Leviticus review: Clever blend of teen romance and supernatural horror
It has been a great year for horror so far and the hits just come on coming with Leviticus.
The supernatural horror follows Naim (Joe Bird), who has just moved to a new town in Australia with his devout Christian mother Arlene (Mia Wasikowska) and has started secretly seeing his schoolmate Ryan (Stacy Clausen). When their relationship is found out, they are forced to undergo a supernatural conversion therapy ritual. After that, they are tormented by an evil entity which takes the form of the person they desire the most – each other.
What a concept! Writer-director Adrian Chiarella cleverly uses horror to address homophobia and the film has a lot to say on the topic, yet it never feels overdone or preachy. It all makes sense within the context of the story. He also expertly balances the supernatural horror with coming-of-age and romance and these three genres work well together.
The excellent Bird, who broke out in the 2022 Australian horror Talk to Me, really sells the stakes and the terror of the situation. He is the heart of the story and you really care for him. Clausen seems like the epitome of macho, but he has a secret soft side, and their brilliant chemistry really makes you invested in the outcome of the story. Clausen has a difficult second role as the entity (which has taken Ryan’s form). There’s tension whenever he appears on screen later in the film because you can’t immediately tell Ryan and the entity apart. So he has to fulfil two jobs: an object of desire and a life-threatening figure.
Leviticus, named after the book in the Bible that seemingly prohibits homosexuality, is pretty scary – there’s visceral violence, a jump scare and a pervading sense of dread – but it’s not as hardcore as I was expecting. The hype preceded this one and I was bracing myself for some wild scares, but it was fine. I would have probably appreciated the horror more if I went in with no expectations.
Leviticus is an intense romance-slash-horror with a worthwhile message. I wasn’t blown away by it but it’s a good 90-minute ride.
In cinemas from Wednesday 2nd September