Other festivals that have confirmed online offerings include Chattanooga and Panic Fest. Virtual access is often geo-locked due to licensing agreements. Some viewers use VPNs to get around those restrictions, but that’s a personal call, and not one I’m about to moralise for you. For geeks who must see a film, the cleanest option is often the most annoying one: wait until it’s legally available in your region.
With that in mind, here are five essentials I’m keeping my eye on, including one title that should be available online.
In the Blink of an Eye
In the distant past, a Neanderthal family struggles to survive after being displaced, doing what they can to protect their children with little more than primitive tools. In the present day, Claire (Rashida Jones), a driven post-grad anthropologist studying proto-human remains, begins a relationship with fellow student Greg (Daveed Diggs). And two centuries later, on a spaceship bound for a distant planet, Coakley (Kate McKinnon) and a sentient onboard computer confront a disease afflicting the ship’s oxygen-producing plants.
This one sounds more philosophical than anything else. Mortality, legacy, maybe reincarnation, it’s all on the table. Life can disappear in the blink of an eye. That’s true whether it’s an asteroid, an illness, or a single choice made at the wrong moment.
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
It’s body horror filtered through a sense of humour that feels very at home in midnight movie circles. The title says enough, and spoiling the specifics would do it a disservice. This is the sort of film that plays best when you walk in knowing only that things are about to get weird.
Zi (Also available online)
In Hong Kong, a young woman feels uncertain about her future. When her visions keep turning grim, a stranger enters her orbit and offers a possible shift in direction, for better or worse. There’s a touch of the fantastic, but what matters most is how the film uses the past as a tool to shape what comes next.
Undertone
While she usually plays skeptic to the creepy audio files sent by co-host Justin (Adam DiMarco), the latest submission hits differently. A set of ten unheard recordings from a young pregnant couple unfurls one by one, each more ominous than the last. As Evy draws parallels to her own life, hidden messages begin to manifest, pushing her toward paranoia and madness.
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
Working with Charlie Tyrell, Roher explores both the dazzling possibilities and the risks of fast-evolving tools, along with the price they may carry. Interviews, home videos, and animation help ground the topic in something human rather than abstract. It also aims to dispel a few myths, while still making space for the concerns that matter most.
If you want one title on this list that feels urgent rather than escapist, this is it.
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