Leviticus, the debut feature from Australian writer-director Adrian Chiarella, opens in theaters June 19 through Neon. The film arrives carrying a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where Neon acquired it for a seven-figure sum.
Set in a small, isolated Christian community in Victoria, Australia, the film follows Naim and Ryan, two teenage boys whose mutual desire inadvertently summons a violent supernatural entity. The creature assumes the form of the person each boy desires most: each other. The title references the biblical book invoked by some denominations to condemn homosexuality. Chiarella fuses queer coming-of-age drama with body horror across a shoot that ran 30 days at 40 locations in the Melbourne area.
Joe Bird, known from Talk to Me, leads the cast as Naim. Stacy Clausen plays Ryan. Mia Wasikowska appears as Naim's mother. Chiarella described the film as "really a love story," adding that it explores "the idea of being true to yourself and letting go of fear." Variety named it a Critic's Pick, calling it "a tightly conceived, gripping queer horror" that will "earn a place in the pantheon of notable queer horror." Causeway Films and Salmira Productions produced.
The queer horror subgenre has built consistent critical momentum over the past several years. Whether Leviticus converts that goodwill into opening-weekend numbers is the question Neon answers this week.