Indie Fresh List

Indie Fresh List: Kindred, Ammonite, The Dark and the Wicked, and More

Check out the latest Fresh indie releases, including what's in theaters, what's on VOD, and what's coming soon.

by Jacqueline Coley | November 12, 2020 | Comments

Join us weekly as Rotten Tomatoes reports on what’s indie features are streaming. From promising releases by new voices to experimental efforts from storied filmmakers – or perhaps the next indie darling to go the distance for end-of-year accolades – we will break it all down for you here each week.

This week in our Indie Fresh List, we have a supersized edition featuring a pair of horror features, a doc about climate activist Great Thunberg, an period LGBTQ romance, and a buddy comedy. In our indie trailers section, we have clips featuring Bella Thorne, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, and Melissa McCarthy.

New This Weekend

Rosemary’s Baby and 1944’s Gaslight combine in this new horror tale from first-time director Joe Marcantonio featuring stellar performances from newcomer Tamara Lawrance and Killing Eve‘s Fiona Shaw. A young pregnant woman plagued by disturbing hallucinations begins to suspect the family caring for her has nefarious intentions for her unborn child. “With impressive, nuanced performances all round, this is a film that grips throughout despite its slow pace. You may decide early on that you know where it’s going, but the ending still makes an impact,” writes Jennie Kermode in Eye for Film.

Available now in select theaters and on VOD.

Bryan Bertino, the writer and director of The Strangers and The Monster, serves up another domestic terror tale in the brilliant and bloody The Dark and Wicked. Mixing the occult with the horror of grief and dying. The Dark and Wicked follows two siblings as they come to say goodbye and care for their father in his final days, only to discover that there is something sinister in the house around their parents. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “The ambient sound design, disturbing musical score, disorienting visuals, and subtle special effects add immeasurably to the overall impact, but it’s Ireland’s shattering performance that truly gives the film its gripping power.”

Available now in select theaters and on VOD.

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg took the world by storm with her work to combat the global climate change crisis and in doing so became one of the most recognizable activists on the planet. Chronicling her journey across the globe fighting for action, sitting down with world leaders, and making media appearances, I Am Greta gives an intimate look at the young woman behind the movement. Kelsey Adams of Georgia Straight writes, “Director Nathan Grossman captures the humanity of her larger-than-life tale with an unnervingly close look into her interior life.”

Streaming on Hulu November 13th

Portrait of a Lady on Fire fans will be right at home with Ammonite, a new period romance biopic about the famed paleontologist Mary Anning. Saorise Ronan and Kate Winslet play the lovers at the center of the tale. Brought together by a chance job offer, the two women fall in love over the course of the push-and-pull love story. Orla Smith of The Film Stage writes, “Ammonite will make you feel as if you’re right there in Lyme with Mary, sharing her loneliness and delighting in the small moments of joy she allows herself, all the while breathing in the crisp sea air.”

Playing select theaters on November 13th.

Producer Michael Angelo Covino writes, stars, and directs in his feature debut The Climb, a hilarious new buddy comedy about two lifelong friends whose relationship is put to the test when a woman comes between them. “A feature debut was written and directed with supreme assurance by Covino; it also boasts the most staggering long takes since 1917. As comedies go, this is our most exciting discovery of the year,” writes Larushka Ivan-Zadeh for Metro (UK).

Playing select theaters on November 13th.

Along with…

93% Alone (2020) , a thriller about a woman on the run who is stalked by a violent predator.

100% All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) , a documentary that examines the fight against voter disenfranchisement.

97% David Byrne's American Utopia (2020) , a Spike Lee-directed concert documentary of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s live stage show.

94% Babyteeth (2019) , a dark rom-com about a sickly girl who falls for the town screw-up.

72% Becky (2020) , a thriller about a girl left alone who must battle escaped convicts when they invade her vacation home.

93% Blue Story (2019) , a drama about two childhood friends who are torn apart by gang violence.

72% Black Box (2020) , a thriller about a widower recovering from a traumatic brain injury who undergoes experimental treatment.

80% The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020) , a rom-com about an aimless twenty-something who creates an art exhibit to showcase items from past relationships as a means to find closure.

79% Charm City Kings (2020) , a drama about a young man who is seduced by the Baltimore street bike community.

98% Disclosure (2020) , an in-depth documentary about trans performers on screen.

88% Get Duked! (2019) , a comedy about a group of teens who head to the woods for a nature hike, and hijinks ensue.

99% The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020) , about a middle-aged playwright who looks to re-invent herself by returning to her hip hop roots.

99% The Fight (2020) , a documentary about the lawyers who work on landmark cases at the Supreme Court for the ACLU.

86% I Used to Go Here (2020) , a comedy about a failed thirtysomething writer travels back to her alma mater trying to relive former glory.

94% John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020) , an intimate documentary on Civil Rights icon and politician John Lewis.

87% Lingua Franca (2019) , about a trans woman who goes to extreme lengths to avoid deportation.

99% Miss Juneteenth (2020) , a drama about a former beauty queen who looks to recapture her glory through her rebellious daughter’s own pageant run.

81% The Painted Bird (2019) , a visceral Holocaust drama about a young orphan’s journey through the grim events of World War II.

97% The Painter and the Thief (2020) , a documentary about an artist who develops an unexpected friendship with one of the men who stole some of her paintings.

63% Radioactive (2019) , a biopic about famed scientist Madame Curie.

91% Relic (2020) , a horror film centered on three generations of women as the elder matriarch suffers from Alzheimer’s.

94% Residue (2020) , about an Ethiopian filmmaker who heads home from school to find his community is unrecognizable.

73% The Rental (2020) , a thriller about a pair of couples who discover they’re under surveillance while vacationing at a seaside rental.

94% S...house (2020) , a coming-of-age romantic comedy about a wild night on a college campus.

88% The Short History of the Long Road (2019) , about a girl and her father who live nomadic lives out of their van.

98% Time (2020) , a documentary about a woman’s fight to free her husband from prison.

92% Unpregnant (2020) , a comedy about two former best friends who cross state lines to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

92% The Vast of Night (2019) , a sci-fi thriller about a young ham radio operator and a local DJ who hear a strange radio transmission.

90% We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (2020) , an eye-opening doc about Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s improv hip-hop group.

90% The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) , a dark comedy-thriller about a Sheriff who appears to be the only person not convinced the town is being terrorized by a werewolf.