The Sundance Film Festival has a history of introducing the world to some of the greatest horror movies ever to come to screens, from <em>The Blair Witch Project</em> to American Psycho, Ari Aster‘s Hereditary, and Jordan Peele‘s Get Out. In 2026, there was once again a singular breakout hit with critics that’s now about to arrive in theaters — Leviticus. An LGBTQ+ coming-of-age horror romance hailing from Australia, the film was widely hailed for the emotional relationship at its center, combined with an eerie atmosphere and a unique monster premise that plays to its leads’ desires. Ahead of its arrival next month, we’re thrilled to include the title as part of Collider’s Exclusive Summer Preview and share a chilling new sneak peek from the film.
Leviticus is led by Joe Bird, previously seen in Danny and Michael Philippou‘s smash-hit feature debut Talk to Me, and Stacy Clausen, who most recently starred in the Phoebe Dynevor-led disaster thriller Thrash at Netflix. They play star-crossed teenage boys, Naim and Ryan, who are magnetically attracted to each other amid their blossoming sexuality, yet are confronted with religious fanaticism in their isolated Australian town, trying to purge them of their feelings for one another. Their lives take an even darker turn, however, when they are haunted by a malevolent supernatural entity that dons the visage of the person they most desire. For Naim and Ryan, that person is each other, and they quickly realize that no matter where they run, there’s no stopping the entity from pursuing them.
Adrian Chiarella both wrote and directed the film in his feature debut, aiming to show horrors both frighteningly and unfortunately real in addition to its creative It Follows-esque monster. Speaking to Collider’s Perri Nemiroff at Sundance, he explained how his story was partly shaped by the true accounts of frightening practices, from conversion therapy to exorcisms, employed to “cure” LGBTQ+ people of their feelings, which he believed “sounded like a horror movie.” The result is a creepy, yet sensual film that plays on desire and the persistence of queer love in the face of hatred. Yet, when he started fleshing everything out, Chiarella realized he needed to create a central creature that reflected and enhanced these themes.
“But when I started writing and started doing good old-fashioned free writing and sitting there with the pen and paper and just writing to myself about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to explore, it clicked for me when I knew that I had to find a monster to do a horror movie. Every horror movie has some sort of monster, whether it’s a physical one or a metaphorical one, or it’s a natural thing. I knew that the monster in this had to be something that took the form of what you most desired. It had to prey on your own desires. When I knew that, then I knew I had a film.”
02
Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.
A Somewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people.
B A quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight.
C In my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what’s already in there.
D Wherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things.
E Somewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you’d expect is a threat.
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(question-text)
Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.
<p(04)
Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.
<p(05)
Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.
<p(06)
Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.
<p(07)
The final survivor always has a reason. What’s yours?
<p(08)
Your Best Chance Is Against…/h9/>
Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th
</span(result-card-banner-text)
</p(result-badge)
</ span(result-card-title)
Jason is relentless but predictable — that’s where you would exploit him.
</ p(result-card-text)
- You think like that; which means Jason would face someone who simply refused where he expected.
</li(bullets) - Your ability keeps moving gives you an edge.
</li(bullets) - The Crystal Lake survivors were always those who stopped running in circles.
</li(bullets) - You think like that; which means Jason would face someone who simply refused where he expected.
</li(bullets)
</ul(result-bullets))
Haddonfield Illinois · Halloween
</ span(card-banner-text)
</ p(badge)Michael Myers
</ span(card-title)Michael watches before he moves; he’s patient but almost impossible until it’s too late.
</ p(card-text)- You notice shapes in windows; cars parked wrong; silence where there should be sound.
</li(bullets) - Your spatial awareness instinct maps every room before you need them.
</li(bullets) - You’re not waiting; you’re someone who suspects something’s wrong.
</li(bullets)
</ul(bullets))
Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street
</ span(card-banner-text)
</ p(badge)Freddy Krueger
</ span(card-title)Freddy wins by getting inside your head using fears against you.
</ p(card-text)- You’re harder than most; you’ve faced uncomfortable truths without looking away.
</li(bullets) - The survivors on Elm Street understood what was happening.
</li(bullets) - Your psychological resilience keeps you alive here.
</li(bullets)
</ul(bullets))
Derry Maine · It
</ span(card-banner-text)
</ p(badge)Pennywise
</ span(card-title)Pennywise feeds on terror but cannot function against someone who stops being afraid.
</ p(card-text)- The Losers Club survived because they faced fears honestly.
</li(bullets) - You ask questions others avoid looking directly at what frightens you.
</li(bullets)
</ul(bullets))
Chicago · Child’s Play
</ span(card-banner-text)
</ p(badge)Chucky
</ span(card-title)Chucky’s advantage is nobody takes him seriously until it’s too late.
</ p(card-text)- You take threats seriously regardless of how they present themselves.
</li(bullets)
- You take threats seriously regardless of how they present themselves.
- The Losers Club survived because they faced fears honestly.
- You’re harder than most; you’ve faced uncomfortable truths without looking away.
- You notice shapes in windows; cars parked wrong; silence where there should be sound.
