Is there anything worse than to be evicted and lose your job when you’re a couple pregnant with your first child? Broke and directionless, Cory and his wife Jasmine may not think so, but that’s before they’re forced to move in with Cory’s parents: the stern Richard and the icy cold Lyn. At first, the discomfort and awkwardness stem from the obvious — Cory’s folks are disappointed in their son and how his choices have led him back to their doorstep. But the longer the young couple stays, the more paranoid, fraught and furious they get, setting off an escalating power struggle that gives new meaning to “family dysfunction.”

With the funny and twisted Birthright, Australian writer-director Zoe Pepper makes an auspicious debut heralding the arrival of an exciting new voice in the world of pitch-black comedy. Pepper’s unique blend of absurdist humor and demented genre thrills provides the foundation for a scathing commentary on generational inequalities and toxic family dynamics. Consider it an intergenerational War of the Roses.—Matt Barone

Zoe Pepper