so many negative reviews for leviticus saying it was bad because it didn't explore the entity deeper really grate on me bc it's such a fundamental misunderstanding of the story adrian was trying to tell. we dont get the origins of the entity because it doesn't matter, it's clear from the beginning what function it serves the narrative—a physical manifestion of homophobia. leviticus is not a supernatural monster film, it's a coming of age; a teenage boy reckoning with his queer identity and the reality that because of who he is, he will always be at risk from homophobia
although i can understand some of the dissatisfaction given how leviticus was heavily marketed as a horror film (and typical horror conventions dictate the supernatural being is a focal point), negative reviews lose me when they demonstrate a complete disinterest in engaging what the film actually is, rather than what they wanted it to be. leviticus won't satisfy you if you're marking it against a rubric it wasn't designed for. the deliverence healer and the entity aren't fleshed out further because they are not the focus, and adrian is not a bad writer for choosing not to spend his incredibly tight run time on something that wasn't important to the story he was actually trying to tell: queer kids harmed by the dangers of religiously charged homophobia.
i can't help but feel like these comments that leviticus was "underdeveloped" and "poorly written" come from the fact adrian refused to hold the audience's hand. he left things out because he wanted the viewers to fill in the gaps with their own experiences, making the film more personal and grounded. if you weren't shown something, it's because adrian gave you enough to figure out the rest yourself or because it wasn't relevant. every time i rewatch leviticus im blown away by how restrained it is. its not common (especially nowadays) we get a writer/director so willing to hand a film over to its audience and let them independently join the dots. adrian did not poorly execute leviticus' message, he just makes you work for it.
art is obviously subjective and everyone is free to post their review, but if you go on abt how leviticus is bad because it didn't dig deeper into the deliverence healer/entity and wasn't clear abt its message, don't be surprised when people tell you you didn't understand the film.
