We were joined on the Popternative show by Stacy Clausen who stars in the supernatural queer horror Leviticus from writer-director Adrian Chiarella in his feature debut. Leviticus has emerged as one of the genre’s breakout hits, earning a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes while drawing praise for its compelling mix of horror and romance.
Also starring Joe Bird (Talk to Me), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), and Jeremy Blewitt (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Leviticus is set in a rural Australian community and follows teenage boys Naim (Bird) and Ryan (Clausen) as they develop a romantic connection. When the town subjects them to a traumatic conversion ritual, a terrifying shape-shifting entity is unleashed, taking on the appearance of the person each desires most—the other.
Before arriving in theaters on June 19, Leviticus generated strong buzz on the festival circuit, where it earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. “At festivals there’s only a tiny sample size of what the audiences are are going to be. So, you get a great reaction. It feels great in the moment, but when it comes to release day, that fear of how’s it going to do just kickstarts all over again. But to see the [positive] reaction has been consistent from festival to theatrical release and it’s been so incredible. I’m so grateful that we get to finally share it,” Clausen tells us.
At its heart, Leviticus is as much a love story as it is a horror film, and that duality shaped every aspect of the production: “We have those massive, fantastical kind of spectacle horror moments. But we were so focused on the making it real and focusing on the emotional love story of it all,” Clausen says. He also adds, “It did definitely feel like we [were] shooting two different things. Going from these super tender moments between me and Joe [Bird] and then to a scene like the bathroom where it’s just me trying to beat him [up] for the for the whole day. And then you have scenes where you’re mixing them. Like the wake [scene] where we have that kiss and then it’s just like straight into the [horror]. We just tried to focus on the emotional aspects as much as we could even during the horror moments.”
Watch the full conversation with Stacy Clausen below.
Leviticus is currently playing in theaters.
_
Keep up-to-date with us on all of our channels and social media accounts:
YouTube: http://youtube.com/Popternative
Instagram http://instagram.com/popternative
Facebook: https://facebook.com/popternative/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@popternative
Spotify: https://goo.gl/nWtNHP
Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/y6tbA