Frameline50: Leviticus

What happens when the star-crossed passion of Heated Rivalry and the unsettling atmosphere of It Follows collide? Leviticus — the latest entry in the growing pantheon of must-see Australian horror hits. In writer-director Adrian Chiarella’s haunting-yet-sensual debut feature, teenagers Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen) live in an isolated and conservative small town that’s taken with a religious order intent on “curing” young sinners.

But when the supposed “cleansing” ceremony goes awry, Naim and Ryan find themselves stalked by a violent entity that takes the form of the person its victims desire most. Unable to fully trust each other, Naim and Ryan attempt to escape the supernatural force, their suffocating community, and the adults, like Naim’s mom (Mia Wasikowska), who’ve failed them. Bolstered by the leads’ magnetic chemistry, this queer coming-of-age horror is a poignant reflection of what it means to love and desire openly in an often-unwelcoming world.