This is opening weekend of a near-perfect Pride Month double feature. Featuring two films in alignment with my current fixations: queer romance and psychological horror.

Girls Like Girls (2026) ★★★½☆

I started with Girls Like Girls (2026), the full-length adaptation of Hayley Kiyoko’s 2015 music video turned novel. The queer, coming of age film follows Coley, a nervous, new-to-town teen, and Sonya, the resident cool girl who takes an immediate liking to Coley. Over ninety-five minutes (and a cut scene!), we watch Coley and Sonya collide, fall for one another, battle their own internalized roadblocks and reunite to make a decision about their relationship.

While the film has some expected beats, I found the writing to be strong overall. Coley, played by Maya da Costa, is a complex and likeable character. da Costa managed to deftly portray a quiet skittishness still tinged with vulnerability and a desire for connection. While Sonya’s character feels a bit more one-note and predictable, Myra Molloy does great work lending an intensity and a sweetness to the role.

Kiyoko, who co-wrote the screenplay and directed the feature, gifts us a project that feels steeped in the overwarm, humid sweetness of summertime. Coley rides her bike throughout town, the girls pass hours in lakes and pools, school in the Fall is mentioned but never discussed and a dream-like yellow tinge cloaks the entire movie. The film, which is set in the early 2000s and features AOL Instant Messenger, feels both achingly nostalgic and also thoroughly of the now. As a woman of color, it’s a delight to see a lesbian film with two South Asian leads in 2026.

Though not necessarily groundbreaking, the film is the kind of sweet and enjoyable romance I wish I could’ve watched in a theater a decade ago.

Leviticus (2026) ★★★★☆

I headed for my horror last, certain I would enjoy that film more. I was right! Leviticus is a good film.

The film details the experience of Naim, amazingly portrayed by Joe Bird, whose first same-sex romantic experience is terribly tainted by small-town religiosity and his own jealous impulses. For most of the film, Naim is opposite Ryan, his crush, partner and co-terror target, played by Stacy Clausen. Both actors give fantastic performances bringing to life a youthful, nervous-tinged curiosity, yearning and, as one would expect in a horror film, fear. After being outed to their pastor, Ryan and Naim become victims of a violent entity that shapeshifts into the form of the person they most desire: each other.

The premise alone is terrifying and right up my alley as a true psychological horror. The boys can’t trust their eyes or their hearts. It’s a heartbreaking film which is obvious from the premise alone. Still, the bright spots exist in the writing, pacing, acting and the story’s trajectory. We’re keeping this spoiler free! But I cannot stress how much more there is to this film than trauma and fear.

This is the kind of film I could easily write a more in-depth essay about given its themes and the fact that it’s a film clearly written for thematic rather than shock or horrific value. I’ll be brief here instead because I’d love this review to encourage folks to go see the film. The film’s title and a close watch of the trailer reveal the relevant plot beats and the nature of religion in the film. For those of us in the queer community who’ve experienced or are familiar with religious persecution, the shape of this film’s monsters will be familiar: alienation, disgust, shame and ultimately physical violence. In attempting to “save” these boys’ souls, their church unleashes something wholly ungodly and deadly on these children. Not dissimilar to the types of emotional terror that currently lead to queer youth being “more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers”.

To that end, Leviticus takes the usual roughage we’re fed about the queer youth experience and gives us something quite different to chew on instead. I recommend this film, and it’s dark enough that I do recommend it on a big screen. Another score for Australian horror, and the lead actor, Bird, was also in Talk to Me (2022)!

That’s a wrap.

Girls Like Girls and Leviticus actually make a delightful double feature because their queer coming-of-age themes share just enough overlap. I might recommend reversing my order if horror isn’t your go-to genre. I’ll also note that Leviticus is primarily a psychological horror film, but there is a fair amount of gore and at least a couple of jump scares. I hope you’re able to get out this weekend and support one or both of these films. I’m so happy for queer cinema & I’m wishing us all a happy Pride!