Supernatural, genre films make 2014 Sundance splash

• The 2014 Sundance Film Festival revealed its dramatic and documentary competition on Wednesday
• The competition features a zombie love story and a ghost story for the indie festival Jan. 16-26
• Organizers revealed the World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions as well as the out-of-competition NEXT section

Ghost and zombie stories are generally reserved for the multiplexes rather than the Sundance Film Festival.

But the 16- film dramatic competition for 2014 features an infusion of supernatural themes in a genre-rich slate. On Wednesday, organizers revealed key line-ups for the independent film festival set for Park City, Utah, from January 16-26.

"These are filmmakers telling original stories, but enhancing the audience connection by incorporating genre elements into the films," says Trevor Groth, director of programming for the festival. "That's what we were drawn to and that's what we found unique about these films."

The competition includes the film Life After Beth, a non-traditional love story directed and written by Jeff Baena. The story features Aubrey Plaza as Beth, who after her untimely death returns as a zombie.

"She plays either the girlfriend or ex-girlfriend depending on whether you view her as dead or alive," says Groth. "It's fun and very clever."

Another competition film is Jamie Marks Is Dead (directed and written by Carter Smith), about a teenage boy who is killed and returns as a ghost to find the friendship he never had in life.

"The ghost story really is a metaphor to get into some larger themes," says Groth.

Continuing on the genre theme, the Norwegian-American co-production of The Sleepwalker is something festival director John Cooper calls "a thriller with some horror elements in it."

The thriller Cold in July features a cast including Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson and Sam Shepard.

Other highlights from the competition slate include Kristen Stewart as a prison guard at Guantanamo Bay in Camp X-Ray, John Slattery's directorial debut in God's Pockets (featuring his Mad Men co-star Christina Hendricks).

Anne Hathaway portrays a sister trying to pull her brother out of his coma in the film Song One. Meanwhile Saturday Night Live alums Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader star in The Skeleton Twins.

The festival organizers also announced its 16-film U.S. Documentary Competition, the World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary competitions as well as the out-of-competition NEXT section (for a complete list go to www.sundance.org/festival).

The festival features 117 feature-length films representing 37 countries and chosen from 12,218 total submissions.

The prestigious U.S. documentary competition continues to reflect current events, with a particular focus this year on worldwide turmoil.

The documentary E-TEAM, directed by Kate Chevigny and Ross Kaufman, looks at the investigative work of four human rights workers. Watchers of the Sky (by Edet Belzberg) explores five stories of remarkable courage in countries ranging from Syria to Rwanda.