With a stellar performance by Haley Bennett, Swallow is a surreal and candy-colored female empowerment thriller about the struggle for bodily autonomy. Joining the ranks of remarkably terrifying films about pregnancy, this drama revives the suspenseful mood—and style—of Rosemary’s Baby.

Marking her long-awaited return to fiction filmmaking, Andrea Arnold’s tender and surprising coming-of-age fable heralds an astounding debut from newcomer Nykiya Adams. Buoyed by spirited turns from Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, Bird leaps from overlooked fringes of life toward sky-high dreams.

A terse drama which defiantly rejects the modern conventions besetting American indie films, Anja Marquardt’s debut is a movie of great psychological complexity. A rare look into the world of sexual surrogacy, guided by enveloping cinematography carefully attuned to its characters’ many gestures.