Image courtesy of Neon.
“Leviticus” is the feature-length debut of gay Australian writer-director Adrian Chiarella, whose previous shorts have won awards at queer film festivals internationally.
It’s a tight, 87-minute horror film in the vein of “It Follows.” There’s a violent, supernatural entity haunting queer teenagers in a small town, taking the form of the person they most desire. But the monster here isn’t queerness—it’s born from a ritual that is a clear visual simile for conversion therapy.
The “Leviticus” story is inseparable from its leads and their performances: two queer teenage boys falling for each other in a hostile environment. It taps into a primal universal fear—what happens when the person you love most poses your greatest threat? There’s real horror here and enough chilling imagery to keep you awake a little longer tonight.
A character-driven film like “Leviticus” doesn’t work unless its cast is firing on all cylinders, and both leads deliver vulnerable and intimately masculine performances.
Joe Bird’s naturalistic aloofness as Naim casts shades of Florence Pugh in “Midsommar,” and Stacy Clausen’s repressed and defensive Ryan brings to mind Billy Barratt’s performance in another Australian horror, last year’s underrated “Bring Her Back” by millennial YouTubers-turned-directors Danny and Michael Philippou. Mia Wasikowska also delivers a solid performance as the main character’s mother in her first film role in several years, but I could’ve used even more of her.
With a title like “Leviticus,” a reference to a book in Abrahamic scripture frequently cited to denounce queerness by religious groups, I’ll admit I was expecting the film to be a bit heavy-handed with religious trauma and anti-queer fearmongering. Although it does touch on these, I believe “Leviticus” never wallows. The film could easily let itself coast on being a searing condemnation of conversion therapy and the stereotypical unceremonious onscreen death of queer characters. But Chiarella’s ambitious and personal script aims higher, truer and deeper—towards overcoming fear and the familiar feeling of timeless, all-encompassing, nothing-else-matters, adolescent love.
An empathetic celebration of young love in a genre known for its bitterness and malice is something that can only stem from a truly sincere artist, and if his debut is this good, Adrian Chiarella is absolutely one to watch coming into the horror scene from Australia. “Leviticus” opens at Midtown Cinema in June.
Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com. Gabriel Brown serves as assistant manager at Midtown Cinema.
June Events
at Midtown Cinema
Late Night Frights
“Onibaba” (1964)
Friday, June 5
Down in Front!
Comedy Riffing
“Miami Connection” (1987)
Friday, June 12
3rd in the Burg Movie Night
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” (1988)
Friday, June 19
FRIENDS OF MIDTOWN
OUTDOOR FILM SERIES 2026
“The Princess and the Frog” (2009)
Saturday, June 20
“Superman” (2025)
Saturday, July 11
“Mean Girls” (2004)
Saturday, Aug. 22
“The NeverEnding Story” (1984)
Saturday, Sept. 12
Movies at dusk. Bring your own chair.
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