"Don't you see, child, we all have our sin!" Totally nuts, eh? Indican Pictures has released an official trailer for an indie horror thriller titled Sin Eater, from filmmaker Carmelo Chimera making his feature debut. This hasn't shown up anywhere else yet and is arriving directly to VOD in March. When a woman on the run from her past suffers a terrifying injury, she becomes stranded in a town with a dark secret. As the bizarre phenomena intensify and with no one to trust, she'll have to face her inner demons before a real one takes her soul. The film has a crazy twist where this girl wakes up with her jaw wired shut. Freaky. It stars Jessie Nerud as Christine, with Bill Moseley, Danny Bohnen, Scotty Bohnen, and Scott Moore. This looks like a cult thriller mashed up with religious horror, which is almost too scary. Check out the footage below. https://onfs.net/34wjI1t

"He made his name in blood. No one could touch him." Saban Films has unveiled an official trailer for an indie horror mystery film called So Cold the River, arriving on VOD and in theaters this March. Described as a "bone-chilling, supernatural thriller," adapted from the book by the bestselling author of "Those Who Wish Me Dead." The story revolves around documentary filmmaker Erica Shaw who's hired to profile ailing millionaire Campbell Bradford, whose sole clue is an antique bottle filled with water from a local spring. While staying at a luxury resort in town, Erica meets a descendant of Bradford's and learns of a familial curse of mysterious suicides and deaths, and as she begins drinking from the antique bottle, she is subjected to terrifying visions and unleashes an unspeakable evil. Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, with Katie Sarife, Deanna Dunagan, Andrew J. West, & Alysia Reiner. Looks better than it sounds. Might not be so bad. https://onfs.net/3gnLuzO

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival wrapped up last week after a series of virtual premieres. Now it's time to present our annual Best of the Fest list. I was able to catch a total of 60 films this year (my full list on Letterboxd), watching online from home (to stay safe and save some money). This is my 16th year in a row covering Sundance, and this fest still has a special place in my heart. I am always excited about the films and filmmakers they bring. I am presenting one big list of my 10 favorite films - a mix of docs and features. All of these below are worth watching, and I highly recommend seeking them out whenever they show up at your local cinema. I am glad Sundance has continued to do their best with a film festival even in this crazy times during an ongoing pandemic, because we all need good cinema like this. Below are my favorites, the films that connected with me and have remained on my mind all the way through the 10 days of the festival. https://onfs.net/3olXztu

Werner wants love, but Klaus has other plans. Okay this is amazing. There's a marvelous new short film to watch called My Dinner with Werner, made by filmmaker Maverick Moore. It's a terrifically witty riff on My Dinner with Andre, but about a mythical maybe it happened, maybe it didn't, dinner in the 1980s with Werner Herzog. While on a blind date dinner, a young Herzog is suddenly confronted by deranged actor Klaus Kinski. Things get even crazier as the evening goes on – of course. "Inspired by the real-life, totally bonkers 'friendship' between legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog and controversial actor Klaus Kinski, the film is a wildly bizarre comedy about a mid-80s blind dinner date with a murder plot as the main dish." This stars Matthew Sanders as Werner, Andrew Perez as Klaus, Chynna Walker as Christine, along with Grant Virtue, Trey Dickerson, Brenda Henderson, Ka Beesler. It's even better than you're hoping - the performances are all spot on and, while a bit too long, the whole film is so damn good. Available below. https://onfs.net/3se7dzI

"Forget about the girl! Get out of here." Epic Pictures has revealed the trailer for an indie hitman action movie titled The Last Mark, yet another movie repeating pretty much the same plot of a hitman who has to do one last job before he retires. But he can't take out this person because it's a woman. Oh how original. This film opens on VOD at the beginning of March if anyone wants to watch. After a young woman witnesses a mob hit, a seasoned assassin and his psychotic partner must track her down before she turns them in, but she proves to be the hardest mark to kill. The Last Mark is directed by Reem Morsi and stars Alexia Fast, Shawn Doyle, Bryce Hodgson, Josh Cruddas, and Jonas Chernick. There's not much to see here, it doesn't look any good. The poster is the best part about this release, and it's not even that impressive either. https://onfs.net/3LlZRmD

