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Sundance Film Festival · 2021

Sundance Film Festival 2021

Midnight

Programme

6 films · 6 reviews

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Censor

Review preview for Censor

Running a tight 84 minutes, the film still feels like an epic journey into both its seedy world and its heroine’s psyche.

Jeremy Mathews · 3.5 out of 5
When film censor Enid discovers an eerie horror that speaks directly to her sister's mysterious disappearance, she resolves to unravel the puzzle behind the film and its enigmatic director – a quest blurring the lines between fiction and reality in terrifying ways.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Prano Bailey-Bond; Writer: Prano Bailey-Bond, Anthony Fletcher; Stars: Niamh Algar, Clare Holman, Michael Smiley, Adrian Schiller, Felicity Montagu, Beau Gadsdon, Nicholas Burns, Sophia La Porta, Vincent Franklin, Guillaume Delaunay, Max Bennett, Andrew Havill, Tina Louise Owens, Sean Buchanan, Erin Shanagher)

Full review

World premiere. Day One Film

Coming Home In The Dark

Review preview for Coming Home In The Dark

Coming Home In The Dark takes us to familiar places and renders them strange.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A family’s outing descends into terror when teacher Alan Hoaganraad, his wife Jill and stepsons Maika and Jordon explore an isolated coastline. An unexpected meeting with a pair of drifters, the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his accomplice Tubs, thrusts the family into a nightmare when they find themselves captured.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2021; Director: James Ashcroft; Writer: James Ashcroft, Eli Kent, Owen Marshall; Stars: Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Frankie Paratene, Billy Paratene)

Full review See: Interview with James Ashcroft about Coming Home In The Dark

World premiere

A Glitch In The Matrix

Review preview for A Glitch In The Matrix

More interested in illustration than in analysis.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Are we living in a simulation?

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Rodney Ascher)

Full review

World premiere

Knocking

Review preview for Knocking

Molocco’s performance is excellent and will make viewers feel for Molly even if they have no experience with this type of situation.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When Molly moves into her new apartment after a tragic accident, a strange noise from upstairs begins to unnerve her. As its intensity grows, she confronts her neighbours – but no one seems to hear what she is hearing.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2021; Director: Frida Kempff; Writer: Emma Broström; Stars: Ville Virtanen, Meliz Karlge, Albin Grenholm, Kristofer Kamiyasu, Emil Almén, Bengt Braskered, Alexander Salzberger, Bill Hugg, Cecilia Milocco, Naida Ragimova, Charlotta Åkerblom, Tobias Almborg, Christina Indrenius-Zalewski, Karin Holmberg, Anders Johannisson)

Full review

World premiere

Mother Schmuckers

Review preview for Mother Schmuckers

It’s shock comedy with no sense of impact or context, because before you can let the shock set in, the movie is running full steam ahead toward another disgusting episode.

Jeremy Mathews · 1.5 out of 5
Issachar & Zabulon, two brothers in their twenties, are supremely stupid and never bored, as madness is part of their daily lives. When they lose their mother's beloved dog, they have 24 hours to find it – or she will kick them out.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Harpo Guit, Lenny Guit; Writer: Harpo Guit, Lenny Guit; Stars: Harpo Guit, Maxi Delmelle, Claire Bodson, Mathieu Amalric, Habib Ben Tanfous)

Full review

World premiere

Violation

Review preview for Violation

Although this is Canadian it has the coolness of the European arthouse, drawing on nature photography at key moments to reinforce the moody sense of primal danger.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer; Writer: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer; Stars: Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili, Jasmin Geljo, Cynthia Ashperger)

Full review See: Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dustin Mancinelli interview about Violation

World premiere