Ham on Rye
After an introduction into a fairly recognizable suburban teen scene—albeit soaked in more dreamy pastels and glittery lighting than your average suburb—Tyler Taormina’s debut slips into supernatural territory in the most thoughtful and non-shlocky way. With an ensemble of over 100 people (including non-actors, musicians, and '90s Nickelodeon child stars), it follows a prom-like ritual that gives way to "the decay of the human spirit," as press materials say. "The film's quiet eccentricity lends the economic implications of the students’ diverging paths an eerie air of muted anguish," writes Richard Brody for The New Yorker.