"To us teenagers, she was a babe!" Madman Films has released an official trailer for the documentary film Elizabeth, a biopic profile of the iconic Queen of England. This film is made by the acclaimed filmmaker Roger Michell, known for his many features over the years including Notting Hill, Changing Lanes, Venus, Morning Glory, Hyde Park on Hudson, Le Week-end, My Cousin Rachel. His latest is this - a documentary on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-lived, longest reigning British monarch and longest serving female head of state in history. Why now? Who knows! "With extraordinary access to rare footage from the Royal Archives, Elizabeth is a cinematic celebration of an icon that reveals a unique glimpse of the woman behind the legend." It sounds like it won't be critical because it's more of a look at this woman and her life, not so much a commentary about the Royal Family and what they do. But the interviews here do seem fun. https://onfs.net/3AUWM89

"My motive: I want to change the world." Super LTD has debuted the full-length official trailer for the film Ted K, from filmmaker Tony Stone. This originally premiered last year at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival, and it played at Camerimage and the Stockholm Film Festival. Sharlto Copley stars as the infamous madman bomber. The film is an exploration of Ted Kaczynksi's life in Lincoln, Montana in the years leading up to his arrest as The Unabomber. Based on Kaczynski's diaries and writings, it's a kaleidoscopic true crime journey into the life of one of America's most complex and eccentric killers. It features a tour-de-force performance by Copley who portrays the complexity of this unique outsider, raging at the forces of both the inescapable technological society that plagues him and his inner demons. Also with Drew Powell, Travis W Bruyer, and Wayne Pyle. Both trailers are superb, not only gripping but edited to make me want to watch this now. https://onfs.net/3uGI8Ar

"A minute late, the deal is off!" Brainstorm Media has revealed an official US trailer for an indie thriller titled Nightride, arriving in the US starting in early March. The film is a "realtime one shot" thriller from BAFTA-nomninated director Stephen Fingleton and starring Moe Dunford (of Vikings, Texas Chainsaw Massacre). A small-time dealer tries to pull one last deal with cash borrowed from a dangerous loan shark. When the handover goes wrong and the deal is off, he races against the clock to find his missing product and secure a new buyer before the loan shark finds him. In addition to Moe Dunford as the driver, the small cast includes Joana Ribeiro, Gerard Jordan, Ciaran Flynn, John Travers, and Stephen Rea. This first premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival as well, but there wasn't much buzz then. It looks quite good. https://onfs.net/3AY3yK9

"What's inappropriate? Inappropriate, says who?" Kino Lorber has unveiled the official US trailer for an indie drama from Israel called Ahed's Knee, the latest from acclaimed award-winning filmmaker Nadav Lapid. He won the top prize Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival a few years ago for his film Synonyms, and this is his follow-up - an extremely critical takedown of Israel and its many problems with censorship and hypocrisy. It originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in competition last year, and ended up winning the third place Jury Prize during the fest. An Israeli filmmaker throws himself in the midst of two battles doomed to fail: one against the death of freedom, the other against the death of a mother. Lapid wrote the film soon after the death of his own mother, who worked as an editor on many of his works. It offers a sharp critique of censorship, hypocrisy, and violence instigated by Israel & repressive governments. Starring Avshalom Pollak & Nur Fibak. I'm a big fan of how this film lashes out and fights for the truth. https://onfs.net/3AXMiEO

"I'm really worried about this industry going down..." SOMM TV has revealed the official trailer for a new documentary film titled Saving the Restaurant, marking the feature debut of cinematographer Andrew Ackerman. This film follows the Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey for the entire pandemic lockdown, as he struggles to fight to keep restaurants alive and keep restaurant employees paid during the last two years of the ongoing pandemic. "This is the story of one of the greatest restaurateur's struggle to save restaurants in America." Featuring appearances by Bobby Stuckey, Danette Stuckey, Dustin Wilson, and Thomas Keller. It's hard to watch anything about the pandemic because we're still in it, and it is still affecting everything around us. But I do sympathize with this issue. Especially because at the end of the day, food IS an essential part of daily life for everyone. Even during a pandemic. And restaurants shouldn't have to suffer this much. https://onfs.net/3HwSqX6

"Out here, things start to get real strange..." Screen Media Films has revealed the official US trailer for the film Gold, which is arriving in theaeters in the US starting this March. When two drifters traveling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found, the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate their bounty with one man leaving to secure the necessary equipment. The other remains and must endure harsh desert elements, ravenous wild dogs, and mysterious intruders, whilst battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his own fate. Zac Efron co-stars with Anthony Hayes, who also directs the film. Not to be confused with the other Gold film starring McConaughey. We featured the first trailer a few months ago. This still reminds me of David Michôd's film The Rover with its gritty post-apocalyptic style. Who wants to bet it's not actually gold they found? Maybe. https://onfs.net/3Gp0xUl

