Leviticus – Movie Review (4/5)

LEVITICUS is an LGBTQ+ horror movie about the brutal impact of religious conversion therapy. Also, it’s a beautiful love story. It has elements of movies as diverse as It Follows and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. I was completely mesmerized throughout. Read our full Leviticus movie review here and find it on VOD now!

LEVITICUS is a horror movie out on VOD now. Despite the core plot revolving around young love and a coming-of-age story, it is very much a horror movie. The most correct description is to call it an LGBTQ+ horror story, as it deals with religious conversions that turn sinister and demonic.

Of course, conversion therapy is always sinister, but in this case, it evolves in a way reminiscent of It Follows. And extremely effective horror movie with a sweet and honest gay love story at its center. Not unlike No Rest for the Wicked, but much faster paced and direct in its storytelling.

Continue reading our Leviticus movie review below. Find it out on Digital from July 28, 2026.

You cannot pray away the gay

As much as religion can be the source of good, Leviticus shows exactly why it is too often the source of bad. Instead of preaching love, understanding, and forgiveness, it goes towards hate, rejection, and punishment.

In this horror movie, we meet two teenage boys, Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen), who have just discovered that they are both gay. Also, they seem to be completely smitten with each other. Unfortunately, in this small Australian town, being gay is not an option.

As a result, anyone who is discovered to have gay tendencies will be forced to undergo a very special kind of conversion therapy. In front of everyone else belonging to their church, of course. As a result, the boys are now hunted by an extremely violent entity that takes on the form of the person they desire most.

In the case of this horror love story, it’s each other. However, nobody else can see when the demonic version of their love appears. In that sense, Leviticus reminded me of a sinister hybrid of It Follows and The Miseducation of Cameron Post.

Two movies that I adore… as I do this one!

Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen are magical

When speaking of magic, there is always the good magic and the darker kind. With the two leading actors, Joe Bird of Talk to Me and Stacy Clausen of Thrash, we are getting the very best kind of magic. There’s so much chemistry and intensity in their scenes together that you must be extremely cold-hearted not to see that.

If these two hadn’t worked so extremely well together, Leviticus would never have been as efficient.

Also, we need to have amazing actors in the roles of those trying to keep them apart. And we do! With Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Stoker, Piercing), we’re getting a real treat as she portrays the single mother of Joe Bird’s character “Naim”.

And Ewen Leslie portrays a preacher who wants to do good, but does not.

Watch Leviticus on VOD now!

Leviticus comes from writer and director Adrian Chiarella, who has created the most intense horror movie and combined it with a coming-of-age love story. I am a huge fan already and would recommend that everyone check it out.

To be fair, it does get very violent and bloody, so if that’s tough for you, then this will not be an easy watch. However, it is a very honest and direct presentation of life as a young LGBTQ+ person in a society that will not accept them.

Also, I loved that Mia Wasikowska is an executive producer on the movie. Her character is full of love, but not acceptance or understanding. And yet, these characters are just as important to show as real and realistic people. The runtime is just 88 minutes, which works perfectly. Do not miss out on this one!

Leviticus is out on VOD on July 28, 2026.

Details

Written and Directed by: Adrian Chiarella
Cast: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, Zahra Newman, and Mia Wasikowska