Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Love Lies Bleeding is a striking neo-noir with a distinctly singular voice — Rose Glass crafts a visceral, sun-scorched fever dream blending queer romance, body-horror surrealism, and crime thriller with real confidence. Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian deliver committed, nuanced performances, and the cinematography by Ben Fordesman is genuinely exceptional — lurid, sweaty, and expressionistic in ways that feel purposeful rather than decorative. The film earns high Novelty for its genuinely unusual tonal blend: it's simultaneously erotic, grotesque, tender, and darkly funny in a way very few films achieve. The plot is serviceable but leans on familiar noir family-crime scaffolding, and the surrealist third-act ending, while bold and memorable, divides opinion — its abstract register feels somewhat detached from the grounded emotional stakes built earlier, preventing a full landing.