"If I couldn't be best at being best, I'd sure as hell be best at being worst." Netflix has unveiled a fun teaser trailer for their upcoming crime series Clark, made by Swedish filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (known for the films Spun, Lords of Chaos, Polar). Clark tells the story of the Swedish criminal who gave rise to the idea of "The Stockholm Syndrome" during a failed bank robbery in Stockholm in the 1970s. Clark Olofsson has been referred to as a "celebrity gangster", and over his many decades has managed to escape prisons and commit robberies all over Europe. Åkerlund explains: "Clark is the story about the most politically incorrect man, who lived the most politically incorrect life. These are the kinds of stories I always look for. It’s an ultra-violent, witty, emotional, real and surreal biography to put a face to the name 'Stockholm Syndrome', but it isn’t just about the Norrmalmstorg Robbery. It’s about his whole life and what made him who he is, the truth and lies of his incredible career." Bill Skarsgård stars as Clark; he's joined by Alicia Agneson, Vilhelm Blomgren, Sandra Ilar, Kolbjörn Skarsgård, and Hanna Björn. This teaser rocks! I'm sold. https://onfs.net/3sovEdY

Who would've thought that a documentary about some bozo that invented a new bulletproof vest would be this fascinating and this unsettling?! But that's exactly why I had to watch this film and find out what it's all about and holy sh*t, it's totally nuts! This guy is nuts! But that is the story, that's the entire point of making this film. Another tale of the "American Dream" gone wrong. Iranian-American filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (making his first doc after many features including Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, At Any Price, 99 Homes, The White Tiger) has cooked up his version "Tiger King" with this documentary called 2nd Chance, which just premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The engrossing documentary tells the story of Richard Davis, a doofus from Michigan that somehow invented some lightweight bulletproof vests as part of a police fanboy fantasy. The way it plays out from there is totally crazy, and it gets even crazier as the story goes on. https://onfs.net/3uvLaXU

"The goal was to see how far his dreams would take him, but I had no idea where life would take us next." Netflix has debuted the full-length official trailer for their epic three-part documentary series jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, looking back at the prolific rise & musical genius of hip-hop mastermind Kanye West. This doc just premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival recently. Their intro: "You can't manufacture a project like jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy; it takes decades of vision, commitment, prayers, and perspective to produce. It seems providential that Coodie & Chike should be the ones to make the definitive film about [his] career thus far, as they were the filmmakers who introduced him to the masses with their documentary music video for 'Through the Wire.' This epic three-film doc features hours of fly-on-the-wall footage and paints a sweeping portrait of one of pop culture’s most controversial figures." What a killer trailer. I like the twist midway in, when the directors admit they've grown apart from Ye, but still feel they must tell his story. https://onfs.net/3JarrRP

"I'm not making this up!" Dark Sky Films has revealed a new trailer for Take Back The Night, an intense vigilante horror-thriller made by filmmaker Gia Elliot. This premiered at a bunch of genre film festivals last year, including the Telluride Horror Fest, and is arriving on VOD in March this year. Finding herself the victim of a violent monster attack, Jane launches a vigilante campaign to hunt the beast that tried to kill her. Her troubling history of drug use & mental illness causes her family, community, and authorities to question the authenticity of her account. Suddenly alone in her fight, Jane starts to doubt if this Monster exists at all. Emma Fitzpatrick (seen in Before We Go, Sleepwalker, and "Dan Is Dead") stars as Jane, with Angela Gulner, Jennifer Lafleur, Sibongile Mlambo, Corina Kinnear, Kati Sharp, Natalie D'Amico, and Jess Varley. This looks stylish & terrifying, but also looks like an extremely obvious metaphor about sexual assault "monsters" (which they are!) and how hard it is to fight them. I still hope she gets rid of this bastard. https://onfs.net/3uv9mdc

"What if I told the police where you buried Barcelo?" Netflix has revealed the official trailer for a French action-thriller titled Restless, also known as Sans répit, arriving on Netflix later this month. Another of these French films about a sketchy cop getting into trouble. After going to extremes to cover up an accident, a corrupt cop's life spirals out of control when he starts receiving threats from a mysterious witness. When the investigation of the missing person is given to one of his colleagues, and an anonymous witness tries to blackmail him, things start to get really out of hand. Franck Gastambide stars, with Simon Abkarian, Michael Abiteboul, Tracy Gotoas, Jemima West, & Serge Hazanavicius. Damn this looks intense! When the French want to go big on action, they go all out with all kinds of explosive action. Check this out. https://onfs.net/34mPPAT

