Leviticus
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“I want it to look like you”
Overview
The debut feature from Australian writer-director Adrian Chiarella, Leviticus is a tightly-wound atmospheric queer horror, and love story of a kind. Teenage Ryan (Stacy Clausen) lives in a small town, something of a loner until Naim (Joe Bird) moves there with his mother (Mia Wasikowska) and the two become friends. The community revolves around local gossip and adherence to the status quo, so when the boys realise their roughhousing hides a deeper desire they try to keep it a secret— until jealousy and a charismatic religious healer draws out a dark entity that may destroy them both.
“Blood-curdling...an outstanding debut”
“A spine-tingling horror gem”
“Haunting and heartbreaking”
Why See This Film
Assured and balancing an element of social realism with allegorical horror, Leviticus is a poignant reminder that outside of certain social bubbles queerness and difference in Australia are dangerous qualities to have. Going easy on the jump scares in favour of mounting dread, Chiarella channels paranoid classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers to create a claustrophobic world of uncertainty, shot through with a streak of youthful optimism and refusal to be cowed into obedience.
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