Sundance Film Festival 2026 Midnight Lineup Includes Casper Kelly’s ‘Buddy’ And More

Meagan Navarro

With a new edition just around the corner, the Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its 2026 slate of programming that’s packed with exciting and buzzworthy new horror.

Today, the fest announced their comprehensive slate of films selected from the fest that will take place January 22–February 1, 2026, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online starting January 30. Packages and passes are available now at Sundance’s site.

In addition to a special Park City Legacy screening of Saw, the 2026 slate also includes the premiere of The Toxic Avenger director Macon Blair reunites with Peter Dinklage on psychedelic dark comedy The Shitheads, and V/H/S/Halloween director Casper Kelly’s Buddy.

What are you most excited to see at Sundance next year? Read on for all the horror heading to the Sundance Film Festival 2026:

MIDNIGHT: From horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include FRESH, Hereditary, Mandy, Relic, Assassination Nation, and The Babadook.

 

Mike Diamond and Tamra Davis appear in The Best Summer by Tamra Davis, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Tamra Davis.

The Best Summer / U.S.A, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand (Director and Producer: Tamra Davis, Producer: Shelby Meade) — Immersive POV camera footage reveals electric performances, candid interviews, and intimate backstage life with the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill — an all-access view inside an era-defining moment in music. World Premiere. Documentary.

 

Buddy

A still from Buddy by Casper Kelly, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Worry Well Productions.

Buddy / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Casper Kelly, Screenwriter: Jamie King, Producers: Tyler Davidson, Drew Sykes, Raphael Margules, J.D. Lifshitz, Tracy Rosenblum) — A brave girl and her friends must escape a kids television show. Cast: Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt. World Premiere. Fiction. 

 

Joe Bird appears in Leviticus by Adrian Chiarella, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ben Saunders.

Leviticus / Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Adrian Chiarella, Producers: Samantha Jennings, Kristina Ceyton, Hannah Ngo) — Two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other. Cast: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie. World Premiere. Fiction. 

 

Yvette Parsons, Hannah Lynch and Jonny Brugh appear in Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant by THUNDERLIPS, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Frances Carter.

Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant / New Zealand (Director and Screenwriter: THUNDERLIPS, Producers: Alix Whittaker, Morgan Leigh Stewart, Ilai Amar — 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. Cast: Hannah Lynch, Yvette Parsons, Arlo Green, Jackie van Beek. World Premiere. Fiction.   

 

Kelly Marie Tran appears in Rock Springs by Vera Miao, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Rocks Springs LLC.

Rock Springs / U.S.A., Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Vera Miao, Producers: Stephen Feder, Kiri Hart, Poppy Hanks, Greta Talia Fuentes, Jason Michael Berman, Jordan Moldo) — After the death of her father, a grieving young girl moves to an isolated house in a new town with her mother and grandmother, only to discover there is something monstrous hidden in the town’s history and the woods behind their new home. Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Benedict Wong, Jimmy O. Yang, Aria Kim, Fiona Fu. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for public.

 

Midori Francis appears in Saccharine by Natalie Erika James, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Shudder.

Saccharine / Australia (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Natalie Erika James, Producers: Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw) — Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes. Cast: Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald, Madeleine Madden. World Premiere. Fiction. 

 

Nina Kiri appears in undertone by Ian Tuason, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Dustin Rabin.

undertone / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Ian Tuason, Producers: Dan Slater, Cody Calahan) — The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way. Cast: Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michèle Duquet, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Jeff Yung. U.S. Premiere. Fiction.

NEXT: Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape the greater next wave in global cinema. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include East of Wall, Little Death, Seeking Mavis Beacon, KOKOMO CITY, A Love Song, RIOTSVILLE, USA, Searching, Skate Kitchen, A Ghost Story, and Tangerine. NEXT is presented by Adobe.

Cemre Paksoy and Bruce McKenzie appear in Night Nurse by DIRECTOR NAME, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Lidia Nikonova.

Night Nurse / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Georgia Bernstein, Producers: Edwin Linker, Liane Cunje, Veronica Barbosa, Lucy Rogers) — As a series of perverse scam calls unsettles an idyllic retirement community, a starry-eyed nurse becomes entangled with her mysterious patient. Cast: Cemre Paksoy, Bruce McKenzie, Eléonore Hendricks, Colleen Rose Trundy, Mimi Rogers. World Premiere. Fiction. 
PREMIERES: This showcase of world premieres presents highly anticipated films on a variety of subjects in both fiction and nonfiction. Fiction films that have screened in Premieres include Train Dreams, A Different Man, Past Lives, Passages, Promising Young Woman, Kajillionaire, The Report, The Big Sick, and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Past documentary films include Come See Me in the Good Light, Will & Harper, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Invisible Beauty, The Dissident, Lucy and Desi, and Miss Americana.

O’Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco and Mason Thames appear in The Shitheads by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

The Shitheads / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Macon Blair, Producers: Alex Orr, Brandon James, Dave Franco, Nathan Klingher, Mark Fasano, Josh Harris, Ford Corbett) — When two unqualified bozos are hired to transfer a rich teen to rehab, their straightforward gig quickly spirals into dangerous mayhem. Cast: Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Mason Thames, Kiernan Shipka, Nicholas Braun, Peter Dinklage. World Premiere. Fiction.

The post Sundance Film Festival 2026 Midnight Lineup Includes Casper Kelly’s ‘Buddy’ And More appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.