Bloodthirsty

Bloodthirsty marks the sophomore feature-length film of director Amelia Moses, from a screenplay by Wendy Hill-Tout and Lowell. The horror-thriller is about up-and-coming musical artist Grey (Lauren Beatty), who is having hallucinations that she is a wolf. While she’s in therapy for that, Grey’s professional career has hit a bit of a wall. She’s having trouble finding the right producer for her next album.

But Grey finally settles on Vaughn (Greg Bryk), though her girlfriend Charlie (Katharine So King) objects to her working with a potential murderer (he was acquitted). But the singer knows the eccentric’s reputation as a great producer and goes ahead with the plan. In order to get the most of their time, Grey and Charlie temporarily move in with him. Vaughn demands a lot from the star and the long days seem to be making Grey’s primal dreams even more vivid. But are they only figments of her imagination, or are the carnage and beastly desires she feels real?

“…musical artist Grey…is having hallucinations that she is a wolf.”

Let’s start off with the problems present in Bloodthirsty, as they happen early and are, thankfully, comparatively minor. Grey’s issues at getting a second album produced are simply told to the audience, never really shown. This seems at odds with the things that are on screen, as she is hounded by reporters all asking about the next hit song or getting intrusive about her private life. Clearly, she is big or at least rising to be a breakout star. Her current clout is the kind of thing executives would notice and be wooing her to sign with them. A scene or two of a producer, or several, giving advice that Grey thinks doesn’t suit her or her style of music, so she gets frustrated and leaves would significantly improve the context of her choosing Vaughn.

After a dream sequence (maybe) that opens the film, Grey is at a photoshoot for… something. A particular magazine, promotional tour images, who knows? As this is the beginning of the movie and the introduction of Grey, I thought she was a model, not a singer. While the scene is very well edited, it proves confusing. Replacing it with the above-mentioned producer interference moment, or some variation thereof, would allow a better understanding of the protagonist and where she is in life in a much more streamlined, engaging, and sensible way.