Leviticus
Review by Mark Woodring
First film on Day 3 (Day 2 for me) at Sundance was another Aussie horror film (you know I love those) called Leviticus.
Put simply, this is a gay conversion therapy It Follows.
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below. Remember, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
86 Minutes
Written and Directed by Adrian Chiarella
Synopsis:
Two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
But it is so much more than that.
An absolutely terrifying mythology and execution of it.
In a small, religious community, a frightening reaction to “unclean” or “deviant” behaviors unleashes a terror upon the youth. A mysterious preacher is called to cleanse the offending youth.
Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen both carry their parts off well, although the somewhat abbreviated runtime limits a deeper exploration of the mythology which would have been welcome.
Leviticus is relentless in its presentation, and calm moments are sparing and laced with expectation. A battle between desire and fear, hope and uncertainty, Leviticus pumps the level of tension up high and rarely relents.
There’s no clean ending here, either; Chiarella won’t allow it, and that works to extend the horror through the closing credits and beyond.
I love ambiguity, so I won’t spoil the film for you, but I found it a great time.
Not for everyone, but a great entry in the rarely disappointing MIDNIGHT category.
Leviticus stars Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen.
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