Leviticus Movie Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for electric lead chemistry, emotionally potent queer horror, and sustained dread. Skip it if you need airtight supernatural rules, deep supporting characters, or nonstop gore.
Best for
Best for viewers who want character-driven queer horror, tender first-love drama, oppressive atmosphere, and a few carefully placed jolts rather than constant gore.
Not for
Not ideal for viewers who need detailed supernatural lore, deeply developed supporting roles, rapid pacing, or a fully closed and comforting ending.
Verdict
Leviticus works best when romance and horror occupy the same frame. Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen give vulnerable, highly charged performances, and Adrian Chiarella turns conversion therapy into a frightening curse that weaponizes desire, shame, and distrust. The industrial cinematography, ominous soundscape, and restrained score sustain an oppressive mood, while a handful of sharp scares provide real jolts. The concept is more compelling than its mythology, however: the entity’s rules are inconsistent, several supporting characters are thinly drawn, and some third-act repetitions weaken momentum. Even so, the film’s tenderness, thematic conviction, and bittersweet refusal of easy closure make it a memorable queer-horror debut rather than a simple It Follows imitation.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
42 reviewed features- Very positive 4.5-5.0 55% 23 features
- Positive 3.5-4.4 24% 10 features
- Neutral 2.5-3.4 14% 6 features
- Negative 1.5-2.4 7% 3 features
- Very negative below 1.5 0% 0 features
Pros
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Critical response is strongly favorable, with particular enthusiasm for the performances, central metaphor, suspense, and romance. Reservations focus mainly on familiar influences and underdeveloped rules.
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The film’s direct queer perspective gives its horror unusual specificity and emotional authenticity. It has been praised as a meaningful contribution to queer horror rather than a generic curse story with representation added on.
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Joe Bird gives Naim a vulnerable, expressive interior life, while Stacy Clausen shifts convincingly between tenderness, bravado, and frightening impersonation. Both leads are repeatedly singled out as major strengths.
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Adrian Chiarella’s debut is widely regarded as assured, sensitive, and controlled. He handles intimacy and dread especially well, even when the screenplay’s rules or side characters are less polished.
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The editing creates sharp shifts between open-space unease and claustrophobic danger while keeping the story compact. Its timing helps uncertainty linger whenever a familiar face appears.
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Despite the supernatural premise, the social pressure, secrecy, jealousy, and religious coercion feel painfully plausible. That grounded reality makes the curse more disturbing.
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The central romance is powered by unusually strong chemistry, with the leads making stolen affection, distrust, and reconciliation feel immediate. A small minority found the relationship underwritten despite the performances.
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The curse turns imposed shame into a physical threat, making desire, repression, betrayal, and community control inseparable. The metaphor is blunt but widely considered powerful, timely, and emotionally coherent.
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Romance, dread, sorrow, and cautious hope are balanced with unusual confidence. The film can pivot from tenderness to violence without making either side feel incidental.
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Desaturated industrial landscapes, intimate close-ups, and isolating compositions give the film a bleak but striking look. The camera repeatedly turns open spaces and familiar faces into sources of unease.
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Jed Kurzel’s score blends melancholy with low, ominous pressure. It supports both the romance and the dread without overwhelming the film’s quieter moments.
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Clanks, hums, silence, and other abrasive textures create a sinister atmosphere that feels larger than the film’s budget. The soundscape is especially effective when reality and imitation begin to blur.
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Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen are the clear standout, bringing tenderness, panic, guilt, and menace to emotionally demanding roles. Even less enthusiastic critics generally praised the acting.
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Uncertainty over whether Naim or Ryan is real drives sustained, often nail-biting tension. The film is strongest when affection and danger occupy the same scene.
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The tender, awkward first-love story is one of the film’s most consistently praised elements. Its intimacy gives the supernatural threat real weight and keeps the movie from becoming only a trauma allegory.
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The abandoned mill, faded homes, church interiors, and industrial surroundings create a spare, oppressive world. Small visual details reinforce the boys’ isolation and the community’s emotional austerity.
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Muted colors, industrial decay, shadows, and carefully separated figures create a bleak social-realist texture. Softer images of togetherness provide a meaningful contrast.
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The emotional romance and accessible curse premise give the film crossover potential beyond dedicated horror fans. Its bleak subject matter and restrained supernatural spectacle may narrow that appeal.
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The monster’s use of a loved one’s face is a strong, emotionally loaded horror hook. Familiar stalking mechanics remain, but the conversion-therapy framework gives the plot a distinctive purpose.
