Bleeding (2025) Movie Review: This Impressive Vampire Allegory Lacks Bite 

Our fascination with vampires isn’t going to phase out anytime soon. For good reason, as vampire mythos is often rooted in anxieties circling the “other,” paving the path for deliciously complex allegories. Sometimes, these creatures are carriers of disease and socially taboo ideologies, and at other times, a conduit for liminal sentiments, including a collective tendency to flirt with danger. Andrew Bell’s “Bleeding” exchanges this innate allure of the vampire mythos for something more immediate and visceral, such as the helpless desperation of two teenagers at the nexus of a vampire-centered crisis. The act of feeding or being fed upon is not an erotically-charged act here, but a horrific act of violence that stems from an involuntary impulse instead of malice.

You’ve heard of vampiric bloodlust as a metaphor for addiction, but Bell switches things up a bit by positioning vampire blood as a deadly, enticing drug, which can be distilled into a reddish powder dubbed Dust. Humans are the ones who crave this derivative opioid, hunting down those who have recently turned to satisfy their own urges. Cousins Eric (John R. Howley) and Sean (Jasper Jones) become involved without fully comprehending the scope of the matter, because Sean makes the mistake of fronting a huge amount of Dust from a notorious drug dealer. After Sean’s alcoholic cop father destroys the drug, the duo have no choice but to find a way to repay the amount, in cash or kind.

Bell captures the bleak reality of youngsters living through the opioid crisis in America, honing in on the reflexive need to get the next fix, no matter the consequences. This is a deeply personal perspective that is embedded into the very fabric of the film, brought to life through the woman whom Eric and Sean find in one of the houses they break into for cash.

However, Sara (Tori Wong) is less of a monster than the humans who exploited and hurt her, as their brand of evil is conscious and deliberate as opposed to her instinctive need to feed on blood. Once Eric peels back the layers of Sara’s perceived monstrosity, he finds a terrified girl who doesn’t want to hurt innocent folks. If anything, Sara comes across as more selfless and empathetic than most people stuck in the town’s hellish loop.

“Bleeding” isn’t scared to soak in the ugliness of addiction, but its treatment of this subject matter is both profound and lackluster. The film has something intriguing to say, but ends up saying it in the blandest way imaginable, leaning more into the melodrama of it all instead of taking a taut, gritty route. As a result, Howley and Jones’ committed performances fail to shine as brightly as they should, as their respective characters are bogged down by long, sluggish conversations that add little to the dramatic immediacy of the events. It’s one thing to drive the point home, but another to repeatedly hammer the same thematic nail until it wedges itself into trite heavy-handedness.

Bell etches “Bleeding” as less of a vampire film than a meandering drama about compulsive desires and societal ills, where the average person can easily get roped into a noxious cycle of impulse and fallout. Although this aspect is explored with raw authenticity, the vampiric underpinnings end up feeling wasted, explored solely through a half-baked metaphor about destructive hunger. Some associated imagery emerges as more compelling than others, including one where a newly turned vampire is gutted and set aflame with the intention of extracting Dust from its bloodstream. That said, the rest feels dreary in a way that borders on emotional drudgery, which is the last thing a vampire allegory should make you feel.

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Bleeding (2025) Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd
Bleeding (2025) Movie Cast: John R. Howley, Jasper Jones, Tori Wong, Jay Dunn, Josh Krol, Chloe Sirene
Bleeding (2025) Movie Runtime: 1h 38m, Genre: Horror