Jason Priestley was practically back to being his old self this past weekend at the Sundance Film Festival, where the former "Beverly Hills, 90210" hunk looked in on his new movie "Die Mommy Die" and spoke to PEOPLE about how he's doing after his race-car crash last August.

Priestley ran his car into a wall at the Kentucky Speedway at a speed of 180 mph. After breaking both feet and the middle part of his back, and suffering several fractures in and around his face, he recuperated at an undisclosed rehab facility in the Midwest.

Though Priestley, 33, preferred not to elaborate on the details of what occurred that fateful day -- "I don't want to talk about racing," he said flatly -- he did express a great deal of gratitude to be walking on his own again. "Not even (limping), thank God," he told PEOPLE.

He also says it's nice to be back in the swing of filmmaking. Of Sundance, he noted, "I only come here when I have a movie ... so, for me, it's more about actually seeing a film for the first time with an audience that's very knowledgeable about films. It's nice to gauge their reaction."

Even so, Sundance is no longer quite the winter getaway that he remembers. Alluding to the accident, he said good-naturedly, "I'm not going to be skiing this year, unfortunately. But I'm doing much better. I'm okay now."

He also added, "You know what I appreciate? I find that every year that goes by I appreciate what we do as actors and filmmakers. I really cherish the whole experience. That's my thing."