Some spoilers for “Lizzie” ahead.

Leave it to Chloe Sevigny and her long-time passion project “Lizzie” to unleash the first truly jaw-dropping scene of Sundance 2018. In Craig William Macneill’s take on the 1892 murders of Abby and Andrew Borden, long believed to be at the hand of Andrew’s daughter Lizzie (Sevigny), the infamous American criminal (she wasn’t ever convicted, but the court of public opinion is another matter) gets the chance to redraw her own history and motivations.

While Macneill’s film, which premiered at the Library theater on Friday night at Sundance, opens with the murders already completed in seriously bloody fashion, it then flashes back to the six months leading up to the horrific deaths. By the time Andrew and Abby bite it, Macneill and Sevigny, aided by Bryce Kass’ script, have made a strong case for why Lizzie did what she (might have) done, motivated...