A young singer who has hit the jackpot with her first album feels the pressure of getting that second album out strong. As she prepares to work on this with a new producer, she starts having hallucinations like she did in the past and doesn’t really want to be fully medicated. As things evolve, these hallucinations are revealed to be much more than.
Written by Wendy Hill-Tout and Lowell and directed by Amelia Moses, Bloodthirsty is a moody take on a classic supernatural being that being something new to the table in how things develop and how it affects the protagonist. This leads to a more unique take on things and one that is a must watch. This second feature film directed by Moses, after <a href=”https://www.cinema-crazed.com/blog/2020/11/11/bleed-with-me-2020-bits-2020/”>Bleed With Me</a> shows a growth in her work and that she can truly direct more intimate scenes to create films that feel very personal. Here, the connection between the lead character’s struggle with making her second album can easily be done with Moses’ potential struggles with making her second feature. Of course, this is only a guess, but seeing how the film feels so personal and so close to the heart, there is most likely something here which only helps elevate the film.
The cast for this film, like with previous film’s of Moses, is small. Basically 7 people, the lead of Grey played by Lauren Beatty, her girlfriend Charlie played by Katharine King So, the record producer Vaughn played by Greg Bryk, his assistant Vera played by Judith Buchan, and Grey’s therapist/psychiatrist Dr. Swan played by Michael Ironside who we do not see nearly enough of here. These 5 are the core of the film and everyone does great work with Beatty and Bryk being the central two who give great performances, Beatty in particular gives a stunning performance with so many layers that adding the new elements to who she is as the film moves along feels natural and organic to her performance.
Bloodthirsty is an intimate take on a familiar subject, giving the viewer something new to work with. It’s a film that is done meticulously and shows that you can absolutely take a tried and true subgenre and twist it just a bit, remove a large portion of the usual elements at play, and create something new with something so often repeated. This film is one worth tracking down and seeing on a quite night in. It’s the kind of film that quietly grabs you and doesn’t let you go.