Nina Kiri stars as Evy, the co-host of a paranormal podcast in “undertone,” an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
By Lucy Spicer
Spring may be around the corner, but there’s still a distinct chill in the air — and inside movie theaters. March is shaping up to be a month to remember for fans of all flavors of scary movies, with an audio nightmare, post-apocalyptic landscape, monstrous romance, extraterrestrial doom, and even an unsettling documentary in the mix. For film lovers who’d prefer to avoid the twisted and the terrifying, have no fear, there’s fare for you, too.
This month’s roster of new releases includes titles that premiered at the 2025 and 2026 Sundance Film Festivals as well as projects supported by the Institute’s artist programs. On the fiction side, we have two tales helmed by podcast hosts — one living in a zombie-ridden world, the other plagued by a force unleashed via audio recordings. New fiction releases also include a post-incarceration coming-of-age story, a grave digger’s gruesome quest for a mate, and a dangerous love triangle involving a tentacled narcissist. On the nonfiction side, audiences can choose from a humorous look at terminal cancer, a dive into the perils and possibilities of AI, and look at the lives of right-wing activists.
Homegrown — In this vérité documentary, director Michael Premo follows three right-wing activists in the run-up to and aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Juxtaposing scenes of family life and the cacophony of rallies and riots (including immersive footage from the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol), Premo’s film captures the multifaceted dissonance that exists in both the mundane and the extreme aspects of these community members’ lives. Homegrown premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and was supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. Available to stream through May 1.
André is an Idiot — How often do you expect to laugh during a film about dying? In director Tony Benna’s documentary André is an Idiot, the humor is inescapable. When eccentric advertising creative André Ricciardi learned he had terminal colon cancer, he approached Benna to make a film about his remaining time on Earth. Through unconventional interviews (like using Tommy Chong as a stand-in for Ricciardi’s father), stop-motion animation sequences, and unfiltered accounts of Ricciardi’s end-of-life antics (like taking a “death yell” class), Benna’s film captures the singular spirit of a man who was larger than life. There’s never been a funnier or more unusual PSA about the importance of getting a colonoscopy. André is an Idiot premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary. Coming to select theaters March 6.
Didn’t Die — In director Meera Menon’s post-apocalyptic genre film, Vinita (Kiran Deol) struggles to keep hold of a dwindling audience for her one-woman podcast. If you think standing out amid the podcast landscape is tough now, try doing so when the undead are roaming the Earth. When she’s not recording her podcast, Vinita and her brothers — including the mild-mannered Rish (Vishal Vijayakumar), who can’t bring himself to use violence — spend their time amassing supplies and keeping the “biters” at bay. When Vinita’s ex Vincent (George Basil) shows up with a baby, life gets even more complicated. Shot in black and white, Didn’t Die premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters March 6.
undertone — Audiophiles, this one’s for you. In writer-director Ian Tuason’s terrifying debut, Evy (Nina Kiri) endures an isolated existence in her childhood home, where she is now providing round-the-clock care for her dying mother. She connects to the outside world through her podcast, The Undertone, where her co-host, Justin (Adam DiMarco), sends her recordings of purportedly paranormal events. A skeptic, Evy is unprepared for what happens after she and Justin listen to a series of recordings sent in by a young couple who are expecting a baby. Featuring extraordinary sound design that places the audience in Evy’s shoes, undertone screened in the Midnight section at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to theaters March 13.
Dead Lover — In her sophomore feature, director Grace Glowicki stars as a lonely gravedigger who longs to be loved by someone who can abide her odor (when you work with corpses, stinking comes with the territory). Her wish is granted after she meets an aristocrat (co-writer Ben Petrie) who can’t get enough of her, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he dies at sea. Unwilling to part with the love of her life, the grave digger attempts to retrieve him from death using only his severed finger and an ancient love spell. Filmed entirely on a soundstage, Dead Lover makes the most of its practical effects and versatile cast, which includes four actors who portray an eclectic ensemble of strange characters. Destined to be a cult classic, the film premiered in the Midnight section of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters March 20.
Ricky — In Rashad Frett’s feature directorial debut, 30-year-old Ricky (Stephan James) attempts to rejoin society after being incarcerated for half of his life. Having never experienced a typical coming-of-age, Ricky must navigate a world full of impediments to his growth and success — a world where getting hired, acquiring a driver’s license, and forming relationships prove to be unjustly difficult, even with a caring probation officer (Sheryl Lee Ralph) behind him. An expansion of Frett’s 2023 Sundance Film Festival short film of the same name, Ricky was supported by Sundance Institute’s Directors and Screenwriters Labs and Producers Lab before premiering at the 2025 Festival, where it won the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic. Coming to select theaters March 20.
Touch Me — You might not expect a stylish film about mental health to include the pivotal plot point of alien sex, but that’s pretty par for the course within the Sundance Film Festival’s Midnight section, where writer-director Addison Heimann’s sophomore feature, Touch Me, premiered in 2025. In this genre-bending ride of a film, co-dependent roommates Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Craig (Jordan Gavaris) are at a loss when a plumbing disaster forces them to relocate. They end up bunking with Joey’s narcissistic ex (Lou Taylor Pucci), a tentacled alien masquerading as a human named Brian whose mysterious touch can cure all anxieties. Their stay provokes a bizarre love triangle, where shifting loyalties become part of Brian’s plan to take over the world. Coming to select theaters March 20.
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist — Truly a documentary for today, Daniel Roher (Navalny) and Charlie Tyrell’s new film, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, broaches the question that seems to be on everyone’s mind. Artificial intelligence: will it change our lives for the better or bring about our demise? With his family’s future in mind (Roher’s wife, filmmaker Caroline Lindy, was pregnant during the shoot), Roher turns to experts on both sides of the debate in order to begin filling out a gray area that’s often perceived as black and white. Coming to theaters March 27.
