Severance star Adam Scott has a brand new horror film coming to the world, one that just premiered for the first time at SXSW in Austin, Texas: The Saviors. The film follows Scott's Sean and Kim, a couple on the edge of divorce living in the suburbs. When they rent out their guest house to a quiet Middle Eastern brother and sister in order to fix and sell their house, bizarre occurrences cause the couple to question their new occupants. This leads to an obsessive investigation that may help the two reignite their spark, even if they do run into some truly unsettling realizations.
At SXSW 2026, The Direct sat down with The Saviors stars Adam Scott (Sean), The Penguin's Theo Rossi (Amir), Danielle Deadwyler (Kim), Travis Betz (Writer), alongside director and writer Kevin Hamedani, to talk about their Airbnb horror stories and why the horror genre manages to bring people together dispite the dark and terrifying stories it tells.
The Saviors doesn't currently have a release date.
The Saviors Cast Shares Their Airbnb Horror Stories
"I've Stayed In Some Airbnbs That Weren't Exactly As Advertised..."
The Direct: "I'm curious for you, do you have any horror stories when it comes to Airbnbs or renting?"
Adam Scott: I mean, I've stayed in some Airbnbs that weren't exactly as advertised, and places where you kind of walk in and there's just a vibe that a murder went down here, and if not, someone was like planning a murder here. And I don't believe in ghosts or anything like that, until I walked into a couple of Airbnbs that have just a vibe that you can't escape.
Theo Rossi: Yeah, I do. I have a couple of [them]. I was in Turks and Caicos, back when I still believe that renting Airbnbs or houses was smarter than staying in a hotel, because I wanted to be like more in the mix. I discovered, the first sign, my wife and I were there—This is pre-children—I realized that there were cameras everywhere, and I was like, 'Oh, this is kind of weird. People are watching us.'
So I kind of started trying to find the cameras. And then when I went to leave, we went to go hiking, they came in and robbed everything, all our shit... But, this is the craziest thing, they ate the bananas, which was weird. So that means they were so brazen that they were eating the bananas while they stole everything. And as someone who knows a little bit about the underworld, I was like, 'Oh, that's interesting. They really didn't give a fuck if I came back or not.'
And then my wife, who I just bought her these beautiful earrings, in the mix of like, stealing all the shit,one earring, I guess, went that way. Maybe they got nervous after they ate the bananas, and they were, you know, being lackadaisical. And then we found one earring on one side of house, one earring on the other side of house, and it was the most expensive things. And they left our passports, which was kind of nice, because we were able to get home. So, nice banana eating criminals. So that was my last rental story.
Danielle Deadwyler: I walked into a spot. It didn't give what it was supposed to be giving from the images. So they were gone and they—it wasn't gave. And so I left immediately, so that I could be a happier person.
Travis Betz: I have done my fair share of renting and a few Airbnbs. And there was one time I was renting a place because I was in between locations of living, and it wasn't in the greatest area. And I remember just late one night, it's like, three in the morning, someone knocked on my door, and there was literally a horde of people standing on my porch just kind of waiting for me to open this door.
And it was absolutely terrifying and kind of very 'The Saviors'-esque, because here I was being like, maybe they need help, but it's 3am, there's a bunch of them, and they're just kind of standing there...So, I just kind of backed away from the keyholes, hoping they didn't see my shadow, waited it out, and they eventually left. But, you know, just, it was scary.
Why Horror Brings People Together
"When Shit Goes Sideways, People Come Together."
The Direct: "The synopsis of the movie teases these two leading characters rediscovering their love. I'm curious, with the genre of horror, which tackles so many dark, violent, and terrifying subjects, why is it that that genre can breed such a connection and explore such things despite everything that it does?"
Theo Rossi: I think when shit goes sideways, people come together. It's been a little off here as humanity, but usually when things go bad, we come together as a culmination of a species. It's like that on the ranch I live on with all the other animals. If there's lightning, they all kind of huddle together. And I think that in horror or in anything where there is a big thing going on, people usually come together, so that's kind of why in horror. But then again, they do leave people behind and all that shit. So sometimes [it's] not perfect.
Danielle Deadwyler: I think people are interested in the most challenging of circumstances and what that can bring out of you. And that reads to people, strangely—humans, crazy humans. But, I mean, we want to see the utmost of urgency. And the utmost of urgency is a challenge to one's ability to continue to exist. And I think you turn it on its head with a bit of comedy. And so I guess people are able to latch on.
Travis Betz: I think it has a lot to do with wish fulfillment and fantasy, because it's like when I originally wrote this with Kevin, I was going through a divorce, and there was this, you know, dream or desire to figure out how to fix that, but trying to fix it in reality is very depressing because it's A, probably impossible, B, requires lots of self, you know, inner look[ing] and therapy, doing all the hard work you need to do.
But with genre, you can throw couples into a blender of horror and suspense and thrills, and just put all these fantastic elements that they have to get [through]. And because of that dangerous adventure, they can come closer, become closer without doing all that hard work, which happens in 'The Saviors.' It's like, are they actually doing the work they need to stay together, or are they just on this for the thrill ride? And is that what's bonding them back together? So I think there's another element of fantasy in that for a relationship.
Kevin Hamedani: I would say [this is a] dark comedy horror. So comedy horror, any genre, allows the filmmaker to sort of deal with weighty topics without, I would say, ostracizing the audience by being too preachy or being too heavy-handed. And that's how I like to watch films. You know, I don't want to be feel like I'm being educated about certain social or political issues I want to enjoy a ride, and if I do get anything out of it, that's a little deeper than the the entertainment aspect, great. So that's why I embrace genre... I just grew up loving John Carpenter and Steven Spielberg. So that's what I was just trying to do, is make a really cool Spielberg-Carpenter film.
The full set of red carpet interviews with the cast and filmmakers of SXSW's The Saviors can be seen below.
The Saviors does not currently have a release date.
