{"id":5786,"date":"2026-06-18T23:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/movie-review-leviticus\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T23:00:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:00:32","slug":"movie-review-leviticus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/movie-review-leviticus\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: \u2018Leviticus\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2018Leviticus\u2019 borrows heavily from a past horror hit, but director Adrian Chiarella\u2019s feature debut is still a chilling allegory of love and abuse.<\/p>\n

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(L to R) Stacy Clausen and Joe Bird star in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Opening in theaters on June 19 is \u2018Leviticus,\u2019 written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, and starring Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt, Davida McKenzie, Ewen Leslie, Nicholas Hope, and Mia Wasikowska.<\/p>\n

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Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 19, 2026<\/p>\n

Run Time:<\/strong> 1 hr 28 min<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Related Article:\u00a0A24 has Ordered a Sequel to Successful, Spirit-Contacting Horror Movie \u2018Talk to Me\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Initial Thoughts<\/h2>\n
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(L to R) Stacy Clausen and Joe Bird star in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If May was an outstanding month for horror cinema in 2026 \u2013 with the arrival of \u2018Backrooms,\u2019\u2018Obsession,\u2019 and \u2018Hokum\u2019 \u2013 then June seems to be continuing the string with the arrival of \u2018Leviticus,\u2019 the feature debut from Australian writer-director Adrian Chiarella.<\/p>\n

While \u2018Leviticus\u2019 is heavily reminiscent of another indie horror hit from a few years back, and doesn\u2019t really flesh out its mythology or ending as well as it could, the film is still a confidently directed first theatrical effort from its director, with a consistent mood, two excellent lead performances, and a number of genuinely chilling se quences. And the film\u2019s subtext adds another layer to the story, the sort that the horror genre can provide at its best.<\/p>\n

Story and Direction<\/h2>\n
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(L to R) ‘Leviticus’ director Adrian Chiarella and Joe Bird.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Naim (Joe Bird) has recently moved to a small factory town in a rather dreary part of Australia with his mom Arlene (Mia Wasikowska), who has involved them in the local \u2013 and quite conservative \u2013 religious community. What Arlene doesn\u2019t know is that Naim has started an intense relationship with a youth named Ryan (Stacy Clausen) \u2013 a relationship that they only get to enjoy while alone and doing things like exploring abandoned warehouses. In school, in particular, Stacy all but ignores Naim to keep up appearances.<\/p>\n

But when Naim sees Ryan kissing another local boy named Hunter, he is so hurt and jealous that he informs Ryan\u2019s parents about it \u2013 precipitating a visit from a \u2018deliverance healer\u2019 (Nicholas Hope) who performs a religious ritual on Ryan and Hunter to cleanse them of their \u2018unnatural\u2019 desires. While that aspect of the ritual doesn\u2019t work, it somehow brings forth an entity that viciously attacks its victim when they\u2019re alone by taking the shape of the person they most desire.<\/p>\n

The entity attacks Hunter in the form of Stacy, while it also pursues Stacy in the form of Naim. And when Naim\u2019s mother has the ritual performed on him, he begins to see the entity in the form of Ryan. Soon Ryan and Stacy are unable to trust each other, and desperately try to find out how the entity came into being and what they can do to stop it, before it kills them both.<\/p>\n

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(L to R) Stacy Clausen and Joe Bird star in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Genre fans will no doubt recognize a number of similarities between this film and David Robert Mitchell\u2019s \u2018It Follows,\u2019 particularly with the elements of the entity that can assume any form and is connected to sex or at least desire. It\u2019s derivative enough on some level to be distracting, especially since Chiarella doesn\u2019t quite flesh out the rules of his haunting. How alone do you have to be for the entity to attack? Can you outrun it? Does it take breaks for certain amounts of time?<\/p>\n

These questions, while in some ways flippant, definitely come to mind. And while not over-explaining the threat in a horror film is quite often a good thing, \u2018Leviticus\u2019 might need a little more. Same goes for much of its third act; once the cards are on the table and the supernatural menace is spelled out, the film\u2019s denouement seems somewhat abrupt.<\/p>\n

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(L to R) Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen star in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Having said that, this is still a rich film because of the themes that Chiarella lays down. The ostracization of queer people \u2013 especially teens — is central and clear, while the dark abuse at the hands of elders, religious ones in particular, is drawn in harrowing fashion. The ritual that the boys undergo is nothing less than a metaphor for the odious, destructive practice of conversion therapy, and the way that the entity uses a person\u2019s own natural desires against them can also be seen as a stand-in for the horrendous psychological damages that these practices can wreak on people, especially youths. \u2018This is what they want, for us to be scared of each other,\u2019 says Ryan at one point, and it\u2019s heartbreaking to think of how many LGBTQ youths must be feeling exactly what he says.<\/p>\n

