As the screens go dim at Sundance, the Slamdance crew sweeps the floors after their closing reception, and the projectionists at the Rotterdam prepare to wind up their reels, one may wonder what films to watch for from these three popular film festivals. Having written about many of the films from these fests for the All Movie Guide, I thought it would be fun to pull together a collection of films that piqued my interest. Of course I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t have the most mainstream tastes when it comes to movies, so the flicks that I single out may not be the ones that will receive the most commercial exposure, and your mileage may vary. If you’ve seen something interesting at one of the fests – by all means feel free to chime in by voicing your picks in the comments section below!

Sundance Film Festival:

Broken: This paranoid tale of doppelgangers from the UK played as part of the Midnight lineup at Sundance, and sounds like it could be a nice little head trip for those who like their thrillers served up nice and spooky.

Choke – I checked the book out from the library a year or so back and stalled out around the twenty-page mark, so maybe Chuck Palahniuk just isn’t my thing; but the cast is interesting, I like Fight Club, and who can resist a flick about a sex-addict meeting junkie who moonlights as a restaurant choking victim in order to leech off of his Heimlich-maneuvering saviors?

Donkey Punch – A group of vacationing nightclubbers decide to party from the dance floor to somewhere more intimate, and it isn’t too long before everything starts to go wrong. This tense cross between Dead Calm and Sheitan sounds like a promising little thriller.

Downloading Nancy – Just the kind of movie I love – one that sends half the audience running from the theater completely outraged and the other half praising it as genius. This tale of an emotionally-bent housewife who leaves her husband to be with a man who promises to abuse and eventually kill her may not be an easy watch, but I still can’t wait to find out what all the controversy is about firsthand. I’m beginning to think that Maria Bello is one of the most fearless actresses around, and with a cast that also includes Jason Patrick and Rufus Sewell this could get interesting. Click for trailer.

Fear(s) of the Dark (also at Rotterdam) – A monochromatic collection of animated shorts, each of which attempts to capture the tone and dread of an actual nightmare, this horror omnibus could be a ghoulish – and visually striking - good time. Click for trailer.

Funny Games U.S. – This one should be interesting… the original Funny Games is perhaps one of the most gruelingly intense movies I’ve ever had the displeasure to watch. Michael Haneke has a reputation for making movies that challenge the viewer, and while many may question the motives behind remaking one of his older films virtually “scene by scene,” odds are he’s not planning on softening any of the brutal blows that made the original so chilling. It’ll certainly be great to see Tim Roth back up on the big screen, and I’m growing to like Naomi Watts more and more. Click for trailer.

Diary of the Dead (Also at Rotterdam) – I’ve already written a bit about this on one the blog, so I’ll keep it short. New Romero flick = me camping out at the box office three days early. Click for trailer.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson – Since the man is long gone and all we have are the memories, I’ll take them wherever I can get them.

Good Dick – Emerging writer/director/star Marianna Palka’s quirky debut feature sounds like just the thing to satisfy moviegoers in search of the next Juno.

In Bruges – Call me a big fat sucker, but the hyper-stylish trailer for this gleefully foul gangster flick hooked me. One of the most commercial films on this list to be sure, but it’s got a great cast and it looks like loads of fun. Click for trailer.

Otto: or, Up with Dead People – Any movie featuring an emo zombie and a film within a film about a gay zombie revolt against consumerist society sounds like fun to me. Seems as if director Bruce LaBruce is keeping the Romero tradition of blending gut-munching and social commentary, which is always a good sign in my book. Click for teaser.

Perro Come Perro – Black magic blending with underworld crime sounds a bit like Perdita Durango – a flick I liked quite a bit. Click for trailer.

Quentin Tarantino Presents Hell Ride – A throwback biker flick directed by Larry Bishop and starring Dennis Hopper, Vinnie Jones, and David Carradine – where are my Harley boots?!

Red – Who the hell knows what happened during the production of the film that was supposed to be May director Lucky McKee’s third feature film, but being such a big fan of the brutally intense book – not to mention actor Brian Cox - I’m holding out hope that they’ve somehow managed to pull off a fitting feature translation. I’ll certainly be interesting to see if the story behind this troubled production gets out some day, because it sounds like it sounds like a mess of Gilliam-esque proportions (sorry Terry - best of luck with the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus!).

