Writer/director Rose Glass made her feature debut with 2019’s stunningly effective psychological horror film, “Saint Maud”, an unsettling and complex mood piece that announced a unique new voice. Glass’s sophomore effort, “Love Lies Bleeding“, is an even stronger film; a hyper-stylized, supremely involving, and erotic neo-noir with a queer edge. Co-written by Weronika Tofilska, Glass has created a film burning with intensity in every moment. Her screenplay and stylistic impulses suffer no fools, bringing pure cinematic fire to the moments of violence, tension, and sex.

Set in 1980s New Mexico, Kristen Stewart is “Lou”, a worker bee at a local gym named Crater’s. The establishment is a grungy sweat and muscle-filled hive of buffed-out bodybuilders and badass attitudes, introduced by Ben Fordesman’s camera moving over the bulging muscles of the men and women pushing themselves to the workout limit.

Lou’s sister, “Beth” (Jena Malone), is married to the sleazy “JJ” (Dave Franco), who continually beats her. As with many women in abusive relationships, Beth will not entertain the idea of pressing charges against the father of her children. Adding insult to Beth’s constant injury, JJ works at a shooting range run by Lou and Beth’s dangerous father, “Lou Sr.” (Ed Harris at his most menacing). Daddy is most certainly a bad man who deals in illegal guns, hiding behind the facade of his deceptively legitimate business. Lou has a dark past with her father and may or may not have been an unwitting party to his murderous ways.

Kristen Stewart gives a smoldering and energetic performance as a young woman who exists amongst the demons that pollute her family. Lou hasn’t spoken to her father since her mother vanished 12 years earlier and no longer makes a fuss when seeing her sister with cuts and bruises, as it happens so often. Save for murder, there is nothing she can do to keep her sister safe, as JJ is under the wing of Lou Sr.

The least of her troubles (but still an unimaginable annoyance) is Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), a trashy woman who hangs around the gym and has an unhealthy fixation on Lou. Daisy is one who can’t seem to see the bigger picture and her presence eventually becomes a danger to herself and the object of her obsession.

Kristen Stewart seems to have finally found her stride. Getting better and better with every performance, the actress constantly challenges herself and finds roles polar opposite from the last. She followed up her award worthy work as Princess Diana in 2021’s “Spencer” with David Cronenberg’s provocative “Crimes of the Future” and now this unique piece. Stewart navigates Lou’s frustrated rage with a focused precision, crafting a bold performance of depth and unbridled sexuality that is, perhaps, the actress’s best work to date.

Enter Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a wannabe bodybuilding queen who has her sights on an upcoming championship contest in Las Vegas. A drifter, Jackie becomes a regular at Lou’s gym, but (through an earlier “meeting” with JJ) finds her way to a job at the gun range run by Lou Sr. There is instant heat between Lou and Jackie. The two form a quick bond that bears the fruit of soulful passion and fiery sexual attraction.