Leviticus

There have been plenty of horror movies about conversion therapy, but none like this one. Though it is at times terrifying, capturing the isolation of the queer experience with bone-deep emotion, the first-time director's new film is a surprisingly tender look at the shapes love and demons can take.

Chiarella has a skill for creating scares beyond the obvious, but Leviticus (which takes its name from the biblical verse often used against homosexuality) gains a massive jolt from a near-perfect melding of theme and concept.

Leviticus is the most haunting love story to hit theaters in a long while. It’s also an effective horror movie, which makes writer-director Adrian Chiarella’s successful balancing act all the more impressive.

Leviticus is not a perfect horror film . . . But the film’s moody atmosphere — including a soundtrack full of clanks and bangs — makes it an enjoyably disquieting ride.

The writing is original, rich, and effective, ramping up tension until it reaches a graphic, brutal crescendo in the third act.

As star-crossed lovers resolve to battle their demons rather than surrender, this at times intensely creepy horror tale reveals itself to also be a potent and poignant teen romance.

Bird and Clausen’s performances bring an elevated energy to the premise, and their chemistry causes the overall film to come across as more romantic than horrific.

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," states the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. Drawing on this verse, Australian filmmaker Adrian Chiarella conceived his debut feature, 'Leviticus,' which captures the terror of living in fear as a **** person. In it, Chiarella transforms the horror of the immoral "conversion therapies" into a supernatural nightmare that two young lovers must endure. Naturally, the film confronts Christian hypocrisy with a story that highlights the hatred stemming from archaic beliefs and prejudices embedded in a community whose conservatism drives it to engage in appalling practices. Although its very short runtime prevents a deep exploration of the characters' desires and frustrations, the film uses its unsettling allegory to ingeniously depict how—in the name of religion—attraction is twisted into aversion through trauma.

This film takes its name from the biblical verse that’s used against homosexuality (although it's never mentioned in the film). Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen play teen boys in love, but their small Australian town is dominated by a religious cult. When the leader puts a curse on them, it creates an evil entity that threatens their lives. This is a sweet little romance with the actors elevating the relationship with their fervent chemistry. Then there’s the horror angle, which is more disquieting than really scary. Writer/director Adrian Chiarella has presented a tender relationship film that eventually overcomes the demons of isolation and fear that threaten their engaging love.

i felt ill at ease each gay scene and there quite a bunch of those. The horror element can be effective, but there are too many questions regarding the "supernatural being" and its purpose (other than killing), that you'll never get answers to that made me feel that the entire film is useless; isn't the "monster" meant to heal the "gays" from their condition (according to the guy practicing the spell) ? if so, several things it does are antithetical to this goal, especially if it shift shape into an other person, as one of the main protagonist suggests at one point. If the person is Bi-sexual what happens ? if the person has a crush with someone of same sex when a troubled teenager, but then falls in love with a person of the other sex later on, do the creature stops ? and several other questions that make all this film shallow except in regards to the gay romance, that's the only things that seems to have been really thought about or lived, the rest is just background noise going from other characters to the plot itself. On the other end, the 2 ( even 3 with the one who dies quick) main protagonists are interpreted by really good actors. I don't know on which sexual end of the spectrum they are, but they are 1000% gay in this movie, and they prove it more than enough times. But, more importantly, they transpire the different traumas they experience really well. So, overall until the end i thought this was a 5/10 movie until the final scene that made me feel so disappointed and almost lied, or cheated, to (as the horror felt like a bait to have people watch a gay drama rather than anything else). But the actors are very good and deserve praise.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Failure all around! Not one moment of substance or entertainment. Complete fail.