Slamdance, the indie film festival which runs January 20-26 in Park City and considers itself the counter to the big, Hollywood infused Sundance Film Festival, has now announced its slate of films for 2012. It’s an interesting and diverse mix of drama, comedy and other staples of the indie world and should offer attendees and judges lots of good choices.

Here’s the slate:

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

BINDLESTIFFS – Director: Andrew Edison, Screenwriters: Andrew Edison, Luke Loftin. (USA)

World Premiere. Three smart-mouthed high school virgins, suspended from school on a graffiti charge, flee to the inner city to live out the plot of The Catcher in the Rye. Cast: Andrew Edison, Luke Loftin, John Karna

Comforting Skin – Director: Derek Franson, Screenwriter: Derek Franson. (Canada) US Premiere. A lonely young woman’s desperate need for emotional and physical companionship draws her into a surreal and ultimately destructive relationship with a shifting and whispering tattoo she has willed to life on her skin. Cast: Jane Sowerby, Tygh Runyan, Victoria Bidewell

Doppelgänger Paul – Director: Dylan Akio Smith, Kris Elgstrand, Screenwriter: Kris Elgstrand. (Canada) US Premiere. The unlikely relationship of two lonely men whose connection sets off a chain of events resulting in the loss of a thumb, the theft of a manuscript, and two appearances on a popular morning talk show. Cast: Brad Dryborough, Tygh Runyan

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Tucker & Dale vs Evil is a comedy horror film about two hillbillies on their dream vacation to a cabin in the woods who get mistaken for kidnappers when they try to help out a girl that fell into the lake.  Completed in 2010, this film has had a tough time finding a distributor after it premiered at Sundance.

I sat down with the director, Eli Craig, to talk about his experience with this film.  The conversation started off light, with him telling me about the new trailer that was premiering that weekend at their panel in Hall H.

The Flickast: So are you having a good weekend?  Have you gotten to experience Comic Con at all?

EC: I haven’t.  I’ve just been doing these interviews.  But I do want to go check it out.  My 5 year-old son is in there somewhere running around with a chainsaw and a hillbilly costume.

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It’s always nice when we see independently financed and released films get their first trailer to entice an audience. There is no “Bay-esque” flash cuts, no mysterious title cards, just some awesome action and intense sequences thrown together with dialogue reminiscent of Clerks and brought to us by @ThatKevinSmith. Yes. That’s how he’s credited.

That’s how to cut a trailer. And that’s exactly what we get in the very first trailer for Smith’s Red State, the film so indie that he’s releasing it to theaters himself. Here’s the premise for the writer/director’s first horror film to date.

Red State begins by following three horny high-school boys who come across an online ad from an older woman looking for a gang bang. Boys being boys, they hit the road to satisfy their libidinal urges. But what begins as a fantasy takes a dark turn as they come face-to-face with a terrifying “holy” force with a fatal agenda.

Instead of relying on archetypes and predictable formulas, Smith meticulously fashions all-too-real characters, utilizing exceptional performances (notably by Michael Parks) and an intelligent script. His realistic style gives the film an intimate feeling, heightening the terror to biblical proportions. Red State is a shocking new kind of horror film that aggressively confronts higher powers and extreme doctrines with a vengeance.

That’s right, you’ve got the man that brought us the line “snoochie boochies” giving us a religious thriller with a pretty stellar cast. Leading that charge is the legendary Michael Parks, along with Kevin Pollak and John Goodman as the two would-be heroes of the tale (at least that’s what we’re hoping).

Take a look at the trailer after the jump and be sure to hit your local arthouse when Red State hits it on October 19th.

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Kevin Smith can’t seem to get a break. Sure, things were great back when Clerks blew up and his deal with Mirimax helped him form a career. But between his issues with Dogma and the church, getting an audience for Clerks 2, the problems with getting Zack and Miri Make A Porno and the trouble with Cop Out,  the guy can’t seem to get a break lately in Hollywood.

Yesterday, Smith brought his newest project, the horror film Red State, to Sundance and had planned on a public auction for the film’s distribution immediately after the screening. He later decided that he was going to distribute the film itself to prove that the indie film world still held strong.

So, for a whopping $20, Smith bought the film from himself, and is now planning on taking the flick on the road with a very grassroots plan to get awareness and make back the film’s $4 million budget. From THR:

The film will go out via Smith’s SModcast with no marketing spend, though he said that he will talk to “any smart exhibitor” about potentially showing the movie.

“We are going to make our money back by going out on the road and going city by city,” said Smith. The tour will begin March 5 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and make a stop at Midland Theater in Kansas City one week later.

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There are plenty of genre films flooding Hollywood today. What was once a niche market has now become quite a popular section of the box office on a week-to-week basis. With remakes, reboots, and sequels taking over, it’s nice to see a truly original film sneak by and surprise us all.

Catfish first popped up during the Sundance Film Festival, surprising nearly everyone in attendance, and confusing the rest. At that time, the film was declared “ready to blow away the public” but now we’re finally getting our first trailer for the film.

We don’t want to give too much away, but the title doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the film itself, so we’ll let the synopsis do the heavy lifting.

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel’s brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

Interest piqued? Well, check out the trailer after the jump, and make sure to sit through the first half so that you get to the good stuff. Catfish hits theaters on September 17th.

