Neon released the first trailer Wednesday for Leviticus, the queer supernatural horror film that stunned critics at Sundance in January and arrives in theaters June 19 — positioning Australian filmmaker Adrian Chiarella as one of the boldest new voices in genre cinema.
The film follows two star-crossed teenage boys, Naim and Ryan, living in an isolated, conservative Christian community in regional Victoria, Australia. When a local pastor discovers their attraction, the boys are subjected to a religious conversion ritual that goes catastrophically wrong — accidentally releasing a violent, malevolent entity rather than “cleansing” them. The specter takes the form of whoever the afflicted person desires most. In this case, for both boys, that’s each other.
Joe Bird, known from Talk to Me, and Stacy Clausen star as the two teenagers. Mia Wasikowska co-stars as Naim’s mother, marking her return to screens after a three-year absence. The film is produced by Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton of Causeway Films — the same team behind Talk to Me and Bring Her Back — alongside Hannah Ngo.
Neon acquired worldwide distribution rights, excluding Australia and New Zealand, in a deal worth $5 million — one of the bigger acquisitions out of Sundance this year. The film screened at SXSW following its Sundance bow and played the New Directors/New Films program at MoMA in New York, where Chiarella, Bird, and Clausen participated in a post-screening conversation.
Chiarella, in an interview at Sundance, was direct about the film’s intent. “I always wanted to reclaim this genre,” he said. “Horror films were really shaped by queer writers for queer audiences, and in a lot of ways we were reclaiming that space. This is a film about two boys who fall in love, and about the community that tries to erase that feeling that they have for each other. And the curse that they unintentionally unleash.”
Critics have drawn comparisons between Chiarella and celebrated Australian horror filmmakers Jennifer Kent and the Philippou brothers, citing his widescreen compositions and precision in staging set pieces. The film opens June 19, landing in a summer crowded with high-profile indie horror releases.
