Olivia Luccardi’s Sacred Creatures Set for World Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival

Olivia Luccardi stars in Frieda Luk’s darkly comic magical realist thriller Sacred Creatures.

A new voice in genre filmmaking is making its world premiere this summer.

Canadian filmmaker Frieda Luk will debut her first feature, Sacred Creatures, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 16, bringing a darkly comic psychological thriller that blends magical realism, superstition, and fractured family dynamics.

The film stars Olivia Luccardi (It Follows) alongside James Cusati-Moyer, the Tony Award-nominated actor known for Slave Play.

Set against the backdrop of rural Italy, Sacred Creatures follows three estranged siblings who reunite after the middle sister is released from psychiatric treatment following a breakdown she believes was a profound spiritual awakening. As her increasingly erratic behavior drives deeper divisions within the family, the surrounding community becomes an unexpected force, shifting loyalties and power dynamics in ways neither the siblings nor the audience may anticipate.

According to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Sacred Creatures is “an artfully composed and highly compelling debut feature” that delivers “a deftly woven, unpredictable and black-humoured thriller of superstition, idolatry and communal faith with a distinctive magical realist edge.”

The premise suggests a film that explores the fine line between spiritual enlightenment and delusion, using dark humor and psychological tension to examine how belief systems can reshape families and entire communities.

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For horror fans, Luccardi’s involvement is especially notable. Best known for her breakout role in David Robert Mitchell’s modern horror classic It Follows, the actress returns to psychologically driven genre territory in what appears to be a more intimate and character-focused thriller.

The film will make its world premiere on Sunday, August 16, at 5:30 p.m. at Filmhouse Screen 1 during the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Additional festival screenings are scheduled for August 17 at Cineworld Screen 4, followed by two screenings on August 18 at The Cameo Screen 2 and Cineworld Screen 3.

As one of the festival’s intriguing world premieres, Sacred Creatures could emerge as one of this year’s standout independent genre discoveries. We’ll be keeping a close eye on audience reactions when Frieda Luk’s debut makes its first public screening in Edinburgh.