Muscles and Guns Go Pop in First Trailer for A24’s Love Lies Bleeding

Like a bolt from the blue, and feeling something like the black sheep offspring of Pain & Gain and Spring Breakers, comes a first trailer for A24’s Love Lies Bleeding from English director Rose Glass. Poised to make its debut in a few weeks at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Love Lies Bleeding stars Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian as a gym employee and would-be bodybuilder who get wrapped up in a criminal enterprise that looks as if it might involve a little contract killing. Ed Harris–in full Crypt Keeper hair–co-stars as what appears to be the primary antagonist, along with Jena Malone, Ana Baryshnikov and Dave Franco. The hilariously concise (and seemingly deceptive) official synopsis, meanwhile, only hints at what is to come: “The film depicts the extreme qualities it takes to succeed in the competitive world of bodybuilding.”

Uh, yeah, looking at the trailer below we’d say that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This looks like a colorful, bombastic mix of action and romance with a dirty, sleazy sort of aesthetic–a far cry different from the cold, calculating precision seen in the debut from Glass, 2019’s psychological horror film Saint Maud. That movie starred Morfydd Clark as a woman descending into religious-fueled mania while comforting dying hospice patients. Love Lies Bleeding, on the other hand, seems to possess more of a sense of humor and even a potential streak of the fantastical, judging from some of the quick shots of Katy O’Brian’s Jackie where it appears she’s literally swelling and growing in size like She-Hulk.

This is a notable first starring opportunity for O’Brian in particular, an actress and martial artist who has appeared in supporting roles in films such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, along with TV series such as Z Nation, Black Lightning, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Mandalorian. Here’s hoping that her chance to romance and kick ass in Love Lies Bleeding is ultimately as fun as it looks here. Check out the first trailer below.