Leviticus (2026)

Leviticus explains its monster’s rules in one hospital-room conversation, and it’s the clunkiest scene in an otherwise devastating movie. The rest is quietly brilliant. After his dad dies, Naim and his mother move to a devout small town in Victoria, where he falls hard for Ryan, a local boy with a tough-guy shell. When the boys are forced through a ritual meant to change who they love, something starts following them, and it wears the face of the person each one wants most. Adrian Chiarella, in his first feature, turns that idea into a horror movie about being afraid of your own heart. Joe Bird, so good in Talk to Me, is extraordinary as Naim, carrying fear and longing in every look. Stacy Clausen makes Ryan’s softness feel hard-won. The side characters are thin, and at 88 minutes some threads feel rushed. It made $8.9 million worldwide on a reported $3.5M. A 7.8 because it’s scary, tender and angry in all the right places. $370.28 says you stay seated until the very last note of the end-credits song.

What works: Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen are superb together, and the shape-shifting idea turns teenage longing into real, lingering dread.

What doesn’t: The entity’s rules arrive in one clunky explanation scene, and side characters like the grieving sister and the school bullies stay thin.

Who it’s for: Grown-up horror fans who want their scares tied to something real, and anyone who loved Joe Bird in Talk to Me.