Towelhead – Alan Ball blends American Beauty-style satire with Desert Storm-era social commentary. Advance word on this one seems fairly split, which always gets me curious.

Transsiberian – I’m always interested in seeing what Brad Anderson has cooked up, and this tale of an American couple experiencing tension on the Trans-Siberian railway sounds like it might offer some decent chills. With a cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, and Eduardo Noriega he’s definitely piqued my curiosity! I still get a bit unsettled thinking about Christian Bale and old crab hands in The Machinist.

Slamdance Film Festival:

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer – A pissed off janitor does battle with man-eating monsters – nice! What else can I say? …this one just looks like lots of fun. Click for trailer.

Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story – William Castle was the undisputed master of the movie gimmick, and any chance I have to learn more about this man is time well spent. Click for trailer.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father – Damned if I didn’t nearly break into tears while synopsizing this one. A documentary about a father who was gunned down by his jealous ex-girlfriend shortly before their child was born and the deplorable tragedy that followed (yup folks, sadly that awful homicide was only the beginning), Dear Zachary sounds like a true heart-breaker, and a story that’s much too strange and sad to be fiction. Click for official website.

Paranormal Activity – More Blair Witch-style antics, this time with a married couple who moves into a haunted house and set up a video camera in hopes of getting a clear shot of the things that go bump in the night. Some may be tired of this style of filmmaking by now, but I think it can still be effective if executed with some care. Still, as I’ve stated before, I think these particular kinds of flicks work better in your living room late at night than in a crowded theater. Thanks to stuff like Cops and America’s Funniest Videos we’ve been trained to buy what we see on television as reality, and somewhere between standing in line to purchase a ticket, walking to the counter to load up on concessions and then navigating a crowded theater to find a seat, that illusion of reality gets shattered. Click for trailer.

Real Time – I love me some Randy Quaid, and Jay Baruchel was great in Undeclared. This quirky take on the conflicted hit-man storyline could easily go both ways, but with a little luck this crew will pull off something fun and fresh.

Wesley Willis’ Joyrides – I’ll be the first to admit that listening to any more than two of Wesley Willis’ songs in a row is something akin to cleaning out your ears with sandpaper Q-tips, but I still think he’s a damned interesting character and this look at the last few years in the life of a famed “outsider artist” could be really fascinating. Click for trailer.

Rotterdam Film Festival:

Dai-Nipponjin – The advance word on this Japanese loser-versus-giant monster flick has been pretty great, making this one of my most anticipated titles of all the fests. Click for official Japanese website (Japanese-language trailer is the fifth gray button from the left)

Glory to the Filmmaker! – I’m a sucker for Takeshi Kitano flicks, so despite the fact that some may feel his shtick has grown tired I’m still geeked to see this self-referential satire. Click for Japanese-language trailer.

Junk Films: The Collected Short Shockumentaries of Tsurisaki – In the tradition of such revered shockumentaries as Mondo Cane, this grisly look at the work of a photographer who specializes in death scenes and other unsavory subjects won’t appeal to everyone, though it could be an interesting view for those with strong stomachs and nerves of steel. Click for teaser (but beware of graphic images!)

Let the Right One In – Here’s an interesting vampire tale with a twist: A bullied schoolboy befriends a little girl who just so happens to be a centuries-old vampire, and by the time he discovers the truth about his new friend he enjoys her company so much that he somehow manages to keep his cool about this curious development. Based on the novel “Let Me In” by author John Avjide Lindqvist (who also penned the screenplay). Click for trailer.

Lynch – I’ve always been fascinated by David Lynch – both the man and his movies – so this documentary shot during the production of Inland Empire could be a genuinely interesting watch – the filmmakers certainly have a fascinating subject! Click for Lynch iPhone ad (brief NSFW language).

REC – Anyone who knows me realizes that I’m a big fan of Spanish filmmaker Juame Balagueró (who co-directed REC with Paco Plaza, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting this story about a TV reporter and a cameraman who venture into out with a crew of firemen to cover what seems to be a typical call, and suddenly find themselves right in the middle of a true-life nightmare. Advance word on this one has been great, so consider me hyped! Click for teaser.

The Reinactors – Take a walk down Hollywood Boulevard to spend a year in the life of folks who dress up like famous movie icons and make their living by taking pictures with tourists. The concept makes me recall Trekkies, a documentary I could seriously put on a loop and watch ad nauseam. Click for trailer.