Sundance 2020: 10 Films Everyone Is Buzzing About

4. Shirley

The premise of Shirley sounds like it would make for a great episode of The Twilight Zone, or something in that vein. A "fictional biography" of acclaimed mystery novelist Shirley Jackson (who wrote The Haunting of Hill House, which Netflix recently adapted into a show), Shirley stars Elisabeth Moss as the title character, and tells a story that didn't actually happen to her in real life. Thankfully.

The movie follows a young married couple that moves in with Jackson and her husband, but it doesn't turn out to be sunshine, rainbows and happy families: Jackson is in an unhinged mental state, and uses the young wife (as well as a missing local college girl) as inspiration for her next gothic novel.

Moss has been earning a ton of praise for her starring role, with critics calling the actress' performance "fearless" and "terrifying", while the movie's dreamy and unconventional visual style - as well as its strange audio cues, which include noises like bird song and train whistles - will constantly keep you on edge, questioning what exactly is going on.

Shirley hasn't been picked up by a distributor yet so it's unclear when we'll get to see it, but judging by its 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes (as of writing), it will likely be snapped up soon.