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We’ve been following director Vincenzo Natali’s latest film Splice for a little while now because, among other reasons, we’re big fans of sci-fi around here and his first film, Cube, was a pretty great low-budget first feature effort. And now, thanks to the power of the Internets (and the folks at Collider), we can bring you a new clip from the film as well as a poster.

In case you’re not familiar with Splice, it concerns “superstar genetic engineers Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) specialize in splicing DNA from different animals to create incredible hybrids.” These driven scientists use human DNA to create a hybrid that, at first, surpasses their wildest dreams.

But as this hybrid, called Dren, begins to grow, those dreams turn into nightmare as it begins to develop unexpected abilities and appetites. Well, that does sound scary and after looking at this latest clip, I’m even more interested in this film. The effects look pretty good for such a low budget and who doesn’t love science gone wrong allegories? I know I do.

We’ll bring you more on this film as it gets closer to the release date, including an exclusive interview with director Vincenzo Natali, so be sure and check back soon. Until then, check out the clip and poster after the jump. Splice hits theaters on June 4.

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Winter’s Bone is  stark, bleak and haunting. It won the Grand Jury Prize and a screenwriting award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. This is the second film by director Debra Granik.  Her debut film Down to the Bone played at the 2004 Sundance Festival, and earned her a Best Director Prize.

At the heart and soul of this drama is Ree, a seventeen year old girl living in the wooded Ozarks with her mother and two younger siblings.  It is never made  apparent why, but Ree’s mom is completely incapable of caring for the family. She is non-communicative and just sort of stares into space all the time.

That leaves Ree to man the household, so to speak. She chops wood, shoots and skins squirrels, and cares for their animals the best she can. As played by an astonishing Jennifer Lawrence, Ree is the embodiment of a girl forced to be a woman and caretaker far before her time.

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Even though Mark and Jay Duplas’ Cyrus was already a hit with audiences at Sundance this year, Fox Searchlight is taking the film to SXSW as well to help build awareness and excitement for the film. Seeing as we’re big fans of the entire creative team involved with Cyrus, we’re happy to bring you info about it right here.

Basically, the film follows the life of John (John C. Reilly) a depressed, recently divorced guy who is pretty much a complete loser, desperate for attention. At a party, he manages to hook up with the hot Molly (Marisa Tomei) who, it turns out, has an adult son: Cyrus (Jonah Hill).

Cyrus and his mom have a somewhat interesting and open relationship and he will go to pretty much any lengths to protect her from anyone, especially John. Before long, the two are locked in a battle of wits for the woman they both love and only one man can be left standing when it’s over.

Everyone involved with this film seems to be at the top of their game, even Hill who seems to finally be coming into his own opposite two fantastic pros like Reilly and Tomei. Plus, it just looks really funny — which, sadly, you can’t always say about some “comedies” these days.

Be sure and check out the trailer after the jump. Fox Searchlight releases Cyrus on July 9th.

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It’s debatable, but many say that John C Reilly is one of the funniest working actors today. His range from such films as Chicago and Magnolia to Step Brothers or his recurring role as Dr. Steve Brule on Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! proves that the man has the chops to pull off just about any role — as long as that role can be a middle-aged man with curly hair.

He’s now taking on something else humorous, with a bit of a darker tone: the Duplass Brothers’ Cyrus. The film is about a rundown guy who meets and falls for an attractive older woman, played by the new indie queen Marisa Tomei. Things are going well until he finds that she’s got a 30 year old son, played by Jonah Hill.

The synopsis reads like a different take on Step Brothers, but after watching the trailer, you can be assured that this film actually has a script, rather than Ferrell and Reilly riffing off of each other for 90 minutes. It also sounds a bit like science fiction, if we are to believe that Marisa Tomei birthed Jonah Hill, but we can suspend disbelief for this one.

The film is currently screening at Sundance and turning quite a lot of heads. Check out the official trailer after the jump, and we’ll be sure to have more on a release date and distributor as they happen.

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Ryan Reynolds is a pretty busy guy. Not only is casting news and general buzz generating for his titular role in DC’s upcoming Green Lantern, but the writers have already been hired for the Deadpool script, which will begin shooting when he’s done donning his emerald ring.

Somewhere in there, he’s had the time to shoot Rodrigo Cortés’ thriller about a U.S. contractor who’s kidnapped by a group of Iraqis and buried alive. The film has already gotten plenty of buzz from Sundance, but may have the same misfortune that The Hurt Locker got at the Golden Globes.

The very first teaser trailer for the film has been released, which almost takes a turn in a viral direction. In the film, Reynolds is stuck underground, in his own would-be tomb, with only a lighter and a cell phone. One can’t imagine that this film cost Transformers money.

Check out the teaser trailer after the jump, and expect to hear more about a U.S. release date as studios bid for distribution rights.

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Though this may not be a first look for many, The Adventures of Power is a brand new independent film sneaking up on us next month that proves to look quite good. From relative unknown director Ari Gold, who once won a student Oscar for his film Helicopter, the film is about a boy’s dream to become the world’s best air drummer.

With the same aesthetic as Napoleon Dynamite, the film looks like it will find it’s youth audience. The movie stars Gold in the lead as Power, alongside Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, and Entourage‘s Adrian Grenier, who is also in the band The Honey Brothers with Gold.

The movie first debuted at Sundance last year and went home as the Official Selection of the show. With that and a series of other selections from dozens of film festivals, Adventures of Power looks to be one of the cult comedy hits of the year. Check out the official trailer below, and Join the Power in select theaters across the country starting on October 9th.

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