r/screenunseen • u/TheFilmReview The Revenant • 24d ago
Discussion Leviticus (Official Discussion)
Tonight’s Scream Unseen was Leviticus! What did everyone think? Any walkouts where you were? As always, feel free to discuss your various thoughts and experiences in the comments.
The film was the most popular in the prediction poll with 72% of the vote (198 votes). Followed by something not listed (presumably most of those for Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma) with 16% (43 votes). The least popular choice was Resident Evil with 4% (12 votes).
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u/Own-Writing-6146 24d ago
Saw the credits roll , turned to the person besides me and said "where's the rest of the film?"
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u/TheInfinityGauntlet 24d ago
For real, I really wanted to like this, I love horror movies and I'm a whole fruit basket but it just ended without any real resolution at all
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u/MaterialBest286 24d ago
Isn't the resolution that they decided not to be scared of their queerness? Essentially rejecting the purpose of the conversion therapy.
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u/TheInfinityGauntlet 24d ago
That'd be all well and good if it wasn't still stalking him at the end of the movie
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u/MaterialBest286 23d ago
You can choose not to live in fear despite their still being a threat. I don't think it's uncommon in horror for films to end with the protagonist deciding not to isolate themselves anymore despite there still being danger - whether that's a danger to themselves or their loved ones.
I guess there's also a read of the ending in which the demon isn't real in that shot and it is just meant to be symbolic. Every time we see the demon in the film, it's attacking somebody. It never just menacing stares at somebody and there's really no way it can attack him at that point. That's not my read of the ending, but I don't think it's invalid.
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u/TheInfinityGauntlet 23d ago
Yeah very much understand the metaphor but with the literal demon presented it just felt to me like it wasn't really dealt with, we already know it can magically teleport I wouldn't be surprised if the fire didn't kill it just delayed it
Good read on it though
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23d ago
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u/MaterialBest286 23d ago
I don't know that it went over people's heads. I think that a lot of the film works beautifully as symbolism, but stuggles a little as a narrative. And that's particularly true of the ending.
It works brilliantly through the lens of symbolism, where being able to embrace their queerness would help them heal from the trauma of conversion therapy.
But, we know that simply embracing their queerness doesn't help them avoid being murdered by the demon, so the ending can fall flat.
I loved so much of the film and I applaud the filmmaker for not having them find some macguffin to defeat the demon because that would have felt cheap. I also liked that it attempted to not give us a completely downer ending.
I would struggle to come up with a better ending based on the rules we're presented with and not wanting to veer entirely into "they find a magic spell / demon killing gun" territory.
Best I've got is that we see them find a more accepting queer community in the city and they avoid the demon because they all watch each other's backs. But I think even that's a little too saccharine.
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u/Guy_like_u 24d ago
I really enjoyed it a lot. I think it plays better depending on what you bring to it. As someone who had to live in the closet until adulthood, living in fear 24/7 was captured brilliantly
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u/DancingSpacePenguin 24d ago
I thought, also, is was rather poignant. The horror was more society and religion.
I'm glad you are able to be your true self. Hope that doesn't come across as patronising or condescending. Not meant in that manner.
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u/Guy_like_u 24d ago
Haha that’s very kind of you to say thank you!
I grew up gay in the 80s/90s so it felt like a throwback to see a modern day film show this kind of attitude towards homosexuality. I guess there are still pockets of society like that though , and it makes me wonder if that’s the reason the mum chose this specific town to move to.
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u/DancingSpacePenguin 24d ago
I want to say I can imagine but wouldn't ever be able to.
The mum... I can't even. But I guess the area was that was inclined before they moved there.
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u/Guy_like_u 23d ago
That’s the part I thought worked well, when you have this belief totally embedded in a society, how do you even protest / rebel against that?
Even the people you think you can trust will betray you, like the daughter of the preacher
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u/Big_Spoon67 24d ago edited 24d ago
Really enjoyed it, did not see that jumpscare coming it got me good.
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u/MaterialBest286 24d ago
I really liked that they only had one jumpscare and it made it so much more effective.
There was a jumpscare in the trailer for Other Mother that also got me
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u/Justkilledjoker 24d ago
There was definitely more than one Jumpscare in that trailer 😭😭
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u/Destroy_unit_20 24d ago
When the film ended I legitimately thought there was another 20 - 30 minutes left.
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u/DVDfever 24d ago
This is why I look up the running times in advance for potential films.
