Leviticus by Jed Kurzel
Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen
Leviticus is a 2026 Australian LGBT horror film directed by Adrian Chiarella with a score by Jed Kurzel, a composer that I’ve never massively connected with due to his signature style. While the film can be seen as a traditional horror film, similar to It Follows, it can also be seen as an allegory for the danger and threat faced by gay men in a world which can lack tolerance and understanding despite the belief that we allegedly live in more tolerant times. While effective as a horror film, I’d argue it’s even more effective as the latter. Kurzel’s score does feature much synth led darkness and ambience which is not something I’ve ever wanted to revisit as part of his work but there are aspects of this album that are rewarded with a few listens.
The film and the album start with the short and horrifying track Shower which sets the tone for the more horror heavy aspects of the film and the score. It’s sharp, short and quite brutal both visually in the film and musically on the album. This leads into Bikes which includes a more hopeful and playful tone within those every present synth and unsettling base. There is a brooding sinister start to the track but some elongated woodwind and strings help to find a touch of warmth and humanity within the track that hints at a burgeoning relationship between the two boys, Naim and Ryan. In the following track, Kurzel leans into that warmth more unabashedly with Naim and Ryan being perhaps the warmest and most touching piece on the album. There are sweeping but processed strings and a lighter ethereal soundscape that suggest at the joy and love and acceptance these boys find with each other.
The Table and Faith Healer are two of the darkest tracks as the established relationship between the two boys is challenged and made to feel dirty and unacceptable within the deeply religious community in which they live. There are unsettling riffs and processed vocals with a nervy use of percussion to emphasise that sense of danger and fear - capturing that powerful allegory the film explores so well. While not particularly pleasant listening experiences, they are two pieces that capture the intolerance that seems too prominent these days and the sadness and fear it can inflict on those who are made to feel afraid for being themselves. The track Entity provided the disturbing motif for the supernatural horror that stalks both boys in the guise of what they most desire. It works brilliantly in the film, unsettling the audience considerably.
The track Bus features a lovely fightback motif as the boys take on a bit of narrative propulsion and try to do something about their situation, it’s nice to see some positively emerge from that darkness and the motif works well, with it being revisited in The Journey.
Following a number of dark, unsettling and synth led tracks as the film reaches it’s conclusion, the film and the album finish with the extended title track Leviticus. It features an almost playful and warm piano intro before settling into something affectionate but melancholy while staying on the right side of mawkishness. It features a light processed vocal and some almost tragic strings which capture the complexity of the central relationship and the film itself. There are hopeful strings in there that are almost Blade Runner in nature that suggest a future for the main characters that may not have seemed possible early on. The last minute of the track strips back the darkness to end on an ethereal and warm note which captures the beauty of the central romantic relationship. It’s a track that begs for repeated listens and suitably rewards the commitment with a layered and powerful piece of music that gets to the heart of what the film is really about.
While the score album features much synth darkness, there is much to enjoy here, expecially those tracks which explore the relationship between Naim and Ryan. Kurzel challenges the listener to find that hope and that warmth and that hint of courageous love within the music, perhaps that was the plan all along.
Favourite Tracks: Naim and Ryan and Leviticus