Leviticus

NEON

Obsession has not just been a box office miracle, it has also been an enormous critical and audience hit in the form of its dual 96% and 94% Rotten Tomatoes scores, respectively. Now, however, a new horror movie has dethroned it.

The movie is Leviticus, which will be released on June 19 in the US, and as it stands, has a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score with a couple dozen critic reviews in. It originally debuted at Sundance before being acquired by NEON. Here’s the synopsis:

“Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most -- each other.”

You can watch the Leviticus trailer here to get a sense of the film and how crazy it may end up being:

I’m not sure if you recognize him, but one of the boys is played by Joe Bird, who was recently in another new-era horror classic, Talk to Me as (spoilers) the little brother who smashes himself up on purpose after being possessed by a demon. The film also stars ex-Alice and Wonderland lead Mia Wasikowa. Leviticus is directed by Adrian Chiarella, whose last film was Dwarf Planet in 2020.

No, there is no reason to think that Leviticus is going to repeat the record performances of Obsession or Backrooms, the two blockbuster horror features of the past few years. And the past few decades, given the milestones they’ve blown past. It is also the case that Leviticus may slip under Obsession as more reviews come in. Leviticus has a solid 97% from 32 critics, but Obsession has its 96% from a whopping 245 critics. It would also be tough for audience scores to hit 94%.

For now, however, Leviticus is on top for 2026. Here is the list of the major horror releases of the year so far:

• Leviticus – 97% critic score
• Obsession – 96% critic score
• Send Help – 93% critic score
• 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – 92% critic score
• Backrooms – 89% critic score
• Hokum – 88% critic score
• We Bury the Dead – 88% critic score
• Primate – 78% critic score
• Undertone – 74% critic score
• Forbidden Fruits – 74% critic score
• Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – 73% critic score
• The Mummy – 47% critic score
• Passenger – 46% critic score
• The Dreadful – 36% critic score
• Scream 7 – 30% critic score
• The Strangers Chapter 3 – 18% critic score

We’re not even halfway through the year yet, and it’s a record-setting year for horror, plus the movies are just flat-out good as well. It seems that Leviticus is about to be added to that list, whether it manages to stay above Obsession or not.

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