Kristen Stewart has done everything to put her Twilight days behind her, much like her co-star Robert Pattinson has. Pattinson has balanced indie fare and blockbusters, and Stewart has primarily stayed in the world of arthouse movies (with a few exceptions). Yet director and writer Rose Glass’ sophomore feature Love Lies Bleeding feels much different than anything Stewart has done before.

It’s a strange movie. The film flirts with body horror with shades of grindhouse levels of violence, and directly addresses themes of addiction, sexuality, and domestic violence. Regardless of how you may feel about Love Lies Bleeding, it’s impossible to deny its originality. 

Set in 1989 in a small American town, the film quickly introduces us to Lou (Stewart), a socially awkward gym manager who comes from a broken family. She has a clingy and drug-addicted ex-girlfriend (Anna Baryshnikov), a crappy apartment, and her only true companions in life are her cat and her sister Beth (Jena Malone), who is married to the abusive JJ (Dave Franco). Lou’s father, Lou Sr. (Ed Harris), is an eccentric bug collector and owns a successful shooting range.

Lou’s life takes an unexpected turn when Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a charismatic bodybuilder and drifter, shows up at her gym. While Lou initially attempts to stay on the sidelines, she eventually has a bit of a meet-cute with Jackie. The two form an instant connection, both romantically and sexually. Lou also introduces Jackie to steroids, which begins Jackie’s descent into a far darker and more violent path than initially expected. 

There’s much more to the plot of Love Lies Bleeding, a movie that at times feels like it was made by the love-child of David Cronenberg and the Coen Brothers. Although this is also a movie that is best seen knowing as little as possible.

 Glass successfully blends various topical themes in a way that feels natural to the story. She shows restraint in some moments while basking in the story’s ambiguity, then the next moment she’ll be unleashing an unholy amount of violence. Glass seems fully aware of these contrasting tones, and even embraces it. There are moments that feel successfully tense and unnerving, all while sprinkling in bits of pitch-black comedy. Ben Fordesman’s cinematography also adds to the movie’s atmosphere. There’s a focus on Jackie’s muscular veins whenever she uses steroids, showing them off in a fashion that feels inhuman.

The movie never shies away from showing the raw sexuality of Lou and Jackie’s romance. O’Brian and Stewart have such a natural chemistry with one another. Despite the clear differences between their characters, it’s easy to see why they quickly fall in love. 

Stewart turns in a terrific performance as Lou, a character that languishes in morally gray areas. The film is aware she’s not a good person, but it also gives her enough to make you connect with her and see the world through her eyes. O’Brian and Harris are the biggest stand-outs in the cast, with O’Brian successfully shifting between truly magnetic and charming and being an unpredictable, sometimes frightening force. She never feels like she is overdoing it; the way she plays Jackie feels honest and un-sanitized. Harris is a major scene-stealer as the ponytail-rocking Lou Sr. – whether he’s trying to intimate Lou and Jackie, or toying around with his exotic beetle collection, he makes use of every single moment he’s on screen.

Glass continues raising the stakes of Love Lies Bleeding, making it nearly impossible to predict what direction the story will go next. However, the final 10 minutes, while ambitious in concept, feels rushed, almost as if Glass didn’t know how to end it. Everything leading up to the final moments are effective, but the closing scene feels abrupt and could have given the plot a bit more closure.

After her 2019 debut Saint Maud, Glass once again proves herself as an exciting filmmaker with Love Lies Bleeding, a daring movie full of bold choices, compelling performances, and a perfect control in its tone. This is one movie that you won’t want to miss.

Love Lies Bleeding is in theaters nationwide now.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

• While A24 movies have become a mainstay at the Academy Awards, Love Lies Bleeding feels a bit too horror-adjacent to be considered. It also likely won’t connect with the older sector of voters. That being said, makeup and hairstyling does seem like a possibility.