The Kneecap lads: Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, all of whom star in the film.

I Saw the TV Glow is a cult film-in-the-making. A second turn at Sundance for writer/director Jane Schoenbrun (they/them), this haunting sophomore feature channels the voice of a generation: a voice dripping in Nickelodeon slime, Twin Peaks scores and creepypasta lore. A voice that demands to be taken seriously, even when its main villain is literally a Georges Méliès-style moon named Mr. Melancholy.

Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding is a gleefully deranged, exceptionally-crafted, pitch-dark pulp-drama. This genre-bender—a Tarantino-esque concoction of crime, noir, romance, body horror, western, black comedy, and above all, mood—marks Glass as a must-watch talent. (It also makes a serious case for the return of mullets.)

My personal Top Ten films from Sundance 2024—plus distribution info, so that you too can catch these buzzy treasures in the coming year. Selected from a vast number of candidates (roughly 17,000 submissions), this year’s cadre of Sundance premieres delivers profound insights into our own collective evolution. These stories are pure entertainment, genre films with a conscience, Trojan Horses for cultural progress.

Randall Park’s Shortcomings is a refreshingly hilarious of-the-moment Rom-Dram that explores identity with a self-aware twist.

Bing Liu’s documentary Minding The Gap contains more entertainment—and more authenticity—than most narrative features achieve in their very best moments. First-time director, DP, co-star and co-editor Liu explores the down-and-out world he shares with his two best friends in Rockford, Illinois: all three have tumultuous family lives; all three survive by skateboarding.

Elijah Bynum’s Magazine Dreams is an intense, deeply unsettling psychological thriller, superbly anchored by Jonathan Major’s performance as manic-muscleman Killian Maddox.

Kogonada’s After Yang opens with the most exhilarating dance sequence since Gaspar Noé’s Climax—but don’t be misled.

Click it or Ticket: Joe Keery Slays in Uber-Dark-Satire

Unbridled Creativity: No one is Safe from Riley’s Wackadoo Satire … Himself Included