--- title: "Love Lies Bleeding: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/love-lies-bleeding/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/love-lies-bleeding" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Love Lies Bleeding (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 20 reviews: 17 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are warm and the spread is narrow: most critics like Love Lies Bleeding, none dislikes it, and the reservations are modest. Praise gathers first on the two leads. Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are credited with real chemistry and a romance that feels desperate and physical, and Stewart’s performance is singled out again and again. Rose Glass is admired for keeping control of the excess: the sex scenes, the graphic violence and the neon-lit 1980s setting are what critics enjoy most, with Clint Mansell’s score noted approvingly. The doubts cluster on the writing. Several critics find the plot familiar and leaning on noir conventions, the characters thin beneath the style, and the last stretch either muddled or too tidy. The New Yorker, Time Out and The Ringer sit lowest, with The Ringer finding the climax weightless, and Screen Daily thinks the film is derivative rather than transgressive. A minority also finds it less unsettling than Saint Maud. ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2024. The critic hails the film as a masterpiece and a turbo-charged lesbian crime thriller that boldly uses body horror and violence. It roots for the central couple's desperate, horny affair while exploring power, gender and toxic femininity without slowing down. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart-3034517) ## Empire — Laura Venning Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 March 2024. The review calls it a visceral, blood-soaked all-American fable anchored in a swoon-worthy queer romance full of potent eroticism and energy. Glass subverts masculine tropes with a wonderfully gay sensibility and strong chemistry between the leads. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/love-lies-bleeding/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Rating Critics Pick. 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic hails the film as a queer romantic noir that goes to extremes, praising its originality, control, and vision of new feminine power. They single out the delirious ultra-violence and gonzo twists while noting Rose Glass remains fiercely in control. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart-katy-obrian-1235880589) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/4/5. 30 April 2024. The critic calls it a Molotov cocktail of lurid, luscious filmmaking from a bright young star, hot, dirty, fast and combustible. Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brien are on fire as star-crossed lovers in this ’80s throwback thriller. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/love-lies-bleeding) ## The Independent — Clarisse Loughrey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 May 2024. The critic praises the film's intense portrayal of desperate female yearning for power through a hypnotic, steroid-fuelled queer romance. Stewart and O'Brian deliver standout performances in this macabre fable from the director of Saint Maud. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-review-b2535365.html) ## The AV Club — Lauren Coates Rating B. 11 March 2024. The review highlights the strong chemistry between leads and O'Brian's standout performance alongside striking visuals, but faults the meandering plot, familiar tropes, and failure to fully live up to expectations set by Saint Maud. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/love-lies-bleeding-movie-review-kristen-stewart-1851325720) ## Evening Standard — El Hunt Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 2 May 2024. The review highlights the film's gory, surreal neo-noir as the standout in a wave of violent sapphic cinema, calling it entertaining and subversive despite leaning on tropes. It subverts expectations through its charismatic queer leads and absurd, violent energy. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/love-lies-bleeding-movie-review-kristen-stewart-katy-obrian-rose-glass-b1154771.html) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 29 February 2024. The critic describes it as a neon-drenched desert noir and primal roar of righteous rage with excellent lead performances. The actors shine amid a mix of bodybuilding thriller elements and outré moments that sometimes threaten to overwhelm the tapestry. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/love-lies-bleeding-review/) ## Financial Times — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 May 2024. The critic finds it a visually striking slice of Gothic delirium with daring carnality and violence, but notes it eventually swerves into incoherence like a superior B-movie pumped on aesthetic steroids. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/e6508dc1-519f-4cd9-bf42-6364be90609f) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 8 March 2024. The critic finds the film entertaining with clever twists and strong performances from Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian, but notes thin characterization and a reliance on genre conventions that leaves characters underdeveloped. They single out the performances and the brisk story while criticizing the emptiness and lack of deeper context. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/18/love-lies-bleeding-movie-review) ## Time Out — Elizabeth Weitzman Rating 3/5. 14 March 2024. The critic describes it as a pulpy neo-noir romance and the best B-movie of the year, a batshit fever dream tailored to Stewart’s talents with wickedly unsparing insight and humour. Glass does not quite match her previous high standards but turns genre tropes inside out. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/love-lies-bleeding-2024) ## Los Angeles Times — Amy Nicholson 8 March 2024. The critic calls the film a marvelously seedy erotic thriller where dangerous lusts and noirish calculations are alive and well, praising its technical style and fun in watching the blood splatter. They single out the sex scenes, O'Brian's physical presence, and the film's willingness to tease comedy from its dark premise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-03-08/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart-katy-obrian-ross-glass-a24) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic praises the film as a sexy, brutal, violent and kinetic piece of filmmaking that confirms Rose Glass as a major talent. They single out the strong central performances, especially Kristen Stewart's, and the film's gritty, sweaty style and control amid chaos. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-movie-review-2024) ## Screen Daily 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic calls it an audacious, pulpy crime-thriller with wicked humour, smouldering sex scenes and shocking graphic violence, painting a damning picture of America. Despite colourful atmosphere and gutsy performances, it ultimately feels derivative rather than transgressive. