Making The Queer Horror Romance ‘leviticus' Was An Exploration — And A Reclamation

In writer-director Adrian Chiarella’s “Leviticus,” cheery teens successful small-town Australia are stalked by a shape-shifting monster that takes nan shape of whomever they astir desire. For cautious newcomer Naim (Joe Bird), that’s Ryan (Stacy Clausen), nan classmate he’s been stealing kisses pinch successful an abandoned mill, making it vulnerable not only for nan boys to beryllium unsocial together but to enactment connected their budding feelings.

“I wanted to make a movie that embraced nan fearfulness and worry of being a young queer personification pinch nan fearfulness and worry that’s inherent successful each scary movie,” says Chiarella, whose striking debut characteristic uses genre to bespeak traumas knowledgeable by LGBTQ group astir nan world.

Built astir Bird and Clausen’s awesome performances and produced by Causeway Films (“The Babadook,” “Talk to Me,” “Bring Her Back”), nan film’s tense blend of chilling metaphor, coming-of-age play and tender romance made it an instant breakout astatine nan Sundance Film Festival, wherever it earned nan buzzy if not wholly meticulous moniker of “Heated Rivalry” meets “It Follows.” (Chiarella, who’s written and directed for Australian tv and calls those comparisons “encouraging,” had seen nan lucky romance while he was successful postproduction: “Who hadn’t?” he says pinch a grin.)

Neon acquired nan movie retired of Sundance and opens nan movie Friday, adding different must-see debut to a banner twelvemonth for caller voices successful scary pursuing Curry Barker’s “Obsession” and Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms.” The socially pointed “Leviticus” besides arrives pinch added gravity successful a infinitesimal erstwhile support for LGBTQ authorities has seen a marked backslide successful nan U.S.

Stacy Clausen, left, and Joe Bird successful nan move “Leviticus.”

(Neon)

Bird stars arsenic 17-year-old Naim, who’s conscionable moved to a dreary blimpish organization pinch his belief mother Arlene (Mia Wasikowska, giving a chilling portrayal of parental complicity aft a three-year absence from nan screen), a caller widow who has recovered solace successful a section church. When immoderate same-sex dalliances among nan congregation’s teens are exposed — including Ryan’s engagement pinch nan pastor’s boy — a “deliverance healer” (cult character Nicholas Hope) is hired to execute a ritual to free nan town’s youths of their sins. Only alternatively of exorcising demons, nan rite curses nan boys pinch a vicious entity that mimics nan personification they want to beryllium pinch and exacts a bone-crushing reward if they succumb to temptation.

Melbourne-based Chiarella, 45, fell successful emotion pinch movies increasing up successful Sydney pinch an Italian begetter and a Chinese mother who exposed him to Asian cinema greats specified arsenic Wong Kar-wai alongside scary classics for illustration John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” nan “Nightmare connected Elm Street” movies and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Cure.” All of them would later power “Leviticus”’ visceral ambiance of romance, paranoia and dread. First moving arsenic a movie editor pinch artists for illustration Baz Luhrmann, Chiarella dreamed of directing and started making short films, but ne'er afloat made nan leap.

Then successful 2016, his begetter died. Chiarella questioned what he wanted to do pinch his life. “I thought: What are nan stories that I want to tell? And I started penning them,” he says complete video chat, backmost successful Sydney for nan Australian premiere earlier embarking connected a U.S. property tour.

“I thought: What are nan stories that I want to tell? And I started penning them,” says head Adrian Chiarella.

(Christopher Patey / For The Times)

Chiarella had learned of modern time “exorcisms” performed connected queer younker crossed nan globe and, besides drafting connected his ain experiences, decided to show a communicative that examined homophobia arsenic its cardinal fear. At first he considered a queer rotation connected “The Exorcist,” but recovered that his attempts were reinforcing nan aforesaid toxic views he was trying to subvert — “which is that there’s this cheery demon wrong you,” he says.

So he began workshopping a twist, landing connected a monster that is utilized by an oppressive organization arsenic a instrumentality of coercion. In “Leviticus,” nan evil isn’t queerness itself but a supernatural unit conjured to scare LGBTQ younker consecutive and internalize their fearfulness and shame. It tin beryllium publication arsenic a nonstop allegory for conversion therapy and for different ways that homophobia tin change behaviour and origin lasting psychological and affectional damage. Give successful to your feelings and consequence your safety; repress your existent aforesaid and you mightiness survive. But astatine what cost?

Chiarella proudly places “Leviticus” wrong a contented of queer creation that has ever existed wrong horror, from Mary Shelley to F. W. Murnau and beyond. “A batch of them were exploring otherness and self-discovery done nan archetypes of nan genre because it was a measurement to definitive it astatine a clip erstwhile those ideas were taboo,” he says. “With this task we wanted to reclaim a portion of that genre back.”

Raised successful Adelaide, Bird was nary alien to horror, having made a scene-stealing move successful nan Philippou brothers’ teen possession deed “Talk to Me” erstwhile he was 15. Receiving Chiarella’s “Leviticus” book while successful Sydney connected a autobus to Bondi Beach, he became truthful engrossed successful reference it he promptly missed his stop.

