leviticus (2026) ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺
the movie that brought me back to writing
I had just sat down for a screening of Hokum (2026) on my birthday when the trailer for Leviticus started playing. The images on the screen evoked a familiarity within me, but I was unsure whether I had ever seen the movie trailer or not. By the end, I was 100% sold on the film and so eager to watch it. As it’s release date approached closer and closer, I was practically telling everyone I knew about the movie and was tweeting about how excited I was to watch it almost every day. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch it on its release day like intended, but I was gifted with the experience of watching it alone in the theater.
I was left in my seat, shocked, as soon as the credits rolled.
Leviticus is an Australian film that was released in mid June this year. It is a queer horror directed by Adrian Chiarella and stars Joe bird, Stacey Clausen and Mia Wasikowska. The movie follows Naim (Joe Bird) and his mother Arlene (Mia Wasikowska) as they move to a small, industrial, and religious town in Australia. There, Naim meets Ryan and the two have a magnetic connection and quickly come to develop romantic feelings for each other. When the adults in the town discover the blooming romance, they take drastic measures, leaving Ryan and Naim fighting for their lives.
I don’t want to spoil too much because I highly highly recommend everyone to watch it for themselves, but as always proceed with caution!
The chemistry between the two leads is phenomenal, Clausen and Bird do an incredible job of endearing not just their characters, but their relationship with one another, to the audience. Many of their scenes are physical, to say the least, but in that physicality there is tenderness, a gentleness unique to them which shines through and sets the film apart.
I loved the message about fears place in society, and Naim’s mother, Arlene, has a line that really tied the exploration of the topic all together. Around the end of the film she says something about how people need fear in order to protect themselves. It directly contrasts with the 88 minutes we just spent watching fear manifest and hurt people. It really drives home how some people will always believe in fear, trust it and rely on it, use it as a crutch and as a control; however love will always transcend fear.
Something I appreciated was Clausen and Bird representing how different people process and respond to their own fears, desires, religious trauma, and their journey to self discovery and acceptance. Ryan is portrayed as cocky, confident, and full of bravado. He uses violence as a distraction, a way to ignore the unfamiliar feelings within him. He acts on impulse and tries to find meaning within his own actions. Naim is seen to be gentler, both with himself and with Ryan. He is trusting, determined, and sensitive; he has always known that he was different from his peers, and has been afraid of it. He has carried this anxiety with him throughout his life. Both of the boys find refuge in each other, not just because they carry the same curse, but because when they’re with each other they are stripped of the expectations society has placed on their behavior and desires. The small town uses fear in order to drive them apart but through their resilience and acceptance, they escape it.
The needle drop outro with Frank Oceans ‘Self Control’ is insane work. I left that theater and self control immediately became my number one song that week. Chiarella captured the emotions of the ending scene perfectly. The exhaustion, the hope, the relief, the safety and uncertainty. Perfect needle drop.
There is something to be said about the title—a clear religious reference, and fittingly so considering the main premise of the story. I’m sure there is some connection, some nod to a passage or verse, but quite frankly I haven’t found myself particularly intrigued enough to do a deep dive on it. A surface level search indicates that the verses contained within the scripture are often used to support homophobic rhetoric. If any of you guys do research on the topic, or know more about it, I would love to listen!
This film, while full of heart and rich in emotion, does fall short in some places. With its runtime ending up just shy of 90 minutes, it unfortunately does leave the audience wanting more. It’s exploration of themes, although high quality and meaningful, are not complete. The film could’ve easily been an extra 20-30 minutes and that would’ve made it all the more impactful.
Although Clausen and Bird manage to have the audiences rooting for their characters and their relationship, adding more scenes with them to build up their intimacy or add more layers to their romance would’ve made the final scenes have a larger payoff. There is one specific scene, (which I won’t spoil because I do think it is one of the emotional highlights of the film), that would’ve meant a lot more and tugged on more of my heartstrings if that build up was there. I believe that Ryan and Naim like each other and are attracted to each other, there’s just not much on why. What is pulling them together other than the fact that they’re the only two gay people they know of in that town?
And all of this is just to say we needed more! There was so much material to work with here, and I suppose that’s what inspired me to write again. It has great actors, a good script, good sound, an interesting concept, meaningful representation, etc. and there should just be more of it!! Its been said that the movie was cut a bit to meet Sundance requirements, but Adrian Chiarella please release the 4 hour directors cut, (i’m begging). Many say the film is a copy of It Follows (2014) and draws on similar concepts from the manga The Summer Hikaru Died, but I believe that it’s found its own little niche and shouldn’t be compared to the two.
Despite its feeling of incompleteness, I absolutely recommend this movie and you should definitely watch it. It good representation for the LGBTQ+ community, and it definitely will hit close to home for some viewers. In general, it’s just a good, thrilling movie that has wormed its way into my brain. If you do watch it, let me know your thoughts!