"Where Leviticus could have been an undeniable hit, it serves instead as a stepping stone. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a show of faith in Chiarella’s vision."
Recently I watched Dan Levy’s Big Mistakes (2026) and noticed it seemed to turn a growing trope on its head. When characters in these special projects make wild decisions or don’t do something that falls under the basic rubric of “common sense” it can be frustrating to the audience. While the characters in Big Mistakes were in larger than life situations, it didn’t stop them from trying to figure out what was going on. They asked questions, and when they didn’t, the reasons were believable and kept the twisting plot surprisingly grounded.
In Adrian Chiarella’s feature debut Leviticus (2026), we’re treated to a slick queer thriller romance that doesn’t ask or answer nearly enough questions to be cohesive. The main character is Naim played by Joe Bird of 2022’s Talk To Me (also an Australian horror). Naim is friends with Ryan (Stacy Clausen in what appears to be his feature debut), and on the precipice of discovering they are actually more than friends. This leads to the boys forming an unbreakable bond until Naim sees something he shouldn’t and makes a decision that changes the course of his life, Ryan’s and others as collateral damage.
Kyle and his friends hack for fun, pranking online scammers. Seeking a bigger thrill, they target billionaire Don Heard through his daughter Lindsey's social media, stealing his cryptocurrency. – "INDb"
Score: 6.5/10
Director / Writer:Ronan Corrigan
Starring:Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, Roman Heck-Green, James Scholz
Genre:tech thriller, heist film, screenlife
Runtime:92 minutes
Release:2025
Excerpt
"LifeHACK seems to have avoided [screenlife] pitfalls, creating a sleek, innovative Robin Hood for the modern day-style thriller that will keep you invested throughout. "
What Are We Getting Into?
If you were subjected to Prime’s War of the Worlds then first off, sorry, and secondly, congratulations, you were part of the great experiment. Found footage is a trend that gained popularity with the found footage hit The Blair Witch Project (1999), and the process of displaying that footage became “screenlife” a challenge to filmmakers to create a feature where every shot is shown through a computer, tablet or smartphone screen. It may have been spurred on by the ubiquity of cell phones and and other mobile devices and bolstered by the pandemic when having crews in the same place was a liability.
Whether it be the creative but clunky Unfriended (2014), or the confusing and often motion-sickness inducing Missing (2023), or even the well honed but unlauded Searching (2018), it’s a maneuver that can make or break your project depending on the outcome. Thankfully LifeHACK seems to have avoided these pitfalls, creating a sleek, innovative Robin Hood for the modern day-style thriller that will keep you invested throughout.
