This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Kim from Dominion3. Level 33 Entertainment is putting this out and I tend to at least enjoy the films from them. I'll be honest, I was leery when I saw that this was a horror/romance film. I had an idea of what creature would be from the title. I did come into this one blind aside from the information that I shared here.
Synopsis: unemployed artist Thomas (Ruardidh Aldington) is captivated by alluring Rhea (Madalina Bellariu Ion), who conceals her nature. Their intense affair takes a sinister turn as he becomes gravely ill.
We start this by seeing a guy in a bed and he looks sickly. There is a vampire that is feeding on his arm. It is from there that we shift to our main character, Thomas. He still lives with his mother, played by Angela Dixon. She is calling out to him, which makes him annoyed. She needs his help though. An exterminator is coming over, John (Craig Conway). His mother has a thing for him. This escalated to Thomas hearing the two having sex. This forces Thomas to go out. His friend Dano (Andrew Lyle-Pinnock) is a bartender at a club. It is while he's here that he catches a glimpse of Rhea. Dano forces him to go over and talk to her, causing Thomas to fall in love.
Thomas then is dealt a difficult blow. John is moving in with his mother. Thomas is kicked out, given the flat that John was living in. Something wild that I've never seen here in the United States. He is given a little battery where he can load money on it to provide power to his apartment. The amount he puts on doesn't keep the lights on long. He also can't find information on Rhea. He is just waiting for her to return to the club. When she does, Dano calls him and he sprints to get there.
His life gets turned upside even more. He falls madly in love with her. She is interested in him. What he doesn't realize though is that she is a vampire. He lets her feed on his arm which gives him a euphoric feeling. He can't get enough of it. This drives him to ask her to move into the flat with him. There are complications on her end and he also needs to get a job to afford the place. The consequences of this decision are more than just that as his new girlfriend does as the title of the film says, drains him.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is with something that made me leery, this being a horror/romance film. It definitely is in that order. This isn't a romance in a traditional sense and I appreciated that. We have a guy who finds a woman at the bar attractive. He shoots his shot and she leaves with him. What is different here is that she finds an easy target, using her sexuality as a weapon. He is also an easy meal. I'll bring up what I did at the end of my recap, the title is a good pun here. Not only is she draining him of blood, but it is also financially and physically draining. He is wasting away. That was a good touch.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me then shift over to the monster itself. Vampires are creatures that have an oversaturated market. It has been used since the beginning of the film. What you have to do is something different because of it. Since the 1990s, we have seen the idea of using vampirism as an allegory for drugs. It feels good in the beginning and then it takes over your life, cursing it. We get that here. What is different though is there's another layer. He is infatuated with her. He enjoys her feeding on him, but it is more that it is her doing it. When things turn bad, his withdrawals seem more that they're no longer together. This was something that I could connect with. I also like using this idea with the vampire concept.
There is another layer to this. I'll need to go through the acting performances first. Adlington does a solid job at being this artist who is coasting through life. His father passed away so he came home to take care of his mother, but it is the point where she is taking care of him. This causes Thomas to buttheads with John. I like that he's challenging Thomas, because he needs it. The decisions for the mother to allow John to move in is paralleled with Thomas and Rhea moving in together. This strains all the relationships involved as well. Conway is good as this outsider who upsets Thomas, but makes the mother happy. I also like Dixon as a mother torn on what to do as well. Ion also works here as she has an accent and darkly good looks. She is alluring, so I can see how she entices Thomas. Adlington and Ion are good with the other two pushing them to where things end up.
I'll also credit Lyle-Pinnock as Thomas' friend. He is the reason the two meet. Dano also helps his friend with a job. We also get two police inspectors later in the film, Linda Rathbourne played by Natasha Patel and her partner is Edward Finch by Andrew-Lee Potts. They complicate Thomas' life. This also pushes the story to a resolution. I dug where this goes.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography and framing were good. We are capturing that this is all taking place in a blue-collar neighborhood. Thomas has things good and then he ventures into the dark side. They're able to capture that. The blood we get looks good. I do like the vampire effects. Those seemed to be done practically. My only issue here is that the computer effects we use don't look great. They also don't ruin this. There are just a few things that take me out. I do also think this runs too long. It meanders a bit near the end and I think trimming would help. Other than that, the soundtrack fits what was needed.
In conclusion, I'm glad that I took the chance on this one. We get conventions here that we've seen before. I like doing something slightly different with vampire lore. Seeing how someone can become infatuated with the dangers that come from that. The acting was solid across the board. They bring their characters to life. This is made well enough. The cinematography, framing and practical effects leading the way. My biggest issue is with the CGI and it runs just a bit too long. This is still an independent film that I'd recommend to horror fans for 2025 lists. I don't think this will be a high-end contender, but a back of the list one potentially.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
