Kristen Stewart gives her signature mumblecore performance as Lou, a loner working in a rural, grimy gym as a begrudging receptionist in the 1980s. Her life is dull and colourless until Jackie (Katy O’Brian in a star-making turn after her breakout in The Mandalorian), a hopeful bodybuilder, rocks up from out of town and begins training at the gym.

There’s an instant, powerful sexual spark and, within about 24 hours, Jackie has moved in with Lou, who is more than happy to play house with her new lover, making Jackie egg white omelettes and delicately pumping her full of steroids. True love, right?

Things take a decidedly grizzly turn when, amped up on steroids, Jackie murders Lou’s abusive brother-in-law, JJ (Dave Franco). Her impulsive act of violence unravels a thread of hidden family crime in Lou’s past. Things eventually come to a brutal, surreal head in a stand-off with Lou’s bug-breeding crime boss dad, Lou Sr (a deeply unsettling and scraggly Ed Harris).

Love Lies Bleeding: Kristen Stewart is at her best in this gritty, gory crime thriller