Full Breakdown
Australian Horror Film “Leviticus” Revives Conversion-Therapy Debate
6/26/2026, 11:50:36 AM
Overview
Australian director Adrian Chiarella’s horror film *Leviticus* premiered this past weekend. It follows two boys, Naim and Ryan, who hide a same-sex relationship in a conservative town. After their parents learn of the relationship, a local “Deliverance Preacher” conducts an exorcism-style ritual that summons a supernatural entity appearing as each boy to the other, leading to violent conflict. The film links the entity to the church’s anti-homosexual stance.
Film Context
*Leviticus* follows earlier films on conversion therapy such as *Boy Erased* (2018), *But I’m a Cheerleader* (1999), *One Nation Under God* (1993) and *Pray Away* (2021). Its horror framing indicates the conversion-therapy debate has entered mainstream cultural discourse.
Participants
Key participants include director-screenwriter Adrian Chiarella, the fictional Deliverance Preacher, the adolescent protagonists Naim and Ryan, and an unnamed biblical counselor with four decades of experience who responded to the film’s depiction.
Plot Details
The title alludes to Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, yet the script omits those verses and the phrase “conversion therapy.” The ritual invokes “two flames” and summons a violent entity presented as a lover.
Official Responses
Chiarella’s promotion frames the film as an allegorical critique of conversion-therapy. A biblical counselor counters that most counseling labeled “conversion therapy” is adult-focused, consensual, and far removed from the extreme methods shown in the film.
Critique
The reviewer describes the horror execution as weak, noting minimal suspense and predictable jump scares. The review also claims the film’s moral message condemns parents, churches, and ministers who reject homosexuality, and suggests the Bible is portrayed as the “Ultimate Foe.”
Conflicts & Gaps
The film depicts counseling as a coercive, supernatural ritual, whereas the counselor describes it as voluntary, adult-oriented guidance. No box-office or audience data are provided.
Impact
The film’s release indicates that conversion-therapy debates have entered popular culture, attracting activist attention and religious critique, and may influence public perception of counseling practices and religious doctrine on sexuality.
Quotes
- “The monsters in the story — ignorant parents, weird ministers, gay-bashing bullies — were birthed by an Ultimate Foe: the Bible itself.” — Reviewer, *Christian Post*
- “The takeaway is clear: Parents, churches, and ministers who don’t affirm homosexuality do horrific damage; conversion therapy is destructive; and gay kids who fight for their authentic selves are heroic.” — Reviewer, *Christian Post*
- “Love wins.” — Reviewer, *Christian Post*
- “We just talk. We counsel and coach people who share our worldview, offering them biblical principles and practices to help them achieve the goals of abstaining from homosexual behavior, sustaining their marriages, improving their relationships, and growing in Christ.” — Biblical counselor, four-decade practitioner
- “None of us calls ourselves conversion therapists, a term imposed on us against our will, and few of our clients are teens.” — Biblical counselor, four-decade practitioner
