Anyone interested in film as an art form should be familiar with the notion of a cult classic. Bold acts of filmmaking rebellion, these bizarre little movies are an act of cinematic counterculture. While many of these films are too strange for wide audiences, their off-kilter charms frequently generate loyal fanbases. Sadly, blockbuster IPs have oversaturated the filmmaking landscape, overshadowing potential cult films in favor of generic superhero content. Many modern directors struggle to escape the studio system, feeling stuck within the corporate content mill. A24’s Love Lies Bleeding stands out as an imaginative triumph in the face of mediocrity.
Directed by Rose Glass, this film is a distinctly auteurist thrill ride unwilling to cater to audience expectations. Twilight’s Kristen Stewart alongside relative newcomer Katy O’Brian is a pair of star-crossed lovers on the run. Love Lies Bleeding has no interest in being boxed into a particular genre, proving bizarre even amongst A24’s already peculiar line-up. Blending gruesome violence with heartfelt romance, this vicious thriller may well be the grittiest love story ever told. Love Lies Bleeding is unabashedly queer and feminist yet presents itself as a muscular thriller befitting a classic grindhouse theater. Glass’ genre whirlpool may not fit into the current media zeitgeist, yet this strange face smasher has undeniable cult appeal.
Love Lies Bleeding Is an Offbeat Romance
As a genre, romance stories often exclude queer viewers from their audience. Built upon heteronormative values, films like The Notebook or Silver Linings Playbook center themselves around cishet couples, and romances that are explicitly queer do not tend to receive the same attention as their heterosexual counterparts. Despite excellent reviews, LGBTQ+ romances such as Happiest Season and Fire Island were dumped to streaming instead of getting a theatrical release. Even gay romance films with a higher profile, like Brokeback Mountain, tend to fixate on queer pain. However, Love Lies Bleeding has no interest in hiding its LGBTQ+ identity for mass appeal. Instead, it’s a celebration of true love in a cruel world.
In Love Lies, Kristen Stewart is Lou Langston, a gym owner trying to maintain a low profile. She wants nothing more than to escape the violent lifestyle of her father, Lou Sr., a notorious gun runner. Everything changes for Lou when she falls in love with Jackie Cleaver, an ambitious bodybuilder played by Katy O’Brian. While these characters exist within a world defined by masculine cruelty, Love Lies Bleeding doesn’t capitalize upon their suffering. While both women are trapped within a violent patriarchal system, their relationship inspires them to fight against misogynistic oppression. That being said, Lou and Jakie’s romance isn’t without conflict. Love Lies Bleeding visualizes the complexities of their dynamic through its unique imagery, mixing genres as a metaphor for queer acceptance.
As a director, Rose Glass purposefully constructs her film to resemble hard-boiled crime thrillers, albeit with a subversive twist. Love Lies Bleeding combines authentic grit with dreamlike phantasmagoria, dipping into the surreal with gruesome results. Jackie’s desire for the perfect body manifests through several uncanny fantasy sequences, some leaning into cosmic horror. Her unearthly visions feel purposefully out of place in such a grimy world, providing a strong analogy for the character’s flawed self-image. Tormented by dysmorphia, Jackie views herself as a danger to those she cares about. However, Lou loves her anyway, as she’s enamored by Jackie’s celestial strangeness. These contrasting aesthetics serve to literalize the notion of queer acceptance and provide a fresh take on a tired genre.
Love Lies Bleeding Breathes New Life Into Grinhouse Cinema
Fans of challenging filmmaking will recognize that Love Lies Bleeding is crafted out of love for the exploitation genre. Calling back to cult thrillers like Cruising and Mrs. 45, Rose Glass creates a seedy environment teeming with unflinching violence. Her characters are hard-edged out of necessity, willing to do anything to survive their cutthroat circumstances. Love Lies Bleeding is a brutal film, showcasing gruesome imagery worthy of the genre’s most sadistic offerings. Glass’ fascination with human viscera rivals David Cronenberg, and she has no interest in comforting potentially squeamish viewers. These stylistic choices serve the film’s thematic ambition, as Rose Glass aims to reconstruct the gender politics of exploitation cinema.
