(A24 / Film4) One word comes to mind while watching Rose Glass’ new gritty thriller Love Lies Bleeding: greasy. Set in a local community of gym rats and gun nuts, we see the ever-fascinating contradiction of people obsessed with working out—something that should be healthy and keeping you in shape—while simultaneously addicted to cigarettes, steroids or both. Everyone in this movie looks like they need a bath or a trip to the dentist. Glass builds a gnarly universe for viewers who will either be sucked into the experience or too grossed out toward the end.
Sounds horrible. Why in the world would anyone want to waste their time and money on that? What were the writers and movie makers thinking?