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-sundance-review/5189658.article) ## Sight and Sound 26 January 2024. Festival review. The critic finds the film a disjointed but compelling 1980s-set crime thriller of passionate extremes, filled with blood, sex and brawn. It comes most alive in its graphic but stylised violence and sex scenes, though the journey can feel muddled. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-this-bodybuilding-melodrama-film-passionate-extremes) ## Slant Magazine — Pat Brown 18 February 2024. Festival review. The review commends the propulsive energy, vivid performances, and queer perspective on love amid violence but finds the story formulaic and overly reliant on style at the expense of deeper character motivation. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart-katy-obrian/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 2 May 2024. The critic praises the film as an uproarious, violently smart noir thriller with strong performances, especially Kristen Stewart's subtle turn as gym manager Lou. Glass is celebrated for blending grindhouse energy with wit and surreal touches in this bodybuilding crime story. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/02/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic calls the film a bold, ultra-violent lesbian neo-noir with Kristen Stewart's commanding presence at its center, praising its excess and pulp energy while noting it lacks the unsettling power of Glass's prior work. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart-1235794464/) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin 2 May 2024. The critic calls it a jaw-dropping, gruesome psychosexual thriller and mouth-wateringly disreputable pulp cinema. Glass delivers an audacious, hot and nasty follow-up full of grotesque characters and nothing-to-lose energy. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/love-lies-bleeding-kristen-stewart/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher 1 May 2024. The review describes an exhilarating romp that revitalises noir with steroid-fueled surreal violence and a torrid romance. Glass is credited with another bold, brash success after Saint Maud. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/love-lies-bleeding-film-review-an-exhilarating-romp-with-kristen-stewart-5z3gqx7zs) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic praises the intimate passion, bold visuals, and mythic scale of the romance between the leads but notes that later violence relies too heavily on stylized gore that can feel one-note. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/love-lies-bleeding-review-more-than-violence-and-grandeur.html) ## /Film — Bill Bria Rating 9/10. 26 January 2024. Festival review. The critic calls it a thrillingly grimy, seedy body-horror noir that is unabashedly queer and winningly deranged, with fantastic chemistry between the leads. It offers a refreshingly honest depiction of messy love. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1502464/love-lies-bleeding-review/) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating 8/10. 22 January 2024. Festival review. Rose Glass delivers a bold, exciting sophomore feature that cranks up horror, suspense, and imagery. Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brian give electric, passionate performances in a dirty, sweaty, sexy thriller packed with tension and unexpected moments. [Read the review](https://collider.com/love-lies-bleeding-review/) ## Deadline — Valerie Complex Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic describes an intense, queer, unconventional love story between unstable characters, marked by strong performances and a visually arresting narrative that explores destructive relationships. Glass captures a snapshot of America filled with guns, bloodshed, and lawlessness, enhanced by sexy, campy queers for thrills and captivating energy. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/01/love-lies-bleeding-review-gays-doing-the-burying-rose-glass-thriller-sundance-film-festival-1235797525/) ## Film Stories — Maria Lattila Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 May 2024. The critic finds the film a sensational, entertaining sophomore effort from Glass that is unashamedly sexy and queer, with sizzling chemistry between Stewart and O'Brian. Some narrative choices favor style over substance and the ending feels undercooked. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-review-rose-glass-thriller-is-sensationally-erotic-and-entertaining/) ## HeyUGuys — Thomas Alexander Rating 4/5. 28 February 2024. Festival review. The critic praises the bold, brutal and uncompromising romance-thriller as a testament to Glass, with raw chemistry and unflinching violence and sex scenes. Some outlandish sequences feel gimmicky and detract slightly from the strong performances. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/love-lies-bleeding-review/) ## NME — Lou Thomas Rating 4/5. 20 February 2024. Festival review. The critic calls it Kristen Stewart’s most exciting film yet and a brilliant noir packed with sex, drugs and violence, comparing it favorably to Bound and Blood Simple for its shocks, characters and dialogue, while praising the bold visuals, neon lighting, red-saturated flashbacks and atmospheric score by Clint Mansell. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/love-lies-bleeding-berlin-review-kristen-stewart-3589960) ## The Playlist — Marshall Shaffer Rating B. 21 January 2024. Festival review. The critic sees a compelling tale of transformation and obsession that is pulpy and rabble-rousing with expressive direction and strong leads. It can feel messy, relies on cinematic shorthand, and sacrifices some clarity in characterization. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/love-lies-bleeding-review-rose-glass-bloody-brutal-bash-burns-passion-pride-sundance-20240121/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2024. Festival review. Glass’s sophomore feature relishes sex, love, and violence in a compelling psychological thriller that is a fantastic companion to Saint Maud. Stewart delivers a powerhouse performance in a role defined by sexuality, love, lust, anger, and connection, as the film spins a murder scenario into a bombastic twist on the crime drama with an impressive directorial achievement. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/love-lies-bleeding-review-kristen-stewart/) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 2024. Glass's follow-up to Saint Maud is a brazen, reality-blurring neo-noir sexploitation riff with palpable sensual pleasure and strong performances, especially from Stewart. It shows pitfalls in its excessive contrivance, relentless style, and weightless climax that leaves exhaustion rather than satisfaction. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2024/03/13/movies/love-lies-bleeding-movie-review) ## Paste — Brianna Zigler Rating 8.0. 6 March 2024. Glass crafts a far more effective horror film than Saint Maud, with sensuality, grotesque imagery, and a gripping thriller-crime story elevated into a gorgeous night terror. Stewart and O'Brian have incredible chemistry in one of the best films of 2024 so far, though the conclusion feels too neatly packaged. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/kristen-stewart/love-lies-bleeding-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/love-lies-bleeding.md