Leviticus
Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most – each other. – "IMDb"
Excerpt
"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.
Continue reading “Leviticus” is Promising, but May Have an Identity Problem