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The wound effects are used sparingly but land with convincing impact. Their restraint keeps the violence tactile without turning the film into a gore showcase.
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The sub-90-minute length is generally viewed as welcome and efficient. A few critics still felt the final stretch repeated itself or that the story needed more room to develop.
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The selective use of songs, especially Frank Ocean’s “Self Control,” gives the closing movement a bittersweet emotional lift. The soundtrack complements rather than overwhelms the original score.
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Practical wounds and digital enhancements are used selectively and effectively. The effects support the violence without distracting from the performances.
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The film is frequently described as heartbreaking, haunting, and deeply upsetting, with a modest thread of hope. Viewers who wanted fuller characterization were less emotionally invested.
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Understated clothing supports the town’s drab conformity and the film’s grounded unease. The design works quietly with the setting rather than calling attention to itself.
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The movie delivers enough gore, jumps, stalking tension, and dread to function as horror while remaining primarily character-driven. Viewers seeking nonstop scares may find it quieter than expected.
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Many critics admired the bittersweet final note and its refusal to offer an easy cure, finding it graceful and hopeful without denying lasting danger. Others found the ending abrupt or insufficiently resolved.
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Mia Wasikowska makes the mother’s cold, conflicted faith unsettling, even with limited screen time. Critics often wished the role and other adults had been developed further.
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The jealousy, betrayal, repression, and longing often carry more force than the supernatural attacks. The romantic conflict gives the horror its emotional stakes.
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The violence is brutal and emotionally purposeful rather than constant. Its limited but graphic attacks reinforce the cruelty of the premise without becoming sadistic spectacle.
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The film earns strong tension, a few standout jump scares, and several disturbing identity-switch set pieces. Reactions are mixed on overall fright level, with some viewers finding the supernatural element restrained or underwhelming.
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The core story combines first love, betrayal, conversion therapy, and supernatural pursuit with clear emotional purpose. Its impact is reduced for some viewers by sparse character history and an underdeveloped mythology.
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The film can be gripping and emotionally absorbing, but its bleakness makes it more punishing than conventionally fun. Its strongest appeal is to viewers who value mood, metaphor, and romance over constant thrills.
Cons
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The desire-shaped demon is a sharp variation on the supernatural-stalker formula, and the queer perspective gives it distinct emotional meaning. Comparisons with It Follows are unavoidable, and a few critics found the execution overly familiar.
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The compact runtime keeps most of the film focused, and several critics praised its escalating tension. Others felt the slow-burn setup dragged, the final act repeated itself, or the story moved too quickly to deepen its characters.
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The strongest exchanges feel casual and revealing, especially between the two boys. Some later dialogue is clunky or too explicit about the film’s themes.
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Naim’s flaws and emotional shifts come through clearly, but Ryan and several supporting characters can feel thin or unevenly developed. The limited backstory weakens the impact for some viewers.
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The script has a potent premise and strong relationship details, but its development is uneven. Critics most often questioned thin supporting roles, repeated third-act beats, and incomplete supernatural rules.
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The central curse is easy to grasp, but its boundaries and behavior are not always consistent. Questions about when victims are truly alone and how the entity learns remain underexplained.
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The condemnation of conversion therapy and religiously sanctioned shame is forceful and easy to understand. Some critics felt the message became too blunt, repetitive, or heavy-handed.
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The town and its social pressure feel convincing, but the supernatural mythology is notably thin. Several critics wanted clearer lore, stronger rules, and more context for the healer’s power.
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Humor is rare and deliberately uncomfortable. The few darkly comic beats do not land for every viewer and offer little relief from the film’s bleakness.
Cast & Creators
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ComposerKurzel’s score blends ominous pressure with melancholy, supporting both the horror and the love story. Its restraint helps the quieter emotional beats retain their force.
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CinematographerPerkins gives the film a striking visual identity through desaturated industrial landscapes, intimate close-ups, and isolating compositions. His images make open spaces feel exposed and unsafe.
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Sound DesignerBortignon’s sound design uses harsh textures, silence, and sinister details to create a visceral atmosphere. The soundscape makes the entity feel threatening even before violence arrives.
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EditorFenton’s editing keeps the compact story tense and uses timing to deepen uncertainty about familiar faces. The strongest sequences shift smoothly between open unease and sudden claustrophobia.
