{"id":2570,"date":"2026-06-18T21:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2570"},"modified":"2026-06-18T21:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:04:12","slug":"movie-review-leviticus-makes-a-demon-out-of-desire-in-an-auspicious-debut-for-adrian-chiarella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2570","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: \u2018Leviticus\u2019 makes a demon out of desire in an auspicious debut for Adrian Chiarella"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><p>What if the object of your desire was also the thing that\u2019s trying to kill you? Not slowly irritating you to death for leaving the toilet seat up again. We mean actively trying to strangle you.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the intriguing premise behind the horror-satire \u201cLeviticus,\u201d an auspicious feature film debut for writer-director Adrian Chiarella that\u2019s both deeply scary and a queer revolt.<\/p>\n<p>Named for the book of the Old Testament often used to justify homophobia, the movie explores the burgeoning relationship between two young men that is shattered when so-called \u201cconversion therapy\u201d \u2014 a scientifically discredited practice \u2014 unleashes a demon that stalks them. Some have called the movie \u201cIt Follows\u201d meets \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d but that\u2019s a disservice to Chiarella\u2019s ambition.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The film centers on Naim (Joe Bird, the breakout star of A24\u2019s \u201cTalk to Me\u201d )and Ryan (newcomer Stacy Clausen), who we watch fitfully, awkwardly fall for each other, slowly exploring their sexuality and stutter-stepping into their true selves. Wrestling turns to flirtation, which becomes longing and tenderness.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t go over well in the small Australian town where the movie is set, a blue-collar community with belching smoke stacks, low-slung houses, barking dogs and a Christian pastor \u2014 with a \u201cdeliverance healer\u201d \u2014 who prefers his flock much more heterosexual.<\/p>\n<p>Chiarella is leaning not only into the notion that sexual desire makes you vulnerable, but also the harm that repressing who you are can do. In this case, the demon takes the form of your crush. It has weaponized lust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be near me. I shouldn\u2019t be near you, either,\u201d one of the would-be lovers says to the other.<\/p>\n<p>Chiarella starts his movie with a nod to Alfred Hitchcock \u2014 a shower scene worthy of \u201cPsycho\u201d \u2014 and nods to others in the genre, like \u201cA Nightmare on Elm Street.\u201d He can be a bit clunky with his images \u2014 a frog being eaten by a snake \u2014 but his pacing is flawless and his ramping up of terror is sure. \u201cLeviticus\u201d might be an indie film, but it\u2019s got the blessing of Frank Ocean, who gave the filmmakers the right to use his song \u201cSelf Control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The monsters \u2014 in addition to the nasty one only the boys can see, of course \u2014 are the adults: the parents and caregivers and friends who turn on vulnerable, scared young men and make them scared of each other. Mom might kindly take some disliked olives off her son\u2019s pizza, but she won\u2019t accept him kissing another boy.<\/p>\n<p>Chiarella\u2019s pro-queer filmmaking extends to his ability to perfectly capture the fumbling ecstasy of new love, the fierce longing of stolen kisses and how scary it is to submit to a new partner. Kudos to Bird and Clausen for capturing that universal feeling.<\/p>\n<p>With his film, Chiarella forms a triumvirate of young filmmakers making horror brilliant in summer 2026, alongside Curry Barker with \u201cObsession\u201d and Kane Parsons\u2019 \u201cBackrooms.\u201d The future of movies is in good hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeviticus,\u201d a Neon release that\u2019s in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for \u201cbloody violent content, language, some sexual content and teen drug use.\u201d Running time: 88 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2564\">Israel seized more land from neighbors since 2023 than it has in decades<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2566\">Arizona prosecutors dismissing fake elector case but vow to seek new indictment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2568\">Eager to work, teens find a frustrating summer job search<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if the object of your desire was also the thing that\u2019s trying to kill you? Not slowly irritating you to death for leaving the toilet seat up again. We mean actively trying to strangle you. That\u2019s the intriguing premise behind the horror-satire \u201cLeviticus,\u201d an auspicious feature film debut for writer-director Adrian Chiarella that\u2019s both [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1101,1102,149,150,440,167,1103,1104],"tags":[4200,4201,4202,4203,4204,4205],"class_list":["post-2570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-0-no-apple-publish","category-1gridmagazine","category-a-town-magazine","category-celebrities","category-movie-reviews","category-sentinel-screen","category-uncategorized","category-z-other-galley","tag-adrian-chiarella","tag-frank-ocean","tag-joe-bird","tag-leviticus","tag-naim","tag-ryan"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Movie Review: \u2018Leviticus\u2019 makes a demon out of desire in an auspicious debut for Adrian Chiarella - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2570\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Movie Review: \u2018Leviticus\u2019 makes a demon out of desire in an auspicious debut for Adrian Chiarella - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What if the object of your desire was also the thing that\u2019s trying to kill you? 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