While the Sundance Film Festival might be best known for its prestigious indie releases, it has always offered a showcase for the best in international horror. From The Blair Witch Project to The Babadook, Sundance has launched the careers of countless horror filmmakers. So with the 2026 Sundance Film Festival wrapping this weekend, we sit down to get Matt Donato’s thoughts on the best horror releases at this year’s festival.
You can listen to the episode to get Donato’s full thoughts on each of these films, as well as some of the non-horror releases he loved. But here’s a bite-sized look at each of the films Donato shouts out.
Leviticus (dir. Adrian Chiarella)
Two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other. “It is very much a queer It Follows - that is the structure of the film, that is what you are going to watch,” says Donato. “But it’s a first-time filmmaker, it’s really well shot, the main performances are fantastic, and it lets you come to terms with the fact that, yes, it is queer It Follows, but familiarity isn’t a bad thing.”
undertone (dir. Ian Tuason)
The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way. “What works here is how, for a feature filmmaker, you’re able to make audio scary,” says Donato. “And figure out how to do that. Obviously, there’s the easy jump scare stuff, where an audio spike happens - volume is key in those. But there’s also this idea of children’s lullabies and children’s songs being played backwards to reveal messages.”
Saccharine (dir. Natalie Erika James)
Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes. “What succeeds here is her confidence as a filmmaker,” Donato says. “Talk about someone who owns the screen, and knows what she wants to put up there. It’s very scary at parts. It’s in your face in certain ways, where the horror is coming from ghosts that start appearing.”
Buddy (dir. Casper Kelly)
A brave girl and her friends must escape a kids television show. “The kids become more self-aware of being in the television show, and Buddy’s outed immediately as a psychopath,” Donato says. “In the very first episode, one kid dies, and another kid notices. In the next episode, he’s just replaced, and all of a sudden, they gain sentience, they know what’s going on. And from there, it just gets wilder and wilder.”
Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant (dir. THUNDERLIPS)
When a messy millennial underachiever accidentally gets alien-pregnant, she must overcome skeptical doctors, a useless baby daddy, and her oversharing mum in order to survive and reclaim her life. “You can laugh at this movie. There’s plenty to laugh at. And the practical that is here? I love when low-budget horror movies have fun with practical the whole time,” Donato says. “And it doesn’t have to look great, but it’s in front of you. And it’s rubbery. And it’s gooey. And it’s fun.”
The Sundance Film Festival episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.
