Leviticus was released on VOD earlier this summer.
Australian film Leviticus looks at LGBT rights and religious prejudice
Levasive is a film about a deadly important subject – so sensitive that one kind of wonders if a supernatural horror film parable was the best way to approach it.
It’s a film about many things. Homophobia, religious persecution, self-denial, ghosts that take the form of your subconscious desires. The “monsters” of Leviticus might be “real,” but they might not be. It’s a confusing film, the kind where you never really know what’s supposed to happen. In fact what is happening on screen and what is another nightmare, or an illusion or a psychological coping mechanism of the characters. Structurally, it’s a very murky thing and even if you take a few extra-strength “focus pills” – if you know what I mean, and I think you do – it’s always an absurdly difficult film to follow.
There is obviously a point to Leviticus and something close to an important social message. But you have to pass through a LOT of thorny bushes to get there… metaphorically speaking, of course.
Wikipedia describes the film as a “romantic coming-of-age supernatural horror film.” However, he left out the most important adverb: “confusing as hell.” Even without fantasy imagery and “is it real or imaginary” hokum, the film’s plot is stubbornly complex. And not complex in a thought-provoking way, complex in a high school drama sense. Technically, it’s a movie about a love triangle, maybe even a love diamond depending on your point of view. Without horror dynamics, it would seem like a fairly detailed melodrama, like three or four episodes of a teen rom-com crammed into a clunky 90-minute frame. With the dynamics of horror, Leviticus It sometimes looks like one of those old Magic Eye posters from back in the day – maybe if you squint hard enough you’ll see something, but it only gave me a colossal migraine.
The title of the film clearly has an explicit meaning. This is a reference to the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament, the part of the Bible where it lists all the “abominations” that faithful servants of the Almighty should not do, such as eating shrimp, wearing mixed fabrics or having a pointy beard. Of course, those The dictates of the supposed creator of all existence are routinely ignored by modern-day Christians, who instead focus on this single verse condemning homosexuality. That’s pretty much the story of Leviticusthe film, even if it goes about it in a rather indirect way.
The two main characters of Leviticus are Naim (played by Joe Bird) and Ryan (played by Stacy Clausen.) Bird watches just as Noah Schnapp from Stranger Things and Clausen bears a striking resemblance to the late Heath Ledger… so much so that I am convinced he’s going to play him in a biopic in a few years. Given that the film is set in what I firmly consider to be Australia’s analogue to the MAGA Belt, I suppose it’s not much of a surprise that they have to keep their romance on the down low. Of course, dramatic teens being dramatic teens, it’s only a matter of time before jealousy kicks in and the parents’ solution is, “well, clearly we need to send them to a faith healer who literally pray they’re gay like it’s some version of The Exorcist commanded by Rick Santorum.
It’s here Leviticus reaches its peak and at the same time begins to spiral downward. The scene – which has our protagonists vomiting all over the carpet and shaking violently – is beautifully filmed and has a LOT of symbolic power. The problem is that the film immediately immediately afterward devolves into an obtuse supernatural subplot. The aforementioned love triangle is quickly broken up – in more ways than one, no spoilers from me – and the film turns into a benign recalculation of It follows formula. There are lookalikes an abundance, but you never know if the doppelgangers are flesh and blood and therefore capable of harming our main characters. mental appearance. I understand why filmmakers never make it 100% clear, but at the same time, you have to give the audience a few a sort of rule book to follow. I suppose the intention was to make you suspicious every time certain characters are on screen – what with people not being who they say they are and all – but it’s a broken gimmick that slows down the action considerably. In fact, it ends undermine much of the intrinsic drama and suspense, and it’s one of the few unforgivable sins of any horror film or horror-adjacent film.
Both leads give solid performances and the overall cast is quite good. Tyson Perkins’ cinematography is probably the best overall aspect of the entire film – the way he captures the industrial environment. nothing of rural Victoria is simply fantastic, transforming what would seem like an alien world into obsessively familiar to anyone living in Central America right now. It’s not a terribly effects-heavy film, but the few gore and ick moments are also pretty well done. Alas, Jed Kurzel’s score is a bit disappointing; when it should sting, it swells and when it should go down, it bursts a little too hard. It’s not a terrible soundtrack, but it doesn’t necessarily fit with the rest of the film either.
It’s hard to dig too deep into the meat of Leviticus because it’s a movie that only makes sense once you’re aware of the spoilers – which aren’t revealed until very close to the end of the movie. It finally becomes surprisingly uplifting movie about not letting the prejudices of ignorant people dictate your life, but to get there we have to wade through a LOT of red herrings that ultimately seem pretty unimportant given the movie’s conclusion.
I think the metaphorical value of the film is going to be lost on American audiences, mainly because the lives of LGBT people in the United States East a nightmare that makes Leviticus it seems like a fair compromise in comparison. Shapeshifting Ghosts Aren’t That Terrifying a place where the federal government funds suicide prevention hotlines for queer youth on purpose. On the contrary, the parallels presented by Leviticus are not direct ENOUGH to catch up with the horrors of our modern reality.
Some people will really enjoy Leviticusothers won’t. It’s not exactly a polarizing film in terms of identity politics, but rather one that feels very familiar from recent genre offerings like Whistle And Smile. It’s a film about an inevitable catastrophe, but in a society where the inevitable catastrophe is already here, it lands a little sweet. You just wish Leviticus had more bite and a harder swing – and took more inspiration from real life horrors on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
Director: Adrien Chiarella
Writer: Adrien Chiarella
With : Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt
Studio: Roadway Movies
Distributer: Maslow Entertainment
Language: English
Runtime: 88 minutes
Release date: June 18, 2026 (VOD)
