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Spoilers ahead for Leviticus.
The summer is usually a great time for scary movies, and both Obsession and Backrooms have crushed at the box office. We've got another horror movie in theaters now just in time for Pride Month: director Adrian Chiarella's Leviticus. The movie is a moving and chilling queer story, and its ending leaves audiences with some questions. Luckily Naim actor Joe Bird spoke to CinemaBlend about his take on the film's conclusion.
Leviticus' reviews have been rather positive, with critics praising its scares and emotional narrative. The movie follows two young gay boys in Australia, who are cursed and then attacked by a violent entity that takes the form of the person they're most attracted to. The movie's final shot shows Naim and his love interest Ryan (Stacy Clausen) choosing to stay with each other when leaving their conservative town... despite the entity still being out there. As you can see in the video above, I asked Bird what he thought of the movie's ending, and he told me:
I think a big part of the last scene and when we were talking about it, me and Adrian, me and Stacy and kind of everyone is that we kind of wanna show that these boys, you know, in the wake of adversity. That they are choosing to believe in hope and believe in love, rather than live in fear.
I love this perspective. The messaging of Leviticus' ending is something that will likely ring true for plenty of LGBTQ+ folks out there. Because while there are plenty of terrifying and hateful forces in this world, many of us decide to push forward and find happiness regardless. In this way, the horror movie serves as an allegory about the coming out experience, and overcoming the dangers of homophobia.
Later in our conversation Joe Bird, who also starred in the terrifying horror movie Talk To Me, went on to share more about why the ending of Leviticus is such an important message. In the 19 year-old actor's words:
And I think, you know, obviously Naim sees that this thing is still around. That it's still gonna follow them probably. The beautiful thing in that is that I guess it maybe speaks to something; that this world is a dangerous place, but we have to, you know, kind of live in positivity and in hope for the world to hopefully become a better place as well. You can't live in fear and negativity 'cause what a boring life.
Points are made. While Naim and Ryan will likely still have to look out for the dangers of the entity when they're alone with each other, it's much better than the alternative. And since the young lovers are going through the same struggle, they'll be able to understand each other in a way any new people in their lives will not. I personally would love to see a Leviticus sequel sometime in the future.
Most of the best horror movies have something original to say, and Adrian Chiarella's new release is no exception. Its release during Pride Month have given it additional emotional weight. Luckily there's plenty of queer joy in the movie's 88-minute runtime, in addition to its scary moments.
Leviticus is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Lots of LGBTQ+ cinephiles love horror, so I imagine that the discourse about its ending will only get louder as time goes on.
