Is Hollywood in its fan edit era? ‘Leviticus’ blurs the line between movie studios and internet culture

Word of mouth can make or break a film’s success at the box office. In the digital age, that often looks like hype on social media, from rave reviews like those driving Obsession’s success to the much-memed scene inspiring audiences to check out I Love Boosters. One surefire sign of an active fandom is the creation of fan edits, short compilations of clips from a movie or TV show set to music, often with thematic significance to the source material. Though fan edits are (as the name implies) crafted by fans, one upcoming movie found a way to kickstart their creation weeks ahead of its release. That movie is Leviticus, a new horror film coming to theaters on June 19. Leviticus follows two teenage boys discovering their queer identities and falling for each other—only for a disturbing, demonic possession to rip them apart. Though Leviticus has already received some buzz after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, director Adrian Chiarella took things to a new level by offering fans early access to a “scene pack,” a collection of clips curated to be the perfect fodder for fan edits. Giving fans a head start Where fan edits typically can only pull from trailers ahead of a film’s release (and from cam rips and pirated material before it comes to streaming), Leviticus shook up that formula by releasing an official “scene pack.” On social media, the movie’s account shared a link to the scene pack, along with an encouragement to “edit your heart out” and a letter from director Chiarella. “Thanks so much for jumping on these clips and showing some love to the film,” Chiarella wrote, adding that he hopes fans will enjoy editing lead actors Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen as much as he did. “I had so much fun cutting their performances in the edit, because they just have this incredible chemistry that’s impossible to fake. There’s so much going on behind their eyes when they look at each other,” Chiarella explained. “So honestly, go nuts. Make whatever edits, reels, fancams, compilations or unhinged little masterpieces you want. Have fun with it,” he added. “I love seeing people connect with these characters, and (between us) Joe and Stacy get a real kick out of it too. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.” What does a scene pack actually entail? The provided link takes fans to a Dropbox folder containing 14 clips from Leviticus, some with audio, some without. None of them include spoilers, just atmospheric shots, charged moments between the two lead actors, and a few lines of juicy dialogue ripe for editing. The scene pack also includes subfolders with additional material, like landscape footage and a version of the trailer without text or music. In other words, it has the perfect ingredients for fans to edit up a storm. Social media users have already embraced the scene pack, crafting edits to songs like Hozier’s “Take Me to Church,” Troye Sivan’s “Strawberries Cigarettes,” and Halsey’s “Colors.” Alongside the actual edits, fans can’t help but praise Leviticus’ marketing team for finding an innovative way to play into fandom culture. “This is such an incredible show of appreciation for what fan communities bring (literally everything!!!) to spaces for original projects like this,” one user commented. “Class act and makes me somehow even MORE excited for this movie.” “This is the best marketing method EVER,” another commenter gushed. “We all know how powerful one edit can change the trajectory of a show/movie. This is so smart.” Embracing the editors Leviticus isn’t the only property to celebrate fan edit culture. In April, director Pete Ohs similarly shared “a bunch of raw clips” from his movie Erupcja, which stars pop star Charli xcx. “I like to pull back the curtain and de-mystify things,” Ohs wrote, encouraging fans of the movie to make edits. And last year, HBO embraced the power of fan editing by going as far as offering an amateur editor a job. A user’s minute-long edit of Heated Rivalry amassed 4.8 million views on X, catching the attention of the streamer, which reached out to offer her a full-time position editing promos and trailers. Taken together, the moves could point to the start of a new era in the entertainment industry: one that not only acknowledges the importance of fan culture, but is itself an active participant in online fandom.