Watch The Trailer For ‘The Leaching’

A woman clawing her way out of a grave with no memory of who she is sets the stage for The Leaching, the new independent horror feature arriving on Digital and On Demand next week. Co-released by Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment, writer and director Evan Showalter’s latest film combines creature horror with psychological tension and supernatural mystery, as a forgotten past slowly gives way to a far darker truth.

Scheduled for release on 7 July, The Leaching follows Vivian, who awakens on her father’s remote woodland property after emerging from a freshly dug grave. Haunted by fragmented memories and pursued by both the undead and a towering leech-like creature, she is forced to unravel the events that led to her apparent death while confronting the increasingly disturbing behaviour of the man claiming to be her father.

As Vivian pieces together the mystery over several days, she uncovers what the official synopsis describes as a sinister supernatural scheme that threatens to consume her before she can escape it.

Leading the cast is Reese Parish as Vivian. The Chicago-based actress is known for portraying Wendy Darling in the stage production Lost Girl, alongside roles in the short film Ferdinand Avenue and the web series Apt.. She is joined by DeVaughn Loman, whose recent screen credits include Naomi & Levi Take on the World, and Sandon Sylva, who also appears in Robbed and Interlude.

Showalter, whose previous work includes Ante Mortem, Bad Music Terry and Blotch, said the film explores identity, faith and the dangers of unquestioning devotion through the lens of monster cinema.

“The Leaching is an exploration of faith, the loss of self, and the monsters (literally) that emerge when people surrender themselves to something greater than they can understand,” he said. “It’s an isolating horror film that plays with a very uncomfortable question: Can you trust your family?”

The filmmaker has also described the project as part of a wider creative philosophy that embraces practical creature effects and classic genre influences while maintaining a distinctly modern visual approach. Drawing inspiration from films including The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, Hellraiser, Mandy, Hereditary and Barbarian, Showalter says his work consistently places monsters alongside deeply flawed human characters, with people often proving to be the greater threat.

The Leaching will be available on Digital and On Demand from 7 July 2026.

The Leaching trailer

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