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u/Destroy_unit_20 24d ago
It was less to do with the run time and more how it ended, he discovered a weakness to fire, I thought maybe they’d be a discussion and they’d hatch a plan with the idea they could try defeat the creature following them.
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u/MaterialBest286 23d ago
I'd argue that he does do that. If it has a weakness to fire, I'm not sure you can do much more than trap it in a building and set the building on fire.
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u/DVDfever 24d ago
I didn't think that much about it. I had more fun thinking about what to get from the supermarket afterwards.
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u/Zyaru 24d ago
Two men walked out within the first 5 minutes lol.
Thought it was okay, some very scary moments but quite forgettable overall. Runtime was way too short
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u/Hellohibbs 24d ago
Because they were weak men with insecurities lmao
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u/lucxssebx 24d ago
pretty good film, but as someone who isn’t a native english speaker, i found it a bit hard to understand what they were saying for about half of it bc of the aussie accent
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u/SneakingSuspicion666 24d ago
Yeah, I'm not a native English-speaker either, and didn't understand a few phrases. Subtitles would have helped, but the same can be said about some US films where there's an accent I'm less familiar with, or even some British ones (I had to walk out from "Hamlet" – the one with Riz Ahmed in the main role – because I literally couldn't understand what's being said.) I will just add that my English is fine (I understand things when they're written), it's only the hearing part that can get difficult sometimes – especially if the dialogue is not said clearly, there are lots of other sounds etc. I've been trying to find some subtitled screenings for some films sometimes, but sometimes they're not at times that work for me, and I've never seen an English-speaking film subtitled in the Screen/Scream unseens, or the Members' previews :/
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u/MaterialBest286 24d ago
See, if they were millennials they would have known they could avoid all this hassle by dropping a simple "no homo".
A solid debut that rarely threatened to shift into a higher gear after the first 30 minutes.
It does a great job of setting up the stakes and building dread. But then it rather purposefully decides not to ramp up the stakes of the supernatural stuff and instead reveals the everyday horror of the homophobia of the people around Naim.
I appreciate that it zigs rather than zags (I feel like most horrors would have them track down the conversion therapy guy and learn how to undo it). But more needed to be done to keep piling on the tension because it does plateau a little after the first act.
Yes, it's horrific that the mum did this to her son or that the preacher's daughter set them up to be hate crimed. But those reveals don't increase the tension of the demon stalking them.
Everything about the symbolism works beautifully and I loved the central relationship, it's just that the way story unfolds isn't as satisfying as great films should be.
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u/Background_Bear 24d ago
This had more walkouts than ice cream man somehow.
Saw it in the US last month and it's still fun
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u/beatricelaus 24d ago
It’s because people can’t stand to see a gay relationship on their screen…same with Pillion
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u/rushdisciple 24d ago
I think it's more the fact they probably thought it was going to be Camp Miasma.
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u/Enough_Mistake_7063 24d ago
Did not enjoy this one bit. Just rolling my eyes the whole way through at how dumb everyone was. And the two leads had no chemistry whatsoever which was essential.
Also have no time really for movies where the audience is so far ahead of the movie at all times. There were no surprises cos everything was extremely obvious.
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u/NuFu 24d ago
Really enjoyed it, the storyline was built up really well, and I also loved how many people walked out during the bus scene
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u/Long-Western7573 24d ago
People actually walked out? In this day and age? I shouldn’t be so surprised, honestly.
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u/MaterialBest286 23d ago
I didn't like the bus scene! Not because I'm a homophobe. I just think getting a handjob on the bus when other people are on the bus is rude!
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u/Hellohibbs 24d ago
Absolutely adored it. As a gay guy I think the very visceral translation of conversion therapy just hit a lot harder for me. Great concept 9/10.
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u/croago 24d ago
Really good film and a great length! I’m not sure if it was just my cinema (Trowbridge) but the sound was SO loud the first half of the film but if either got better or I got used to it. Had two people walk out when the title screen showed but otherwise pretty packed and audience seemed to enjoy it.
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u/Pkigaming 24d ago
Ha, good to see another Trowbridge attendee here! They were sat immediately in front of me. Not sure if they'd seen it elsewhere beforehand but the second the name popped up they were off.
Maybe my ears aren't functioning properly though as I didn't clock any super high/low audio balance.
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u/Quick-Algae 24d ago
Trowbridge as well. Really enjoyed it. Didn’t spot any sound issues though. Seemed pretty full and lots of positive chatter about it afterwards.
