'Leviticus' Movie Title, Explained: Why The Bible Reference Makes The Horror Even Crueler
Leviticus (2026) is an emotionally rich horror movie that uses the Biblical reference in the title to highlight its underlying message. The Australian horror film continues the nation’s strong 21st-century streak in the genre, fitting in neatly alongside the likes of The Babadook (2014) and Talk to Me (2023) as a creepy story with a deeply human core. Leviticus focuses on two teens, Naim and Ryan, who are falling in love in their small rural community. However, both of their families belong to a deeply fundamentalist Christian church that has been unleashing an unseen force to target members of the congregation who are queer.
As the latest targets of the church, Ryan and Naim have to balance their efforts to escape the entity with their burgeoning romance. The film almost feels like a natural fusion of It Follows (2015) and Heated Rivalry (2025), a well-constructed and emotionally felt horror movie that has just as much of a handle on the romantic tension as it does the uneasy atmosphere of a horror movie. The title is just the icing on the cake, giving the film extra layers of meaning as a commentary on how the religiously devout can use their faith as a cudgel against queer youth.
Why Is The Movie Called ’Leviticus’?
Leviticus is largely about a pair of teenagers whose attraction to one another is considered sinful by the fundamentalist church that their families belong to. The film is very much a queer teen romance, akin to something like Love, Victor (2020). However, the nature of the horror genre means that the teens find themselves in a much higher-stakes situation. The movie is called Leviticus because the Book of Leviticus is a section of the Bible that has to do with certain rules and laws about sin and purity, something that the bigoted church-goers and homophobic locals believe any queer identity violates.
What Is The Book Of Leviticus?
The third book of the Torah, and by extension the Old Testament, the Book of Leviticus is largely focused on Gond's conversations with Moses following the Israelite's Exodus from Egypt. That story served as the basis for films like The Ten Commandments (1956) and The Prince of Egypt (1998), while the Book of Leviticus is largely rooted in God's messages to Moses atop Mount Sinai and the aftermath. The Book of Leviticus establishes various biblical laws, including laws on sacrifice, the process by which the priesthood is maintained, and descriptions of laws that would come to be known as scripture. This includes views on sexuality that, in the modern day, anti-gay activists often cite in their condemnation of LGBTQ people.
Which Leviticus Verse Is The Movie Referencing?
Passages from Leviticus, specifically 18:22 and 20:13, are often used by people who believe that embracing queer identity is a sin. This is where Leviticus gets its title, as the families of Naim and Ryan have complete faith in a very specific reading of the Bible that says homosexuality is a sin and that it’s necessary to destroy that part of people if they want to be accepted into the community. It even plays into the nature of the mysterious demonic force at the heart of the film, as it teases a big aspect of the creature’s true identity and purpose.
Why The Deleted Title Explanation Scene Matters
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Adrian Chiarella revealed that the title almost got a deeper explanation in the film. Initially, there was a scene that directly explained the title and how it references a section of the Bible that is often weaponized and used to attack queer people. However, Chiarella ultimately decided that the scene “felt literally preachy, like it was just explaining exactly what the movie was about.”
This prompted him to cut the scene, allowing the rest of the plot to get that point across. Still, the scene makes sense, even just as a possible part of the film. It also highlights how, to some people, homophobia can be made far more dangerous when given the “glorious purpose” of being in the service of a religious faith. If it can be excused as part of God’s design, forcing queer teens to suppress their true selves, even if it leaves the teens to die in brutal ways.
How ’Leviticus’Title Explains The Entity
The monster in Leviticus is notably never seen in its true form. Instead, the entity takes the form of the person its target is in love with. For Ryan and Naim, that means one another, and each time they see each other alone, they have to figure out a way to prove that it’s actually them instead of the creature. It’s a result of the church opening them up to the force in an effort to literally scare them straight, a personification of their efforts to make the boys fear their attraction to men and their passion for one another.
It underscores the powerful messaging at the core of Leviticus, giving it a heavy real-world parallel alongside the creepy atmosphere. Alongside other recent horror movies like Obsession (2026) and Bring Her Back (2025), it ensures that the supernatural horror of the film never loses touch with the harsher potential of humanity. In Leviticus, the church can claim it loves people even as it demonizes innocents and marks them for death.
