{"id":407601,"date":"2026-04-23T23:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/407601\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T23:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:12:08","slug":"leviticus-a-conversion-therapy-horror-romance-promises-to-fright-and-excitement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/407601\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Leviticus’ \u2014 a conversion therapy horror-romance \u2014 promises to fright and excitement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following its success at this year\u2019s Sundance Film Festival<\/a>, Leviticus, the debut feature from Australian director Adrian Chiarella<\/a>, has been dubbed the Heated Rivalry<\/a> of horror. And Chiarella and his stars have graciously accepted the nickname<\/a> \u2014 thanks, we assume, to Aussies\u2019 characteristically good sense of humor.<\/p>\n

But Leviticus, named for the Old Testament chapter often cited as justification<\/a> for anti-LGBTQ laws and religious beliefs, is no laughing matter. The horror-romance, starring Talk to Me\u2019s Joe Bird and up-and-comer Stacy Clausen, centers on young love that blooms in a hostile, small-town atmosphere, leading to horrific consequences.<\/p>\n

The trailer for the film<\/a>, which has been circulating online since its Wednesday release, shows Naim (Bird), being stalked by a scary approximation of his new high school crush, Ryan (Clausen). As if being the new kid wasn\u2019t already hard enough, it turns out that the small town that Naim\u2019s mother (Mia Wasikowska) has moved him to houses a pastor hellbent on ridding its boys of homosexual urges. And an exorcism-gone-bad ends up saddling the young lovers with demonic stalkers who appear in the form of the person they desire most \u2014 each other.<\/p>\n

The teenage-sex-has-consequences scenario has earned the film comparisons to indie horror hit It Follows \u2014 in addition to Jacob Tierney\u2019s steamy hit series, which features its own lip-locking brunette and blonde<\/a>. But it\u2019s also part of a rich tradition of genre films that give voice to queer dread<\/a> while delivering bone-chilling thrills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this kind of secret history with horror films, isn\u2019t there? That we\u2019ve had great artists like Mary Shelley and James Whale and Murnau and Clive Barker and these queer artists that have really shaped horror into what it is now \u2014 sometimes, because they were operating in a taboo field when they were dealing with themes they wanted to address, sometimes not,\u201d Chiarella said after a recent screening<\/a> of the film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art\u2019s New Directors\/New Films festival. \u201cAnd I think what we did with this film was try to reclaim a little bit of that space back by making a queer horror movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI think horror films are also just really fun, because they\u2019re very visceral. They get to you through your body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leviticus, which marks Wasikowska\u2019s long-awaited return to the limelight, as well as its young leads biggest roles to date, is being released by Neon in theaters June 19. Watch the trailer for the buzzy new horror flick below.<\/p>\n

– YouTube youtu.be<\/a> <\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Out: ‘Leviticus’ \u2014 a conversion therapy horror-romance \u2014 promises to fright and excitement<\/a><\/p>\n

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