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NaimBird gives Naim a vulnerable, expressive interior life, moving convincingly through desire, guilt, fear, and determination. His quiet reactions help keep the supernatural premise emotionally grounded.
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RyanClausen combines swagger, tenderness, and menace, making Ryan appealing while sharply differentiating the character from the entity wearing his face. His chemistry with Bird is one of the film’s defining strengths.
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MusicianThe use of Ocean’s “Self Control” gives the final movement a bittersweet emotional release. The song strengthens the closing balance of love, danger, and uncertain hope.
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DirectorChiarella’s feature direction is widely praised for confidence, sensitivity, and control, particularly when romance and dread collide. Some screenplay and mythology issues remain, but the debut establishes a distinctive genre voice.
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ArleneWasikowska makes Arlene’s mixture of care, coldness, and religious conviction deeply unsettling. The performance is strong, though several critics wished the limited role had more development.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in runtime, realism, editing quality, below average in world-building, humor, message quality.
Summary
8 compared features- Above average 0.4+ pts higher 63% 5 features
- Same as average within 0.3 pts 0% 0 features
- Below average 0.4+ pts lower 38% 3 features
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| world-building | 2.1 | 3.9 | -1.9 |
| runtime | 4.5 | 2.6 | +1.9 |
| realism | 4.8 | 3.1 | +1.7 |
| editing quality | 4.8 | 3.1 | +1.7 |
| critic appeal | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| humor | 2.0 | 3.5 | -1.5 |
| message quality | 2.4 | 3.8 | -1.4 |
| tonal consistency | 4.7 | 3.3 | +1.3 |
FAQ
Is Leviticus genuinely scary?
It builds strong dread and identity-based suspense, with a few standout jump scares and brutal attacks. Some viewers may find it quieter and less frightening than its marketing suggests.
Is Leviticus similar to It Follows?
The stalking entity and uncertain rules invite obvious comparisons. Its queer romance and conversion-therapy framework give the familiar mechanism a different emotional and political purpose.
Are the lead performances strong?
Yes. Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen are widely praised for their vulnerability, chemistry, and ability to shift between tenderness, fear, and menace.
Is the ending satisfying?
The ending is bittersweet, open, and cautiously hopeful rather than neatly resolved. Many critics admired that choice, while others found it abrupt or incomplete.
Is the movie very gory?
It contains bloody, painful violence and a few graphic injuries, but gore is used selectively. The film relies more on dread, intimacy, and emotional threat than constant brutality.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Atomic Cult Media
- Review score
- 3.9
Article Reviews
themoviebuff.net
Looking for a review of Adrian Chiarella's film 'Leviticus'? The Movie Buff is your source for reviews, news, content, and more!
- Review score
- 4.1
thereviewgeek.com
Leviticus takes up the challenge to regale a tale worth telling. The movie is set in a small town in Australia which is used to create a...
- Review score
- 2.9
flickeringmyth.com
Leviticus, 2026. Written and Directed by Adrian Chiarella. Starring Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Tyallah Bullock, Ewen Leslie...
- Review score
- 4.5
in-betweenmedia.com
Steve Lawson gives a heartfelt review of Adrian Chiarella's horror indie film, "Leviticus," and explains why you should go see it!
- Review score
- 4.3
chicagoreader.com
Adrian Chiarella’s Leviticus is a compelling love story and horror concept that doesn’t trust its audience enough.
- Review score
- 3.5
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
It Follows
- Better: originality and supernatural rules The reviewer sees the film as too derivative of It Follows and less coherent in its lore.
- Compared: supernatural stalker concept The curse resembles It Follows, though the queer conversion-therapy framing changes its meaning.
- Compared: stalking-horror atmosphere The film shares an atmospheric lineage with It Follows without simply copying it.
Heated Rivalry
- Compared: queer romance The romance is compared with Heated Rivalry while the horror follows a darker path.
Romper Stomper
- Similar: social realism The film is said to resemble Romper Stomper’s social realism more than flashy modern horror.
Consider This Instead
If you want better world-building
Choose Rose of Nevada. It scores 5.0 vs 2.1 for world-building, with a 4.4 overall score.
If you want better message quality
Choose Camp. It scores 4.5 vs 2.4 for message quality, with a 3.8 overall score.
If you want better humor
Choose The Invite. It scores 4.8 vs 2.0 for humor, with a 4.5 overall score.
If you want better ending satisfaction
Choose Romería. It scores 5.0 vs 4.1 for ending satisfaction, with a 4.5 overall score.
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