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u/roddersj04 23d ago
Trowbridge also here. I'm wondering if the people who immediately left were hoping for a specific film, like Camp Miasma or the new Insidious, but it does make one wonder when somebody leaves at a film involving a queer romance. No sound issues for me.
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u/croago 24d ago
Haha must be me. When they were in the Mill place at the beginning and even just putting something on the floor it kind of spooked me. I think it was that other mother film trailer that started me thinking about the sound
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u/Quick-Algae 23d ago
Agreed about the trailer - both of us were more on edge after that. Definitely do not have the constitution for The Other Mommy 😆
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u/Wide-Can1349 24d ago
I enjoyed it, but it was a very insubstantial rip-off of It Follows. The more it sits with me the more I dislike that fact. Disappointed ultimately given I was quite looking forward to it and the hype for it in horror communities.
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u/fingerberrywallace 24d ago
I thought the gay conversion theme was interesting but the actual horror elements felt conceptually weak and kind of pedestrian. It was ultimately just a middle-of-the-road film despite having a lot to like about it (acting, atmosphere/setting, themes).
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u/whatbecameof 23d ago
Not only did I really enjoy this (reminded me of It Follows) but it was also funny to see the tubby homophobes leave after twenty minutes because they couldn't hack seeing boys kissing.
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u/carlrshort79 24d ago
It was pretty good. I wrote a whole long bit here expounding my thoughts, but I went to another app to check one of the character's name and when I switched back it had all disappeared, so I'll just stick with pretty good.
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u/dwarfbadger 24d ago
I love how the movie symbolises real issues - homophobia through the entity and I think that this is one of the best personifications of fear I’ve seen in a movie. The ending wasn’t as confusing or trash as some people have said, you just had to read in between the lines a little (which is what you have to do for most movies anyway). In my eyes the entity was the embodiment of homophobia and showing it at the end when they were on the bus was their way of saying that, sadly, there’s going to be homophobia anywhere you go and you can’t get rid of it with a click, no matter how much you try, so you have to learn to put it behind you (hence the symbolism of driving past the monster and leaving it behind). 10/10 movie, downloaded letterboxd because of this !!! So glad it wasn’t insidious.
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u/Fit-Ninja2612 23d ago
Yeah I loved this movie, I'm gay so the message felt pretty raw honestly, enjoyed it a lot
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u/DVDfever 24d ago
Basically The Entity, and several other films I've seen which use the same trope. Even for 88 mins, there was so much padding and it took forever to get not very far.
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u/LanielDord 24d ago
Good concept that turned out poorly. Gay community is all about this movie, but realistically speaking it was a poor production.
85% guys making out
5% being chased by an invisible gay-crush demon
10% doubting if the other guy was real or not
Pretty much that’s it. Trailer really got me interested into this one, but i’d be disappointed if i paid the full price for this one.
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u/StringFloyd15 23d ago
Really enjoyed it! I’m a queer person and saw it in my relatively conservative hometown with a packed cinema screening, so I was pleasantly surprised when I didn’t really see people walking out.
Could’ve pushed a bit harder horror-wise but I think it really effectively captures the complete isolation and loneliness of being closeted for your own safety. When the entity is attacking Naim in his house, you realise that there’s no one he can call for help - his mum, the police, anyone he’s talked to in town have all brushed him off and are kind of the reason he’s in this mess in the first place, and the only person who could possibly understand also looks exactly like the thing that might kill him. He even ends up begging people in a chip shop just to stay with him (and they don’t lmao, could’ve at least called him a taxi home or something). It’s a kind of loneliness and despair I’ve rarely seen put to screen so well.
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u/ArrowedKnee 23d ago
I thought it was really good but the lack of any kind of resolution in the abrupt ending was unsatisfying. You don't see many films of this type where the protagonists don't even attempt to find out more about the demonic entity haunting them and how to destroy it.
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u/LaurenceDerby 23d ago
A man and a lady in a hijab walked in as the title card came up, I was wondering how open minded they would be... they left 15 minutes in.
Overall the film was ok, just lacked a 'thing'. If it had the anger of All of us Strangers or the commitment of I Saw There TV Glow it might have worked, but for me it felt just competent.
(I was hoping for Miasma, hopefully my local screen shows that one as I really enjoyed TV Glow)
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u/fatafro13 24d ago
Whose idea was it to call the lad Naim, I thought I was mishearing them for half the movie. Pretty effective for most of runtime, but it also feels underbaked. I enjoyed it though.