All that is effective, as is Chiarella\u2019s consistency of tone and aesthetic (which, it must be said, also pulls from \u2018It Follows,\u2019 particularly in the drab look and feel of the town) and the genuine romantic charge he gets out of his leads. The horror sequences, while somewhat few in nature, are also often quite unnerving. Seeing the story through the eyes of these boys is bracing and fresh. \u2018Leviticus\u2019 just misses greatness due to the thin nature of its script, particularly in the back half.<\/p>\n

Cast and Performances<\/h2>\n
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Joe Bird stars in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fresh off the harrowing \u2018Talk to Me,\u2019 Joe Bird is exceptional here as Naim. Shy, slight, the kind of sensitive, awkward boy who might get bullied even if he wasn\u2019t gay, Naim is trapped between the person he wants to be and what the community expects of him. Bird\u2019s Naim is empathetic even when he makes an unforgivable, impulsive choice \u2013 the kind that many young people might make, although his comes out of real hurt and not selfish desire as that of Bear in \u2018Obsession\u2019 — that sets him and Ryan on their terrifying trajectory.<\/p>\n

Stacy Clausen is equally effective as Ryan, clearly the alpha of the relationship, although Clausen perfectly nails the exterior bravado and aggressiveness that masks the often-frightened young man beneath. He and Bird share an instant, passionate chemistry, and Clausen is just as intense when he\u2019s portraying his doppelganger, adding a subtle chilliness that makes him seem unsettlingly alien and inhuman.<\/p>\n

The rest of the cast has an innate, lived-in naturalism (Nicholas Hope\u2019s healer is unnervingly matter-of-fact), although we would liked to have seen more of Mia Wasikowska\u2019s Arlene and understand better what makes her tick.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n
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Joe Bird stars in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Although horror fans will catch the influence of other genre favorites, \u2018Leviticus\u2019 is still an assured debut from yet another new voice in the field. The fact that Adrian Chiarella approaches the genre through an underrepresented community only adds to his potential, especially if he continues to work in a genre that has seen a number of queer filmmakers in recent times stake out territory for themselves.<\/p>\n

While it has its shortcomings, \u2018Leviticus\u2019 has enough strengths in terms of mood, character, themes, and eeriness to make it another worthwhile addition to this year\u2019s exciting new crop of genre entries from up-and-coming directors.<\/p>\n

\u2018Leviticus\u2019 receives a score of 80 out of 100.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Joe Bird stars in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What is the plot of \u2018Leviticus\u2019?<\/h2>\n

Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most: each other.<\/p>\n

Who is in the cast of \u2018Leviticus\u2019?<\/h2>\n
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  • Joe Bird as Naim<\/li>\n
  • Stacy Clausen as Ryan<\/li>\n
  • Mia Wasikowska as Arlene<\/li>\n
  • Jeremy Blewitt as Hunter<\/li>\n
  • Ewen Leslie as Rod<\/li>\n
  • Davida McKenzie as Izzie<\/li>\n
  • Nicholas Hope as the Deliverance Healer<\/li>\n
  • Zahra Newman as Rita<\/li>\n
  • Edwina Wren as Jacky<\/li>\n
  • Tyallah Bullock as Marnie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    ‘Leviticus’ opens in theaters on June 19th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    List of Movies Featuring Joe Bird:<\/h2>\n
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    • ‘Talk to Me’ (2023)<\/li>\n
    • ‘Wolfram’ (2025)<\/li>\n
    • ‘Leviticus’ (2026)<\/li>\n
    • ‘Crashout’ (2026)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Buy Tickets: ‘Leviticus’ Movie Showtimes<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Buy Joe Bird Movies on Amazon<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      Don Kaye has been reading, watching, and collecting horror and sci-fi books, comics, and movies since he was 7 years old. He has been writing about film for more than two decades and has interviewed everyone from Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan to Kevin Feige, while also covering events like Comic-Con and visiting the sets of films like The Dark Knight Rises, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, and others. Beginning his career as a music journalist and syndicated radio producer, he broke into film journalism with the legendary horror magazine Fangoria and has since been a contributor to Den Of Geek, Looper, Syfy, MSN, Moviefone, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and many more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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      \u2018Leviticus\u2019 borrows heavily from a past horror hit, but director Adrian Chiarella\u2019s feature debut is still a chilling allegory of love and abuse. (L to R) Stacy Clausen and Joe Bird star in ‘Leviticus’. Photo: Neon. Opening in theaters on June 19 is \u2018Leviticus,\u2019 written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, and starring Joe Bird, Stacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":5787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-5786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-filmtv","tag-mixtv"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1,"today_views":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.00strategy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}