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How Talk To Me Actor’s New 95% RT Movie Is More Than Just Another Horror-Thriller Explained By Leviticus Director & Star

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How Talk To Me Actor’s New 95% RT Movie Is More Than Just Another Horror-Thriller Explained By Leviticus Director & Star


Joe Bird is back for another chilling horror tale with the highly acclaimed Leviticus, though he and his director say there’s a lot more going on with the film than frights.

Bird has been on a steady rise to stardom from within the horror genre since making his acting debut with the Adelaide Clemons-led Rabbit in 2017, particularly thanks to his breakthrough role as Riley, the younger brother to Alexandra Jensen’s Jade, in the A24 hit Talk to Me. He’s also gradually begun branching out to other genres, including the Western adventure Wolfram.

Hailing from Adrian Chiarella in his feature directorial debut, Bird leads Leviticus as Naim, a teenager living in a conservative Christian community in Victoria, Australia who finds himself becoming more attracted to fellow teen, Ryan. When their pastor discovers their affection for one another, he gathers his congregation to perform a ritual to “cure” them of their homosexuality, inadvertently unleashing a dangerous entity that takes the form of the person its victims desire most, leading to Naim and Ryan going on the run and finding themselves questioning their trust in themselves.

With a cast that also includes Crazy Fun Park‘s Stacy Lausen, The Artful Dodger‘s Nicholas Hope, The Stranger‘s Ewen Leslie and Judy and Punch‘s Mia Wasikowska, among others, Leviticus has been a critical darling since its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it was subsequently acquired by Neon for worldwide distribution. The horror film went on to have a two-night run at SXSW 2026, where it has since maintained its universal acclaim and currently holds a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In honor of its latest festival run, ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan interviewed Joe Bird and Adrian Chiarella in our SXSW media suite to discuss Leviticus. While discussing the overall premise of the film, the writer/director explained that while it is a horror film, “it’s really a love story,” chronicling Naim and Ryan’s journey of “falling in love” and their conflict in dealing with “this ritual that their community puts them through to try to undo their desire for each other“:

Adrian Chiarella: But I think what no one realizes is that the ritual actually unleashes this entity that’s far darker than any of them could imagine. And so it does turn into sort of a horror-meets-romance as the boys kind of babble against this entity that takes on the form of the person you’re most attracted to.

Reflecting on the horror genre’s frequent use as a springboard to touch on heavier conversations, Chiarella opined that “any good movie speaks to you in that way,” with a story or theme finding a way to “get to you through your body” in a very “visceral” manner. As such, while Leviticus is a “queer horror movie,” the writer/director explains that “it’s a lot more than that” and is more universal than some may think:

Adrian Chiarella: I think it speaks to the idea of being true to yourself and letting go of fear. Horror movies are all about fear. And I hope that anyone who sees this movie gains some understanding of their own relationship with fear, whatever form that takes in their own lives.

Joe Bird Is Ready To Explore 1 Specific Genre After His Horror Run

Joe Bird and Adrian Chiarella with Ash Crossan in ScreenRant’s SXSW media suite for Leviticus Full

ScreenRant: What was unique about his style that you haven’t experienced before?

Joe Bird: Adrian, I’d say you’re kind of like an actor’s director. You make sure that you speak to us. We rehearsed almost every scene in pre-production, which was very helpful. And then Adrian gave me a lot of the actors’ time to just build chemistry. Not saying that any other director hasn’t done that before, but just the level of care and attention that Adrian has in every kind of aspect of the acting book, or whatever. He just kind of got it. And then he could just say one line to me like, “Do it like this,” and I just immediately got it. So I think it’s just great to find someone that you can artistically mesh with, and I think I definitely found that in Adrian.

ScreenRant: What do you like about doing horror?

Joe Bird: I love horror films. You lose more calories watching a horror film than a workout, so why wouldn’t you? But I think what’s good about horror is you can kind of take these situations and really heighten them. So in this example with homophobia, I think it’s really good that, essentially, this kind of thing is being heightened, and it’s being shown that it kills, right? So then the audience can take from that. They’re scared, they’re whatever, however they feel — it’s just good to confront audiences with that, I think. And I think with horror, that’s very good, very accessible to do, if that makes sense.

ScreenRant: Where did you film?

Adrian Chiarella: We filmed all around Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The town is not really a real town. We kind of made it from different places. We had a very fastidious production designer who wanted — and I did too — a very particular look for each house, and each location. So, we sort of scoured everywhere within, I think, about a 50-mile radius within which we were allowed to look, and just kept looking and looking and looking for all the best places. And then in the end, we were just sort of a traveling circus that went from one location to the next. I think it was 40 locations in 30 days.

Joe Bird’s Naim and Stacy Clausen’s Ryan putting their hands against each other through a screen window in Leviticus

ScreenRant: What did making this film teach you, personally, about the type of films you want to make going forward?

Adrian Chiarella: That is so interesting. I was saying to someone that as we were wrapping up on the last day, “Oh, it’s been 30 days of shooting, and I feel like I’ve just figured out what kind of films I want to make.” You’re always learning how you want to make films. This was a horror movie, and I definitely, definitely fell more in love with the genre through making a horror movie. But I think just the process of what I went through with Joe, and with Stacy [Clausen], the other actor in the film, of just exploring a relationship and getting two actors together, and doing a lot of stuff that Joe just talked about, in terms of just sending them out on their own little adventure and getting them to get to know each other as people and as actors, and really growing relationships out of something very organic with the actors, that’s what I came to really value.

ScreenRant: You’ve done horror, you like it, is there anything that you have not done that you really want to tap into?

Joe Bird: I really want to do comedy, because I just love comedy films, and I feel like a lot of the characters I play are not funny, if that makes sense. But I just kind of want to tap into that. And I’m kind of doing that. I’m working on a job right now called Crash Out, and it’s kind of a thriller comedy, so I’m excited about doing that right now. So I would say that kind of area.

ScreenRant: Is there anything you want the audience to know before they see Leviticus?

Adrian Chiarella: I think people might feel like this is an exploration of homophobia, and people might feel a little uncomfortable with that being done as a horror movie, but I just want people to remember the legacy of the genre was really shaped by so many amazing artists like Mary Shelley, James Whale, and Clyde Barker, queer artists, who use this format, used this genre to explore these queer themes, and we’re really trying to reclaim that in making this film.

Joe Bird: And I think I just kind of want people to watch the film and kind of really understand the themes, and then see that, “Oh, you know, a simple joke can mean a lot to someone.” Something like that. That’s all I’m going to say.

ScreenRant: Like a throwaway comic could.

Joe Bird: Being negative can really have a bad impact on people, but it’s hidden, and you might not know, but they might be fighting their own battles, you know? And I think it’s always good to realize that everyone has things going on.

Leviticus is currently awaiting a wide release date from Neon after being acquired by the distributor!


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Release Date

January 23, 2026

Runtime

106 minutes

Director

Adrian Chiarella

Writers

Adrian Chiarella

Producers

Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings, Hannah Ngo



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