The line-up for next year's 40th annual Sundance Film Festival has been announced, and there are several titles that should be of interest to genre fans, including a new horror comedy titled Your Monster starring (former) Scream actress Melissa Barrera.
Directed, written and produced by Caroline Lindy, the story focuses on a young woman who falls for a strange creature she discovers living in her closet.
“After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again when she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming, monster living in her closet.”
We don't have much more to go on, but based on the description and the promo images, the story appears to be inspired by Beauty and the Beast.
The movie, which is based on Lindy's short of the same name, also stars Tommy Dewey, Meghann Fahy, Edmund Donovan and Kayla Foster. Producers include Kayla Foster, Shannon Reilly, Melanie Donkers, and Kira Carstensen.
There's no trailer yet, but you can check out some first-look stills at the link below.
Barrera was in the news recently after being fired from the next Scream movie because of some social media posts criticizing Israel's attacks on Gaza, which the studio deemed "anti-Semitic."
Here's the statement from Spyglass.
“Spyglass stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
Barrera's co-star Jenna Ortega, who plays her character's sister in the latest movies, has also parted ways with the next instalment, but her departure is not said to be anything to do with Melissa being dropped from the project (this has been disputed, but the Wednesday star has yet to weigh in on the situation publicly).
The full Sundance slate of works announced includes 82 features representing 24 countries, and 91 selections including episodic programmes. World premieres make up 94% of the entire roster, and 40% of the filmmakers are debutants.
The festival will take place January 18-28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide (US only) from January 25-28, 2024.