Ready for mutated forest pygmies and munchkin-feeding zombies? Click your heels elsewhere. Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton’s indie horror flick builds tension by way of a mind-rattling, unexplained melody that ends up driving a group of researchers crazy. Borrowing from classics like The Shining and The Wizard of Oz, the duo delivers a scare without a ton of gore (okay, there’s some).
It’s like: The Blair Witch Project meets The Signal.
Take: A great and powerful Slamdance partner.
Premiered: Wednesday

Thumbsucker director Mike Mills’s second feature has us sticking our stubby digits elsewhere. Um, in the air. An autobiographical story about how we’re all amateurs when it comes to life’s surprises, last year’s Toronto International Film Fest charmer proves you can teach old dogs, including precarious pooch Arthur, new tricks. Fresh off one shocker (“I’m gay,” Dad says), illustrator Oliver gets another (“I’m dying,” Dad says). And so it begins.
It’s like: The Kids Are All Right but, thankfully, more Payne-ful.
Take: New friends.
Premieres: Today

Softly releasing earlier this year, Ed Gass-Donnelly’s eerie Canadian crime drama crosses the border and will leave you wanting more. It’s just over an hour long, but it takes only a second to succumb to Walter (Fargo’s unrecognizable Peter Stormare), a police officer whose once-muted violent temper flares up when a woman is found murdered. Fine-tuned performances aside, the character sketch’s real draw is its ominous, hypnotic Bruce Peninsula sound track.
It’s like: Witness meets The Killer Inside Me.
Take: A long lunch and go see it.
Expands: Today.

The last time chatter of virginity came up, we were working the snack bar at the skating rink. For Oliver Tate, captain of Richard Ayoade’s multifestival debut, it was before he turned 16. Drowning in delusion, he tries to keep his head above water as he woos flaky muse Jordana and keeps his mom from sinking her marriage with a neighboring ninja. And you won’t need sonar to spot Americana (i.e., Woody Allen and Ben Stiller) in this UK comedy.
It’s like: The Squid and the Whale meets Gentleman Broncos.
Take: A first mate.
Premieres: Today

Sci-fi savant J.J. Abrams teams with one of his idols, Spielberg, on his latest monster blockbuster. While filming, a group of youngster moviemakers witness a train wreck that’s more than meets the lens. Dogs go missing, people are abducted, and we can’t wait to see Coach Taylor on the big screen.
It’s like: The Goonies get Lost in War of the Worlds.
Take: The kids and the young at heart.
Premieres: June 10

We feel safer now that our favorite hobo (Rutger Hauer) has put down his shotgun to play old Frank in this Dutch romance, however brief his performance. No stranger to the Oscars, Ben Sombogaart brings aloft the soap opera of two people who fall in love in the sky, then part ways upon landing. The plot’s much rockier than that, but we don’t want to ruin your flight.
It’s like: Circle of Friends with a touch of Twin Sisters.
Take: First-class ladies.
Premieres: June 10

Howdy, meet the wise, insightful Buck, subject of this year’s Sundance Audience Award winner that won’t disappoint. He can ride, rope, train horses without restraint, do things with his hands that most men can’t. We can’t get him out of our head, no matter how hard we try. When you learn of his love for pup Duke, black pepper, and Bob Redford — you’ll see why.
It’s like: The Horse Whisperer channeling Oprah.
Take: Your hard-workin’ man.
Premieres: June 17

With all the 3-D, seventh-sequel, CGI-infested hoopla, it’s nice to spend time with The Gray Lady. Sundance’s fascinating tell-all from Andrew Rossi takes you into the sunlit office to eavesdrop on senior editor meetings, get to know its reporters, and see firsthand the effects of online media on print. Will The Times go belly-up? It’s not so black and white.
It’s like: The Paper starring the brilliantly frank, crack addict-turned-columnist David Carr.
Take: A buddy. Leave the crossword.
Premieres: June 17