past manifesting in the present. The genre-bending debut of filmmaker Mariama Diallo, “Master” melds visceral, psychological storytelling with a chilling social critique, “asking what escape is possible for communities of color confronting racial terror that is everywhere.”
“Phoenix Rising“
Centered around the experiences of actor, activist, and domestic abuse survivor, Evan Rachel Wood (“Kajillionaire”), Academy Award nominated documentarian, Amy Berg (“Deliver Us From Evil”) aims to aid Wood in “[reclaiming] her story in a culture that instinctively blames women.” The first in a two-part expose project in which she names her abusers, “Phoenix Rising” was a last minute addition to Sundance’s lineup, Wood laying bare her own history – which is not entirely untold, but newly expressed with stark clarity through the courageous actors words and voice – hopefully continuing the important conversations around #MeToo and cancel culture.
“Resurrection”
Rebecca Hall is on a tear. Between her critically acclaimed directorial achievement, “Passing,” and the underseen horror movie “The Night House,” anything the English talent attaches herself to is worth keeping an eye on. In “Resurrection,” Hall plays Margaret, a successful woman balancing her career with caring for her daughter, but her life is upended when a man from her past, named David (Tim Roth), starts suspiciously encountering her everywhere she goes. Disturbed to confront her fears, and their unfinished business, Margot’s world surreally unravels, the movie forcing her to engage in “a gripping excavation of an inescapable past.”