If you want better world-building
Choose Rose of Nevada. It scores 5.0 vs 2.1 for world-building, with a 4.5 overall score.
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
41 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.022 (54%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.411 (27%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.45 (12%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.43 (7%)
Pros highlights
-
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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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 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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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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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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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.
Cons highlights
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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 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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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 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 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 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.
Cast & Creators
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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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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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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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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, critic appeal, romance quality, near average in scares, production design, below average in world-building, humor, message quality.
Comparison summary
41 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher27 (66%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts11 (27%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower3 (7%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| world-building | 2.1 | 3.8 | -1.7 |
| humor | 2.0 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| runtime | 4.5 | 2.8 | +1.7 |
| critic appeal | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| romance quality | 4.6 | 3.3 | +1.4 |
| tonal consistency | 4.7 | 3.1 | +1.5 |
| cultural representation | 5.0 | 3.4 | +1.6 |
| editing quality | 4.8 | 3.4 | +1.4 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better romance quality
Choose Obsession. It scores 5.0 vs 4.6 for romance quality, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better writing quality
Choose Exit 8. It scores 4.8 vs 2.9 for writing quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better originality
Choose Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. It scores 4.9 vs 3.6 for originality, with a 4.4 overall score.
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.
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
- 3.8
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
- 4.0
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
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