After her chilling success with Saint Maud, Rose Glass returns to the big screen with Love Lies Bleeding, a daring and darkly humorous story centred on a gym manager who becomes dangerously fixated on a bodybuilder.
This new erotic thriller delves into the intense and damaging relationship between Lou, played by Kristen Stewart, and Jackie, portrayed by Katy O’Brian, as their passion draws them into the grip of Lou’s criminal family ties.
Though Love Lies Bleeding and Saint Maud present different settings and moods — the former about an obsessive gym manager and the latter about a religiously devout nurse — both films blur the lines between dreams and reality, always keeping the viewers uncertain about what’s real and what is just imagination.
Jackie and Lou’s fierce connection burns bright and dangerously out of control (Photo: Love Lies Bleeding/A24, Film4, and Escape Plan Productions)This interplay between reality and fantasy reaches its peak in the final moments of the film, where Jackie and Lou battle to survive in a scene that abandons realism completely.
Director Rose Glass Almost Went for a Completely Different Ending
Those who have watched the ending may wonder about the meaning behind the dramatic visual turn. Here, we break down what the final act reveals, drawing from insights shared by Rose Glass and Katy O’Brian.
From the beginning, it’s evident that Lou is determined to break free from the shadow of her father, Lou Sr (Ed Harris), a local kingpin who operates the town’s shooting range. However, her loyalty to her sister Beth (Jena Malone), trapped in an abusive marriage with JJ (Dave Franco), keeps her from escaping easily.
When JJ violently assaults Beth, Jackie, seemingly driven by both a steroid high and fierce love, loses control and kills JJ in a brutal attack. Realising an opportunity to shield Jackie and frame her father, Lou hides JJ’s corpse in the back of his car and dumps it in a canyon known to be her father’s regular spot for disposing of bodies.
While Lou manages to carry out this risky move quietly, her actions catch the attention of Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), a town drug addict with an unhealthy obsession with Lou.
Hoping to prevent any police trouble, Lou pleads with Jackie to stay hidden, but Jackie refuses and travels to Las Vegas to participate in a long-awaited bodybuilding competition.
Jackie’s reality begins to crumble during her big moment on stage. She imagines herself near the same canyon where JJ’s body lies, and in a strange, drug-induced vision, she vomits out Lou.
The movie then snaps back to reality, showing Jackie throwing up on stage and attacking another contestant. Against expectations, it’s Lou Sr who bails Jackie out of jail, convincing her that he is an ally and pushing her to kill Daisy, the only witness to JJ’s murder.
Jackie follows through, only to later discover that Lou Sr had no intentions of protecting her and instead plans to let her take the blame for Daisy’s death and his own past crimes.
As Lou threatens to expose her father’s dark secrets if he harms Jackie, Lou Sr retaliates by sending a police officer to silence Lou, but she manages to defend herself and kills him.
Fuelled by determination, Lou storms her father’s mansion where Jackie is being held captive, leading to a tense confrontation between Lou, Jackie, and Lou Sr.
Jackie’s Gigantic Transformation in Love Lies Bleeding Explained
At first, Lou Sr gains the advantage, wounding Lou by shooting her in the leg and cruelly pressing down on her injury.
But Jackie intervenes dramatically, undergoing an extraordinary transformation into a towering giant, lifting Lou Sr off the ground with ease and throwing him down like a rag doll.
Lou, holding her father at gunpoint, finally spares his life. Instead of pulling the trigger, she binds him and escapes with Jackie before the authorities can arrive.
Glass’s camera then transitions into a fantastical sequence, portraying Lou and Jackie as towering giants striding across clouds and open lands, symbolising their liberation.
While discussing the surreal scene, O’Brian shared with RadioTimes.com: “After reading the script, once I got to the part where I threw up Kristen, I thought nothing could shock me anymore. But then seeing myself described as 30 feet tall really surprised me.”
She explained further: “After talking with Rose, she encouraged me to interpret it freely and to have fun. At one point, I was watching footage from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman for inspiration.”
Continuing her reflection, O’Brian said: “The transformation felt like a strange form of self-actualisation. Originally, they wanted me to be completely nude, but thankfully I was placed in a bikini that represented the physique and look I had been aiming for.”
Glass admitted she had moments of doubt about including such a wild twist, but felt that a more grounded ending would have felt hollow.
She remarked: “Just like with Saint Maud, I had the final scene in mind early on. My co-writer Weronika [Tofilska] and I felt it grew naturally from everything we had built before. When we tried writing more realistic endings, they always seemed less satisfying.”
What Happens to Lou and Jackie at the End?
Although Jackie’s giant transformation brings the movie’s action to a head, it doesn’t serve as the closing note.
In the final moments, Lou and Jackie are seen driving westward in Lou’s pickup truck, relishing a rare moment of calm. However, a thudding sound from the back alerts them that Daisy, though shot earlier, is still clinging to life.
The twisted road to freedom leads to unexpected betrayals and haunting visions (Photo: Love Lies Bleeding/A24, Film4, and Escape Plan Productions)Taking no chances, Lou finishes Daisy off permanently and dumps her body into the desert sands. This dark development touches again on the vicious cycle of violence and the fine line separating love from obsession and toxicity.
Speaking about this last scene, O’Brian said: “Lou’s relapse into smoking shows her slipping back into old patterns, while Jackie remains blissfully unaware. It hints that their future is likely to spiral into darkness again.”
Glass also shared her perspective: “It’s a bittersweet ending. While it might seem grim to some viewers, it felt fitting to me. Some friends had begged me not to kill them, but I was committed to following through with the story’s truth.”
Meaning Behind Jackie Vomiting Lou in Love Lies Bleeding
Jackie’s disturbing act of vomiting Lou, like other violent episodes in the film, seems to be driven by a mix of steroid use and an intense, overwhelming form of love.
Talking about this sequence, Glass told Dazed: “Jackie and Lou’s passion is wild and chaotic. One moment they’re brawling in the streets, the next they’re locked in a passionate embrace. Their love is extreme and messy.”
Glass added: “When we first worked on the script, we envisioned it as a Pygmalion-type story, where one woman shapes and controls the other. Eventually, everything spirals beyond control. We didn’t want to let them off lightly for the madness of their relationship.”
