Some of the well-known horror tropes of the Nineteen Eighties was that anybody who had intercourse in a specific movie would inevitably be killed shortly thereafter. The brand new horror movie Leviticus updates that trope for the twenty first century, with the added bonus of pointed commentary that sadly stays as related as ever.
Naim (Joe Chicken) and his mom (Mia Wasikowska) have not too long ago moved to a brand new city in Australia. Naim hasn’t made many new pals aside from Ryan (Stacy Clausen), with whom he’s exploring a rundown manufacturing facility because the movie begins. The teenage boys uncover an attraction towards one another, one thing they attempt to hold hidden because the church they each attend abhors homosexuality.
When Naim sees Ryan kissing one other boy, he rashly tells a church elder about it, resulting in the church forcing Ryan and the opposite boy — and finally Naim — to undergo a conversion ceremony. However as a substitute of creating them imagine they’re not homosexual, the ceremony conjures a demon, invisible to anybody however them, that takes the type of the individual to which they’re attracted.
Written and directed by first-time function filmmaker Adrian Chiarella, the movie is the most recent instance of Australia being a hotbed for horror motion pictures. Referencing the same-named Bible chapter that some interpret as forbidding homosexuality, it turns into an intense and intelligent journey into paranoia. Ryan and Naim nonetheless see one another on a regular basis, however they’ll by no means belief that the individual in entrance of them is actual.
Chiarella makes probably the most of his restricted assets, using darkish scenes and soiled areas to enhance the already-creepy vibe. However what makes the story hit the toughest is the understanding that boys like Naim and Ryan are virtually actually trapped of their small city, unable to discover a secure house to be who they’re. An unseen demon making an attempt to kill them is one factor, however the unsympathetic folks round them really feel virtually as malevolent.
Whereas the 90-minute movie maintains its momentum for probably the most half, there are occasions when Chiarella loses the thread on his story logic. At first, it appears as if the demon solely assaults when one of many boys offers in to temptation. However because the movie progresses, the filmmaker performs a bit quick and unfastened with that reasoning. Sure selections by the characters additionally pressure credulity, lessening the impression of the story to a level.
Each Chicken (Speak to Me) and Clausen give naturalistic performances that not often really feel as in the event that they’re appearing. Wasikowska, who was the “It woman” for some time after starring in two Alice in Wonderland motion pictures, is the one face American audiences will doubtless know. She does nicely, particularly contemplating it’s troublesome to imagine she’s already sufficiently old to credibly play a mom of an adolescent.
With a well timed theme concerning the dangerous results of conversion remedy on homosexual folks and a twist on a drained horror trope, Leviticus is one other notch within the belt for 2026 as an excellent horror film yr. With extra expertise underneath his belt, Chiarella will doubtless have the ability to work out how you can easy over the bumps within the storytelling he confirmed this time round.
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Leviticus is now enjoying in choose theaters.
