{"id":648296,"date":"2026-06-20T03:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T03:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/648296\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T03:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T03:30:14","slug":"all-you-need-to-know-about-gay-horror-film-leviticus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/648296\/","title":{"rendered":"All you need to know about gay horror film Leviticus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                <img width=\"792\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781926212_417_Leviticus.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Leviticus still: two teen boys, the blonde cradling the cheek of the brunet, both in suits.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">Is Leviticus the best gay horror of the year? (Neon)<\/p>\n<p>Leviticus, an Australian queer supernatural horror-romance film, is being branded the best queer horror film of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Writer-director Adrian Chiarella\u2019s feature debut had a triumphant premiere at this year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/topic\/sundance-film-festival\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sundance Film Festival<\/a>. Now out in some countries, the film sheds new light on conversion therapy as a trope.<\/p>\n<p>Here is everything you need to know ahead of the release of Leviticus\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LEVITICUS_.jpeg\" alt=\"Leviticus still: two boys pressing their hands together but seperated by a netting window\" class=\"wp-image-907035\"  \/>Two queer teenage boys face horrors in Leviticus. (Neon)<\/p>\n<p>What is the movie Leviticus about?<\/p>\n<p>Leviticus follows high school classmates Naim and Ryan as they develop feelings for each other in a deeply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/topic\/religion\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">religious<\/a> community.<\/p>\n<p>When they are discovered, the church forces them to experience an exorcism, a form of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/topic\/conversion-therapy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">so-called conversion therapy<\/a>. Then, a violent entity is unleashed that shape-shifts into the person they love most.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chiarella\u2019s film then follows the pair as they navigate young love and this alternative coming-of-age experience nestled in a deeply hostile small town.<\/p>\n<p>The official synopsis reads: \u201cTwo teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most \u2013 each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"429\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/L2.jpg\" alt=\"Leviticus still: two boys lying down on the floor, one smoking\" class=\"wp-image-907048\"  \/>Leviticus explores conversion therapy through metaphor. (Neon)<\/p>\n<p>Is the Leviticus movie LGBTQ?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Leviticus is certainly a queer film, with its central gay romance between two teenage boys in a small Australian town.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The central premise of Leviticus is a metaphor for the queer experience and internalised homophobia.<\/p>\n<p>The shape-shifting supernatural entity appears in physical form as each teenage boy, relying on their forbidden gay desire. In turn, these teenage doppelg\u00e4ngers are a terrifying depiction of repressed sexuality.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Leviticus also offers a timely perspective on conversion therapy. The film follows recent explorations of conversation therapy \u2013\u00a0including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/2019\/02\/07\/boy-erased-joel-edgerton-lgbt-ally\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Boy Erased<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/topic\/the-miseducation-of-cameron-post\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Miseducation of Cameron Post<\/a> \u2013\u00a0but takes a distinctly horror approach.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Leviticus is named after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepinknews.com\/2018\/07\/22\/bible-leviticus-gay-sex\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Old Testament chapter<\/a>, often cited as justification for anti-LGBTQ+ perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe genre of horror movies has operated as this secret code amongst queer people,\u201d Chiarella said of his film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are so drawn to horror movies because we\u2019re watching not just the heroes in these films be terrorised by monsters \u2013 but there\u2019s also this sense of what it means to be the monster. What it means to be demonised and to be pushed to the fringes of society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"576\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LEVITICUS-.jpeg\" alt=\"Leviticus still: nighttime, a boy in the dark looking scared\" class=\"wp-image-907032\"  \/>Talk to Me\u2019s Joe Bird stars in Leviticus. (Neon)<\/p>\n<p>Who is in the cast of Leviticus?<\/p>\n<p>The leads, Naim and Ryan, are played by Talk to Me\u2019s Joe Bird and Thrash\u2019s Stacy Clausen, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, Bergman Island\u2019s Mia Wasikowska plays Arlene, Naim\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n<p>The Nightingale\u2019s Ewen Leslie is Rod, Hunter\u2019s father, while Davida McKenzie is Izzie, Hunter\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"429\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/L1.jpg\" alt=\"Leviticus still: two boys pushing bikes at sunset\" class=\"wp-image-907047\"  \/>When is Leviticus in cinemas? (Neon)<\/p>\n<p>When is Leviticus coming out?<\/p>\n<p>Leviticus is out Friday (19 June) in Australia and the US.<\/p>\n<p>Though, sadly, there is currently no UK release or streaming date for the film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is Leviticus the best gay horror of the year? (Neon) Leviticus, an Australian queer supernatural horror-romance film, is&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2332,146905,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-648296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-leviticus","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}