Review: Attraction is weaponized into something terrifying in the potent horror film 'Leviticus'
Adrian Chiarella’s debut uses a supernatural curse to explore conversion therapy, and Neon acquired the film in a seven-figure deal after Sundance.
- On Friday, Australian writer-director Adrian Chiarella released his feature debut, Leviticus, a horror film exploring a queer teen romance in a conservative Australian town that triggers a cult-like intervention.
- After parents force Naim and Ryan into a dogmatic 'cleansing' ritual performed by a 'deliverance healer,' the boys are pursued by a shapeshifting entity that stalks them by taking the shape of the person they love most: each other.
- Joe Bird and newcomer Stacy Clausen star as the leads, with their chemistry anchoring the horror-satire; the film features Frank Ocean's 'Self Control,' which the artist granted the filmmakers permission to use.
- Chiarella subverts the 'bury your gays' horror trope by positioning the characters as survivors rather than victims, concluding with Naim and Ryan embracing their fate while facing an uncertain future haunted by internalized homophobia.
- Premiering at Sundance in January, the Neon-acquired film joins a summer 'triumvirate' of horror hits alongside Obsession and Backrooms, signaling audiences' appetite for unique, auteur-driven genre filmmaking beyond traditional niche categories.
13 Articles
13 Articles
‘Leviticus’: How the Romantic Horror Movie Was Inspired by a ‘Regression’ of Gay Rights
“Leviticus” was born from a place of anxiety. It’s perhaps a bit obvious, given the premise. In the film that opens in theaters Friday, the first feature-length project from writer-director Adrian Chiarella, two teen boys in Australia fall in love, but after a dark, religious conversion therapy, they’re pursued by demonic forces that look like […]
The Advocate
Out Magazine'Leviticus' director Adrian Chiarella reveals 'the real terror' in his conversion-therapy horror film
This story originally appeared on Out.Named after the Old Testament scripture so often used as a weapon against the LGBTQ+ community, Leviticus is the gripping new horror film from director Adrian Chiarella that takes the real-life trauma of conversion therapy and spins it into a literal, supernatural nightmare.The film follows Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen), two small-town Aussie teenagers whose budding romance catches the eye of the …
Review: 'Leviticus' makes a demon out of desire in an auspicious debut for Adrian Chiarella
What if the object of your desire was also the thing that’s trying to kill you? Not slowly irritating you to death for leaving the toilet seat up again. We mean actively trying to strangle you.
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