“It was 1 of nan astir authentic, earthy and honorable scripts I’ve read,” Bird, 19, says complete video chat from Los Angeles. “Every character has that gut emotion erstwhile they publication thing and think: This is typical and I request to beryllium a portion of it. These characters were truthful multifaceted and analyzable — they conscionable felt human. And that’s important because erstwhile they consciousness real, you attraction astir nan characters and what nan story’s trying to say.”

Bird’s audition, exposing Naim’s guarded vulnerability pinch a believable naturalism, instantly caught Chiarella’s eye. “It was evident that he had this authenticity and felt for illustration a existent teenager, which is thing that is very difficult to find,” says Chiarella. “Joe was capable to beryllium himself and fto spell and springiness each of himself to this character, and I could spot that successful this first tape.”

“It’s heartwarming to person group travel up and say, ‘I wish I had this movie erstwhile I was younger,’” says character Stacy Clausen, left, pinch Joe Bird.

(Christopher Patey / For The Times)

In Clausen, 21, he and casting head Nikki Barrett recovered an character pinch scope who could propulsion disconnected nan situation of a highly interior and highly beingness dual domiciled arsenic Ryan and his supernatural double. During casting workshops, he and Bird people gravitated toward each other. “As soon arsenic Joe and Stacy were together successful scenes it was clear that they had an undeniable chemistry that could shape nan bosom of this film,” says Chiarella.

The actors spent clip forging nan benignant of friendly complaint that could beryllium felt successful wordless glances betwixt their closeted characters. “We knew that nan emotion communicative was nan bosom of nan movie and if nan emotion communicative works, nan scary will work,” says Bird. Roadtripping crossed location Victoria pinch Chiarella, they bought each different $10 gifts successful characteristic and did flight rooms together, practicing hiding Naim and Ryan’s relationship from everyone astir them.

And an uncomfortable infinitesimal successful a promenade besides lent penetration into really nan extracurricular world mightiness dainty nan pair.

“We were successful this shopping halfway arsenic Ryan and Naim and location were these boys looking retired of nan area of their eye,” recalls Clausen, sliding into a quiet nook astatine Mirate successful Los Feliz aft reuniting pinch Chiarella and Bird successful L.A. to present a typical screening. “And I could virtually spot personification side-eyeing maine and judging me. Letting that onshore and emotion that was truthful adjuvant erstwhile it came to translating that connected camera.”

Named aft nan book of nan Bible that contains a transition often interpreted arsenic demonizing homosexuality, “Leviticus” uses motifs of quality clashing pinch man-made business ruin to induce nan assemblage to mobility wherever repressive societal notions astir homosexuality travel from. Cinematographer Tyson Perkins gorgeously captures nan harsh scenery of Naim’s world successful agrarian vistas marred by human-made powerfulness lines and blazing lipid refineries, shooting connected widescreen anamorphic lenses that swallow Naim and Ryan up successful their dispute surroundings.

Chiarella besides pays homage to queer history onscreen. One segment has Naim and Ryan separated by a surface door, an intentional motion to Jean Genet’s seductive 1950 masterpiece “Un Chant d’Amour,” successful which 2 prisoners definitive their yearning for each different done a shared wall. Another wrenching sequence, successful which Ryan is brutally attacked by an invisible force, is staged wrong a photograph booth, “inspired by nan truth that photograph booths utilized to beryllium nan only safe abstraction for men to travel together and to research their intimacy pinch each other,” Chiarella says.

At nan film’s aching halfway is nan romanticist tether betwixt nan boys that refuses to dice moreover successful nan look of gory attacks, achy betrayals and moreover uncertainty among nan 2 of them. “This movie astatine its bosom was an exploration of queer trauma,” says Chiarella. “There had to beryllium a consciousness that sometimes erstwhile you acquisition homophobia it tin hide heavy wrong and go thing you transportation pinch you for a agelong time.”

Arguably nan astir romanticist statement of nan twelvemonth comes erstwhile 1 boy tells nan different that if he’s going to beryllium haunted, “I want it to look for illustration you.” Chiarella had heard a akin sentiment successful his individual life. “Sometimes erstwhile I’m hanging out, peculiarly pinch cheery men, this speech comes up, almost for illustration a meal statement game,” he says. “If they had a pill that could make you straight, would you return it? And personification gave nan astir romanticist answer, which was, ‘I wouldn’t, because past I wouldn’t beryllium pinch my partner.’”

So it was important that immoderate solace antagonistic nan horrors that Naim and Ryan experience. “I dream that what group tin return from nan movie is that they’re choosing to unrecorded successful dream and not fear,” says Bird. A way he listened to connected repetition during filming, Frank Ocean’s “Self Control,” recovered its measurement into nan movie itself aft Chiarella wrote a heartfelt missive to nan singer, its inclusion adding a bittersweet grace statement to nan uncertainty that remains.

In caller weeks, nan filmmakers and Neon person embraced an online fandom that’s already made viral TikTok edits and instrumentality creation of nan characters’ romance moreover earlier nan movie is released. Chiarella, Bird and Clausen besides cherish nan affectional reactions they’ve heard from early audiences.

“It’s heartwarming to person group travel up and say, ‘I wish I had this movie erstwhile I was younger,’” says Clausen. “To person cheery couples travel up crying, saying convey you is unthinkable and it’s what you do it for. The champion emotion successful nan world is to cognize that we’ve comforted someone.”