Leviticus · reception & legacy

How Leviticus has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

It arrived hot out of Sundance's Midnight section in January 2026 — a stunned-silence-then-sustained-applause premiere — and held up on release, landing at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and 'universal acclaim' on Metacritic. Too new for a reappraisal arc; right now it's still in its honeymoon.

What's debated

The recurring Letterboxd split: is it actually scary enough — some fans want the horror to hit harder, others insist the intimacy and quiet dread ARE the point.

Its footprint

Its one-line hook does the travelling: a supernatural entity, summoned by a religious community, that takes the form of the person you desire most — conversion therapy reimagined as exorcism. Even the title is a pointed jab, borrowing the Bible book most often weaponised against queer people.

Where it stands

An instant entrant in the queer-horror canon conversation — the 2026 debut that gets shelved next to It Follows and Talk to Me on 'new wave of elevated Aussie horror' lists.

Named by the director

Influences Adrian Chiarella has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.

• John Carpenter — Chiarella repeatedly cites Carpenter as formative, recalling 'that image in Halloween of him standing amongst the washing line.'
• The Thing (1982) — One of his favourite films — 'the blurring of the self and other that I found terrifying,' an idea he brought into a queer love story.
• Halloween (1978) — He recalled Michael Myers standing amongst the washing line as an image that stuck with him.
• The Exorcist (1973) — His initial idea was 'a queer version of The Exorcist' — a starting point he then deliberately moved away from.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) — He names the franchise as a childhood love from the horror era he grew up on.
• Wake in Fright (1971) — He cites it as the touchstone for the Australian horror visual language he's 'been obsessed with for as long as I can remember.'
• F.W. Murnau — Cited as a queer horror master who smuggled his experience into the genre's metaphors.
• James Whale — Named alongside Murnau as a queer filmmaker who spoke through horror when he couldn't speak openly.