Leviticus Turns Conversion Therapy Into a Monster Movie. Philly Should Be Watching.

The monster in Leviticus wears your boyfriend’s face. That is the whole engine of the film, and it is the cruelest idea in queer horror this year: an entity that appears only when you are alone, that takes the shape of the person you want most, and that was summoned on purpose by the adults who said they were saving you.

Adrian Chiarella’s debut feature opened in June from Neon, is still playing in some theaters, and is available to rent or buy on digital. The 4K, Blu-ray and DVD arrived September 8. It runs 88 minutes, it is rated R, and it has quietly become one of the best-reviewed horror films of 2026.

What it is

Naim Reid and his mother Arlene move to a devout evangelical town in rural Victoria, Australia, after his father’s death. Naim meets a local teenager, Ryan Whelan, and the two begin a secret romance. When Naim sees Ryan kissing the pastor’s son, Hunter, he outs them both out of jealousy.

Hunter’s parents respond by hiring a “deliverance healer.” What follows is not an exorcism in the usual sense. It does not cast anything out. It calls something in. From there the boys are hunted by something that follows rules another survivor eventually lays out for them:

Chiarella has called the film “queer social horror,” and pointed to It Follows and The Witch as touchstones. The title points at the book of the Bible most often quoted to condemn us. Mia Wasikowska plays Arlene and also executive produced. Joe Bird, who broke out in Talk to Me, plays Naim, opposite Stacy Clausen as Ryan. It comes from Causeway Films, the Australian company behind The Babadook and Talk to Me, and was made for roughly $3.5 million against about $8.5 million worldwide.

One detail worth knowing: Frank Ocean granted permission for “Self Control” to close the film, sent by personal letter. It is the first time his music has been licensed to a film in five years.

What the critics said

The reception has been close to unanimous. The film is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 93 percent. Metacritic has it at 83 out of 100 from 27 critics, which the site classifies as universal acclaim. Neon acquired it out of Sundance’s Midnight section in the festival’s first major sale of the year, in a deal reported at around five million dollars.

A “haunting and innovative horror film.”

Benjamin Lee, The Guardian

The praise clusters around two things: the premise, and the two leads. Bloody Disgusting credited the film’s success primarily to the performances of Bird and Clausen. Slant Magazine called it intensely creepy and also a poignant teen romance. The Hollywood Reporter described it as a solemn look at homophobia and repression. Variety made it a Critics Pick.

The dissent is real and worth naming. Several critics who admired the film’s heart found it short on scares. FandomWire praised Bird’s performance while noting the film delivers few genuine frights. HeyUGuys was harsher, rating it fine for a late-night watch but not a film that does anything new with the genre. Another reviewer argued the conversion therapy metaphor is so transparent that it leaves nothing to interpret, and that the second half turns repetitive.

That last complaint is fair as film criticism. It may also be the point. Subtlety is a luxury you can afford when the thing you are describing is safely in the past.

Why this one lands differently here

On March 31, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in Chiles v. Salazar that Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, as applied to a licensed counselor using only talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint and must face strict First Amendment scrutiny. Justice Gorsuch wrote for the majority. Justice Jackson dissented alone, warning that the ruling would put the health and wellbeing of LGBT+ young people at risk.

The Court did not dispute that the practice causes harm. It ruled on how conversion therapy may be regulated, not on whether it works. Every major American medical and mental health association still rejects it. Research from the Trevor Project has found that young people subjected to it were more than twice as likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year.

Philadelphia City Council passed a ban on conversion therapy for minors in 2017, on a bill introduced by Councilmember Mark Squilla. Pennsylvania has never passed a statewide ban into law. The protection that exists in this state rests on city and county ordinances, a 2022 executive order from then-Governor Tom Wolf restricting state funding, and policies adopted in 2024 by five state licensing boards under the Shapiro administration.

• December 2016Pittsburgh becomes the first Pennsylvania city to ban conversion therapy on minors.
• July 2017Philadelphia and Allentown follow. Reading and Doylestown act that December.
• August 2022Governor Wolf signs an executive order barring state funds from conversion therapy. It is not a ban, and it does not address faith-based providers.
• May 2024Five Pennsylvania licensing boards adopt policies allowing discipline for providers who practice it, including through talk therapy.
• March 31, 2026The Supreme Court decides Chiles v. Salazar. Those talk therapy protections are now on uncertain ground.
• Still pendingNo Pennsylvania statute. Bills from Representatives Jessica Benham, Izzy Smith-Wade-El and Malcolm Kenyatta have been introduced repeatedly and have never passed.

Philadelphia Gay News reported in April that the city ordinance and Allegheny County’s remain in place for now, along with Wolf’s order and the licensing board policies. Complaints against a licensed provider can still be filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State. Smith-Wade-El has said he intends to introduce a statewide bill again.

So a film about a ritual that maims a gay kid and calls it salvation arrived in the same year the highest court in the country made the real version harder to stop. The demon in Leviticus is invented. The people who sent for it are not.