Grey is an indie singer who is having visions that she is a wolf. When she gets an invitation to work with notorious music producer Vaughn Daniels at his remote studio in the woods, she begins to find out who she really is.
The music industry is a vicious game. In light of the lawsuit pop star Ke$ha brought against producer Dr. Luke for sexually assaulting her and beating her, more of us are coming to understand the high price women have paid to see their name in lights. The tragedy of it feels painfully visceral in this new horror, “Bloodthirsty,” directed by Amelia Moses and written by pop producer/musician Lowell with the help of Wendy Hill-Tout. The film lives and dies by its atmospheric suspense boiling into abrupt violence. The film feels all the more impactful when paired with the knowledge that writer Lowell is channeling her experiences when a music producer intentionally abused her and hurt her. This story comes from a deeply personal place. While it succeeds in menacing for well over an hour, it fizzles into a muddy climax with such a neat ending it’s sad to see it go.
Lauren Beatty plays Grey, a rising pop star suffering from delusions, who agrees to make a new album with music producer Vaughn in his eerie remote mansion. Grey brings Charlie, her painter girlfriend (and voice of reason), but the longer Grey stays the more she suspects her visions of beastly behavior might not be visions. The three dance around each other in a perfectly gothic mansion.
The film rests fairly thoroughly between Beatty and Greg Byrk with their respective protagonist and antagonist with both delivering strong performances. Byrk nails the quiet psychopath with perfect menace. He looms in his scenes with a presence you’re just waiting for him to erupt into violence. Beatty’s aloof performance carries her through the beginning giving her time to really delve into the character’s nuances. Admittedly, the ending for this story doesn’t perfectly cohere and so the magic of the performances fades. Byrk’s psychopath suddenly feels one-note and Beatty unhinges too little too late.
For a movie with only seven actors and one location, it feels incredibly sparse on effects. It highlights the beautiful singing of Beatty (but really Lowell) with gorgeous melodies evoking a pop melancholy artists like Billie Eilish has brought into the current atmosphere. While the middle section works beautifully to ratchet up the tension, the violent finale feels limited, bound by its budget as we never see most of the violence we’re left to imply it.
Don’t get me wrong: everything about this movie works like clockwork. The location is a perfect blend of American gothic and Overlook Hotel. The camera captures each scene beautifully, employing wobbly handheld for fraught scenes and perfectly level shots during the chilling events. Musically, it’s a joy to listen to, bits and pieces of Lowell’s work and I really want to check out the movie’s songs in their full version somewhere. The editor let this film really develop and silences last long periods, allowing the actors to really savor the drama. Mainly my congratulations to the foley team for really filling out the soundscape of the film. When so much is implied off-screen, you really need a good sound department to sell the brutality and this team pulled it way the hell off.
Unfortunately, the ending unravels much of the magic it built for itself. I found logic breaking down and the big confrontation petered out so quickly. The film would have benefitted from one truly visceral bloody murder. It fizzled too much (perhaps that’s the Gothic tone speaking) with little surprise left. I will still rank this movie high for my personal taste because I admire the deft filmmaking. I wish I’d walked away with more – more character, more violence, and more finality. This film is a great watch!
In Select Theaters and On-Demand Friday, April 23rd
