Sundance 2022: 11 Horror & Sci-Fi Films to Keep On Your Radar for This Year’s Virtual Festival

Hard to believe, but it’s officially Sundance season once again! The Sundance Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, January 20th, and will run through Sunday, January 30th. Like last year, Sundance 2022 will be all-virtual, which means fans from all over can partake in the fest’s excellent slate of programming, which includes a ton of genre fare (and several titles that this writer would consider as “genre-adjacent”) from an array of creators, both established and newcomers alike. 

To give you an idea of the films that you should definitely keep on your radar at this year’s Sundance, I’ve put together this rundown of 11 different movies created by an array of talented filmmakers from all over the world. I’ve also gone ahead and included the screening information for each of these films that should help you plan accordingly.

For more information on this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including how to buy tickets for the screenings, you can check out the fest’s site HERE. And be sure to regularly check in here at Daily Dead for all of our festival coverage coming throughout the rest of the month.

Something in the Dirt

Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead

Synopsis: Levi has snagged a no-lease apartment sight unseen in the Hollywood Hills to crash at while he ties up loose ends for his exodus from Los Angeles. He quickly strikes up a rapport with his new neighbor John, swapping stories like old friends under the glowing, smoke-filled skies of the city. One day, Levi and John witness something impossible in one of their apartments. Terrified at first, they soon realize this could change their lives and give them a purpose. With dollar signs in their eyes, these two random dudes will attempt to prove the supernatural. 

Premiere Screening: JAN. 23 11:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 23 2:00 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 25 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 26 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Aaron Moorhead / Sundance Institute.]

Watcher

Director: Chloe Okuno

Synopsis: A young woman moves into a new apartment with her fiancé and is tormented by the feeling that she is being stalked by an unseen watcher in an adjacent building.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 21 8:00 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 21 11:00 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 23 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 24 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Hatching 

Director: Hanna Bergholm

Synopsis: Tinja’s mother showcases their family’s existence on her popular blog “Lovely Everyday Life” as a brightly-hued domestic idyll set amid manicured suburban perfection. Beneath the impeccable veneer, though, friendless tween gymnast Tinja is struggling, spending most of her time striving to please her image-obsessed mom and appease her shrilly obnoxious little brother. After finding a wounded bird in the woods, she brings its strange egg home, nestles it in her bed, and nurtures it until it hatches. The creature that emerges, christened Alli, becomes Tinja’s closest friend, surrogate child, and living nightmare in this tremendously twisted coming-of-age body horror film.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 22 10:55 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 23 1:55 AM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 24 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 25 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of IFC Midnight / Sundance Institute.]

Dual 

Director: Riley Stearns

Synopsis: Recently diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease, Sarah is unsure how to process the news. To help ease her friends’ and family’s impending loss, she is encouraged to participate in a simple futuristic cloning procedure called “Replacement,” after which Sarah’s last days will be spent teaching the clone how to live on as Sarah once she’s gone. But while it takes only an hour for a clone to be made, things become significantly more challenging when that double is no longer wanted.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 22 5:00 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 22 8:00 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 24 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 25 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Resurrection 

Director: Andrew Semans

Synopsis: Margaret's life is in order. She is capable, disciplined, and successful. Soon, her teenage daughter, who Margaret raised by herself, will be going off to a fine university, just as Margaret had intended. Everything is under control. That is, until David returns, carrying with him the horrors of Margaret's past.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 22 7:00 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 22 10:00 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 24 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 25 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Wyatt Garfield / Sundance Institute.]

You Won’t Be Alone

Director: Goran Stolevski

Synopsis: Set in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia, YOU WON’T BE ALONE follows a young girl who is kidnapped and then transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. Curious about life as a human, the young witch accidentally kills a peasant in the nearby village and then takes her victim’s shape to live life in her skin. Her curiosity ignited, she continues to wield this horrific power in order to understand what it means to be human.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 22 7:45 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 22 10:45 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 24 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 25 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above poster image courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Piggy

Director: Carlota Pereda

Synopsis: During the sweltering summertime of rural Spain, Sara carries an extra load of teenage agony due to the perpetual bullying from her peers. She’s also an outsider at home—her parents and little brother just don’t understand her—so, feelings internalized, she’s often found buried in her headphones, drowning out her surroundings. One day, Sara’s usual solo dip at the local pool is disrupted by the presence of a mysterious stranger in the water and an exceptionally grueling bout of abuse at the hands of three girls. But, in a strange twist of fate, along the way home Sara witnesses her bloodied tormentors being kidnapped in the back of the stranger’s van.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 24 8:00 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 24 11:00 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 26 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 27 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above poster image courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Master

Director: Mariama Diallo

Synopsis: At an elite New England university built on the site of a Salem-era gallows hill, three women strive to find their place. Gail Bishop (Regina Hall), just instated as “Master,” a dean of students, discovers what lies behind the school’s immaculate facade; first-year student Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) confronts a new home that is cold and unwelcoming; and literature professor Liv Beckman (Amber Gray) collides with colleagues who question her right to belong. Navigating politics and privilege, they encounter increasingly terrifying manifestations of the school’s haunted past… and present. 

Premiere Screening: JAN. 21 5:30 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 21 8:30 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 23 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 24 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Nanny

Director: Nikyatu Jusu

Synopsis: Aisha (Anna Diop) is an undocumented nanny working for a privileged couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) in New York City. As she prepares for the arrival of the son she left behind in Senegal, a violent supernatural presence invades her reality, threatening the American dream she is painstakingly piecing together.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 22 10:45 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 22 1:45 PM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 24 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 25 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Speak No Evil

Director: Christian Tafdrup

Synopsis: On a vacation in Tuscany, two families – one Danish, one Dutch – meet and become fast friends. Months later, the free-spirited Dutch family extends an invitation to the more conservative Danish one for a holiday weekend getaway at their countryside home. However, it doesn't take long before things gradually get out of hand as the joy of reunion is replaced with misunderstandings. The Dutch hospitality quickly turns unnerving for the Danes, and they find themselves increasingly caught in a web of their own politeness in the face of eccentric…or is it sinister…behavior.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 21 10:55 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 22 1:55 AM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 23 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 24 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Erik Molberg / Sundance Institute.]

Fresh

Director: Mimi Cave

Synopsis: Frustrated by scrolling dating apps only to end up on lame, tedious dates, Noa takes a chance by giving her number to the awkwardly charming Steve after a produce-section meet-cute at the grocery store. During a subsequent date at a local bar, sassy banter gives way to a chemistry-laden hookup, and a smitten Noa dares to hope that she might have actually found a real connection with the dashing cosmetic surgeon. She accepts Steve’s invitation to an impromptu weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.

Premiere Screening: JAN. 20 10:55 PM PST (Available Until Jan. 21 1:55 AM PST)

Second Screening: JAN. 22 7:00 AM PST (Available Until Jan. 23 7:00 AM PST)

[Photo Credit: Above photo courtesy of Sundance Institute.]