The year in movies doesn’t start until Sundance. Since the 1980s, some of the biggest names in the film industry, and promising future talent, head to Park City, Utah, hoping to make history. Sundance is where many of the most famous and buzzworthy independent films start their journeys to either box office success or critical glory—and, with the festival now having an annual online component, audiences everywhere can participate.
Sundance might be best known for its dramatic fare (Oscar winners like Coda and Little Miss Sunshine got their starts there), but it’s also a great place to discover excellent horror, sci-fi, and other genre films. That’s where io9 comes in. In the past, the festival was the proving ground for films like Saw, The Blair Witch Project, Donnie Darko, Talk to Me, 28 Days Later, The Descent, and Primer. Earlier this year, It’s What’s Inside, My Old Ass, I Saw the TV Glow, and In a Violent Nature all premiered there.
So, is 2025’s I Saw the TV Glow playing at Sundance? It’s time to see the contenders and find out. If you want to watch them for yourself, the festival runs from January 23–February 2, 2025 in Park City, Utah, and online from January 30–February 2. You can get tickets here and see the genre fare below.
Note: What follows are the official descriptions from Sundance, in alphabetical order.
A still from By Design – SundanceBy Design / U.S.A. – A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair. Cast: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public. (Director and Screenwriter: Amanda Kramer, Producers: Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jacob Agger)
Dead Lover / Canada – A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when 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. Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Grace Glowicki, Screenwriter and Producer: Ben Petrie, Producer: Yona Strauss)
Didn’t Die / U.S.A. – A podcast host desperately clings to an ever-shrinking audience in the zombie apocalypse. Cast: Kiran Deol, George Basil, Samrat Chakrabarti, Katie McCuen, Vishal Vijayakumar. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public. Director, (Screenwriter, and Producer: Meera Menon, Screenwriter and Producer: Paul Gleason, Producers: Erica Fishman, Joe Camerota, Luke Patton)
The Legend of Ochi / U.S.A. – In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an animal species known as Ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby Ochi has been left behind, she escapes on an adventure to bring him home. Cast: Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Isaiah Saxon, Producers: Richard Peete, Traci Carlson, Jonathan Wang)
A still from Luz – SundanceLUZ / Hong Kong, China – In the neon-lit streets of Chongqing, Wei desperately searches for his estranged daughter Fa, while Hong Kong gallerist Ren grapples with her ailing stepmother Sabine in Paris. Their lives collide in a virtual reality world, where a mystical deer reveals hidden truths, sparking a journey of discovery and connection. Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Pinna, Xiao Dong Guo, Lu Huang, David Chiang, En Xi Deng. World Premiere. Available online for Public. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Flora Lau, Producers: Yvette Tang, Joseph Sinn Gi Chan, Stephen Lam)
OBEX / U.S.A. – Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home. Cast: Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez, Frank Mosley. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public. )Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Albert Birney, Screenwriter and Producer: Pete Ohs, Producers: Emma Hannaway, James Belfer)
Opus / U.S.A. – A young writer is invited to the remote 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. Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Mark Anthony Green, Producers: Collin Creighton, Brad Weston, Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson, Josh Bachove)
A still from Rabbit Trap – SundanceRabbit Trap / U.K. – 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. Cast: Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, Jade Croot. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director and Screenwriter: Bryn Chainey, Producers: Daniel Noah, Lawrence Inglee, Elijah Wood, Elisa Lleras, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz)
Rains Over Babel / Colombia, U.S.A., Spain – A group of misfits converges at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory, where La Flaca — the city’s Grim Reaper — presides. Here, souls gamble years of their lives with her, daring to outwit Death herself. Cast: Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda, Celina Biurrun. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Gala del Sol, Producers: H.A Hermida, Ana Cristina Gutiérrez, Andrés Hermida, Natalia Rendón Rodríguez)
The Thing with Feathers / U.K. – Struggling to process the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, a young father loses his hold on reality as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director and Screenwriter: Dylan Southern, Producers: Andrea Cornwell, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland)
A still from Together – SundanceTogether / Australia, U.S.A. – 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. Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director and Screenwriter: Michael Shanks, Producers: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Mike Cowap, Andrew Mittman, Erik Feig, Max Silva)
Touch Me / U.S.A. – 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. Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Addison Heimann, Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr.)
The Ugly Stepsister / Norway – 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. Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger. World Premiere. Fiction. (Director and Screenwriter: Emilie Blichfeldt, Producer: Maria Ekerhovd)
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