Leviticus writer/director Adrian Chiarella and star Joe Bird discuss what makes this film so terrifying and how they found the empathetic side of the parents.
The psychological horror film Leviticus delivers a deeply unsettling, under-the-skin terror that lingers long after the credits roll. Balancing intense family drama with a shape-shifting, psychological threat, the movie explores the dark extremes of parental control, survival, and trust. Anchored by phenomenal performances and a brilliant, tension-filled script, it is a modern, character-driven horror that forces audiences to question who they can really trust.
Mama’s Geeky sat down with Leviticus director Adrian Chiarella and star Joe Bird to talk about bringing this infuriatingly brilliant story to life. From the complex motivations of the film’s agonizingly harsh parents to the John Carpenter-inspired horror elements, the duo broke down what makes this project so raw and unique.
Joe Bird and Adrian Chiarella On Leviticus
Mama’s Geeky: As a parent of a queer child, it was so disturbing to watch these parents. Adrian, can you talk about making them so hateful on screen?
Adrian Chiarella: Oh my god, and you know what? They’re all the nicest actors in Australia playing these horrible parents. But, you know, I think, yeah, I mean, we really had to cast people who were capable of bringing a great amount of weight and history to the characters on screen, and so I’m just so grateful we got the cast that we did to play those characters, because they could have easily just been cardboard cutouts, really, but I think they all kind of brought their own dimension to them in their own way.
Mama’s Geeky: Joe, what was your reaction to reading these multifaceted parent characters when you first got the script?
Joe Bird: What’s so fascinating about the parents in this film is their complexity. Take Mia’s character, Arlene, for example: I completely understand where she is coming from. Her ultimate goal is to keep her child safe, even if her actions inadvertently put him in harm’s way. As an actor, I always try to view the world through my character’s perspective. While we don’t know Arlene’s backstory or the past trauma that shaped her worldview, her philosophy is perfectly summed up by her line at the end of the film: ‘We need fear to survive.’ While most people might disagree with that sentiment, Arlene genuinely believes it, and it drives everything she does. That is what makes these characters so multifaceted. None of them are acting out of pure malice; instead, their choices are born from their own lived experiences and a sincere belief that they are doing what is best.
Mama’s Geeky: Can you talk about the decision to use a shape-shifting entity rather than a traditional monster?
Joe Bird: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that’s why this guy is so smart, because I feel like, it’s not that traditional monster, right, that you’re visually scared of, it’s more, it creeps under your, it’s, like, psychologically under your skin, you’re like, oh, is that the person or not? And you’not, yeah, so it’s like, you’re not being scared because they’re, like, I don’t know, visually, like, scary looking, but the emotions of it, and it’s like, yeah.
Adrian Chiarella: I remember, I remember I watched John Carpenter’s movie The Thing when I was really young, and watched it many, many times ever since, and I was always drawn to that idea of, like, that kind of fear where you can’t trust if the person in front of you is really them, so, yeah.
Mama’s Geeky: Joe, what was your initial reaction to reading the script for the first time?
Joe Bird: Yeah, so, actually, there is a story to it as well. I remember I, like, got sent the script about two auditions into the process, and I was on a bus, I was in Sydney, and I was on my way to Bondi Beach because I was hanging out with a friend, and I was reading the script, and then, like, before I, like, knew it, I looked, like, looked up, and I was not at the beach. I’d gone way past my stop. I, um, it was just so engrossed in it, because it’s like, I remember writing down all my feelings afterwards, just in my notes, on my, on my phone, just kind of going, yeah, this is just the most raw, authentic, and honest script I’ve read in a while, and, um, you know, you could really see the passion that was in, like, you know, the way that I could tell it’s written with care, and these characters are people, and, yeah, it just connected with me so much, and I think almost everyone I’ve talked to about it with the cast on in the film, and, like, they all connected to it the same way I did straight away, and it’s like, that just goes to show how smart this guy is, how great, and, you know, how much effort he put into it, because it’s like, you know, it all stems from the director having that passion, you know, for everyone to, so, you know, testament to Adrian. He’s talented as hell.
Want to hear more about how Joe missed his bus stop because he was so engrossed in the script, and delve deeper into the psychological scares of the film? Watch our full video interview with Adrian Chiarella and Joe Bird now.
About Leviticus
Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Leviticus comes to theaters on June 19th.