"Silence from an audience was always my fear. And anything I could do to break that silence became more important than anything else." IFC Films has revealed the first teaser trailer for a wacky film titled Flux Gourmet, a sort of strange indie horror dark comedy about a "food collective", made by the director of Berberian Sound Studio. Their goal is to produce art and explore the sounds created by food. Uh, yeah. Set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, a collective finds themselves embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders. It stars Asa Butterfield, Gwendoline Christie, Ariane Labed, Fatma Mohamed, Makis Papadimitriou, Leo Bill, Richard Bremmer. This is premiering at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival this month before a release coming up this summer. I'm not a fan of Strickland's films, and this looks like he went overboard on the artsy-fartsy let's create art from music and throw food around whatever. Not my jam. But maybe it's your jam? Find out below! Bon appetite. https://onfs.net/3ryWUa4

"Wait, you have 10 kids!?" Disney has revealed an official trailer for their new remake of Cheaper by the Dozen, an "diverse" take on the family comedy. The original Cheaper by the Dozen opened in 2003 with Steve Martin with a big cast including Hilary Duff and Piper Perabo. The Disney+ Original movie Cheaper by the Dozen, which is a fresh new take on the 2003 hit family comedy will premiere in March exclusively on Disney+. Check out the trailer for a glimpse at the funny and heartwarming story of the raucous exploits of a blended family of 12, the Bakers, as they navigate a hectic home life while simultaneously managing their family business. Ohh how original. This new movie's ensemble cast features Gabrielle Union, Zach Braff, Erika Christensen, Timon Kyle Durrett, Journee Brown, Kylie Rogers, Andre Robinson, Caylee Blosenski, Aryan Simhadri, Leo Abelo Perry, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Christian Cote, Sebastian Cote, and Luke Prael. Looks exactly like the for-everyone "content" Disney wanted this to be. https://onfs.net/3JakPCR

"Your eyes are getting worse!" Gravitas Ventures has unveiled a trailer for The Other Me, an indie drama from a Georgian filmmaker named Giga Agladze. This was quietly dumped this month without marketing or promotion at all, and no festival debuts. Jim Sturgess stars as an architect who is diagnosed with a rare eye disease, sending him into a surreal reality in which he sees people's "true motives". As these visions get more intolerable, he falls for a mysterious woman and confronts the truth about his own identity. The film's cast also includes Rhona Mitra, Orla Brady, Andreja Pejic, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, and Jordi Mollà. It's also executive produced by David Lynch, which is a bit strange. But this whole trailer is strange. There's one weird shot of shadowy figures, but the rest of it is just Sturgess going around yelling at nobody? https://onfs.net/3HBB5fJ

"I got a lot of things to do... And I need my memory to do it." Apple TV+ has revealed an official trailer for an upcoming streaming series titled The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, starring Samuel L. Jackson as "an ailing man forgotten by his family, by his friends, and by even himself." So sad. Suddenly left without his trusted caretaker, Ptolemy Grey is assigned to the care of an orphaned teenager named Robyn. When they learn about a treatment that will restore Ptolemy’s dementia-addled memories, it takes them all on a journey toward shocking truths. The six-episode series will debut will debut this March on Apple TV+. The cast also includes Dominique Fishback, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, and Damon Gupton. Well this looks quite interesting. Jackson looks better than he has been for years with a deep, complex performance. And I'm glad this film explores the challenges that come with dementia in this way. Definitely worth a look. https://onfs.net/3sqztiH

"Something happened on the island a few years ago." Well Go USA has revealed another official trailer for time loop horror thriller 6:45, made by filmmaker Craig Singer. This already opened last year, apparently although we never heard about it, and it lands on DVD coming up in March (which is what this new trailer is for). What if one of the best days of your life suddenly turned into your very worst nightmare? What if you were forced to relive that same day again and again? A couple embarks on a weekend getaway only to find the island curiously deserted. After stumbling upon the town’s dark secret, they trigger a time loop, forcing them to relive a demented cycle of terror with seemingly no means of escape. The film stars Michael Reed, Augie Duke, Armen Garo, and Thomas G. Waites. This is a very eclectic trailer that goes all over the place, with an intense ending flashing back to the start time over and over. Not sure if this will be any good? https://onfs.net/35XOFw7