Leviticus

"They wanted us to be scared of each other." To love someone more than anything and to have that love weaponized and turned into fear... conversion therapy is abuse. I love almost everything about this film, but I keep coming back to this idea of how beautiful it is that Naim and Ryan loved one another regardless. Ryan is with other guys, Naim rats on Ryan, but none of that really matters in the end. Because that's what the deliverance healer and Naim's mother and everyone else wanted. They wanted Naim and Ryan to be angry at each other. To fear each other. And in forgiving each other, fighting off this entity, and accepting this curse, they prove those people wrong. Because they have one another and they love one another. Regardless. This is one of the first queer horror-romances I've ever seen and it makes me want to discover more. I think queer films are often very well-made and beautiful because there is so much symbolism that can be utilized to depict the queer experience. This film uses symbolism to excellently portray exactly what it's like to be a queer teenager in a small, conservative town. Being a teenager is difficult on its own. Being a queer teenager is difficult on its own. But to even begin to try to understand the agony of conversion therapy-- a practice that is not only abusive but also kills kids-- is a difficult task to wrap into a short indie Australian horror movie. I've been contemplating the symbolism of fire in this film since Naim picked up that lighter. Fire is used as a metaphor for all sorts of things-- but in the bible (this film is about a conservative, Christian town), fire is seen as a punishment. After all, hell itself is best known as a land of fire. Fire also represents passion in many cases. The deliverance healer has Naim and Ryan stare into the fire and acknowledge their passion-- their desire. Then, they are shamed for it and shame themselves for it. The church, when doing this, thinks it will put out the flame, but it doesn't. It only burns much brighter. And of course fire would be the entity's weakness! The entity represents the fear and hate that the church pushes onto Naim and Ryan, and so it is only logical that its weakness would be Naim and Ryan's passion and desire for one another. Because the flame never went out. When I initially saw this film in theaters, I remember being very, very confused by Ryan and Hunter's dynamic. After a few days of reflecting on the movie, I believe I understand. Ryan isn't naturally aggressive but I think he forces himself to be and roughhouses with other boys because that's all he knows. Before Naim arrived, Hunter was, most likely, the only other queer kid Ryan knew, and therefore, the only way he could explore his own identity. Ryan and Hunter were not in love with each other, and they threw rocks at each other because it was their way of punishing each other for being queer. Meeting Naim changed a lot of things for Ryan, because he realized that it didn't have to be out of convenience and it was possible to love gently. Ryan and Hunter's relationship was purely lustful and aggressive, while Naim showed Ryan how to love softly. It's why Ryan is so aggressive with Naim in the beginning. This is why the entity shows up as Naim for Ryan as opposed to Hunter-- because Ryan didn't love Hunter, he loved Naim. Hunter's entity showed up as Ryan because there were no other options for him, there was nothing he desired more than Ryan-- and he died before he could explore and learn gentle love the way Ryan did. There's something heartbreaking about Naim's mother's character. Naim grows up with this woman. He's never known a life without this woman. She remembers that he hates olives on his pizza. But she willingly allows for her son's life to be put in danger. She signs him up for something that has killed before-- and she has no reason to believe that it won't kill again. The best part of this film is its ending. Yes, I mean the Frank Ocean, but I also mean the beauty of Naim and Ryan fleeing town together. They are still very much cursed. Living as a queer teenager will always be difficult and it will always cause issues for people. But they're away from the people who tried to keep them apart. Keeping them apart was keeping them alone, which just made it easier for the entity to get to them. Living as a queer teenager can be easier when you're away from people who don't support you. Churches that try to convert you. And lastly, of course, they have each other. It's always going to be hard and they're always going to be cursed, but they'll always have each other. And isn't that the beauty in queer relationships? It's difficult and some people don't survive it, but when you find others like you, it means something. Because you're not alone. And to me, the whole point of this movie was that being queer will always be scary, but it's best when you're not alone. Happy fucking pride month. Holy shit. This was a lot. Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen effectively made me cry when I got home. As in, after the film. I usually cry during movies, so that surprised me. This was fantastic. Also shoutout Lilly it was lit seeing this movie with you !!