"DRAINED" (2024) Breathes New Life Into The Typical Vampire Tropes (REVIEW)
Metaphors and horror are a dime a dozen, and vampires bear the unfortunate burden of having some of the least inspired metaphorical relationships out there; obsession and addiction. To be clear, these metaphors aren’t bad so much as they are overused and often with diminishing returns. Most recently, Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” wears both metaphors proudly as it weaves a tale of obsession and lust, and Abel Ferrara’s “The Addiction” is as on-the-nose as you can get when it comes to aligning bloodsucking with substance abuse. While the latter film was more of a trailblazer, it was preceded by “The Hunger” which is one of the least vampy vampire films ever, but heavily focused on the idea of obsession and desire. These films have paved the way for other mediocre films to comment on the interrelatedness between vampirism and addiction, and yet they both still stand as the best iterations of those themes in vampire cinema today. Enter “Drained,” the latest from Magnificent Pictures from Co-Directors Peter Stylianou and Sean Cronin starring Ruaridh Aldington and Madalina Bellarui Ion, which aims to evolve this long-held relationship to scary new heights. Will this have you coming back for more, or leaving unfulfilled?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In the neon-soaked streets of London, Thomas, a jobless concept artist, falls in love with Rhea, a seductive woman who turns out to be a vampire. As their twisted romance unfolds, Thomas's health deteriorates, and he spirals out of control.
HOW IS IT?
Sometimes the best way to disrupt a sub-genre is to go back to some of its roots and reprise them in a modern context. Many sub-genres do this, some better than others to be sure, but this appreciation of past aesthetics can often breathe new life into storylines and tropes that feel worn-out and tired. A fine example of going backward to go forward is “Drained,” a vampire film that feels indebted to the dark, sexy, and gothic vampires of the 80s infused with the recurring theme of abuse and addiction. Not only does “Drained” pay homage to the New Wave vampire with its visual and auditory aesthetics, but it also blazes its own trail by introducing some novel changes to the vampire lore that make for compelling additions to the bloodsucking mythos we’ve come to understand.
“Drained” focuses on Thomas (Ruaridh Aldington), a struggling artist who lives at home with his mum and is for all intents and purposes, stuck in a rut. His focus on finishing his portfolio of work makes him unable to earn any income and his mum is exploring the dating world with far greater success than her son is. When Thomas meets the mysterious Rhea (Madalina Bellarui Ion) he is entranced by her as much as she is drawn to him, or rather his blood. This chance meeting turns into obsession as Thomas seeks out Rhea and the two engage in reciprocal intimacy, but not of the sexual kind. See, Rhea is drawn to Thomas’ blood and can sense it so strongly that she feels compelled to taste it. Thomas, on the other hand, is drawn to Rhea and how she makes him feel, not to mention the sense of ecstasy he feels from her seductive slurping on his blood. Pivoting from the typical vampire/victim coupling, “Drained” introduces something new to the fold, interdependence. The relationship between Thomas and Rhea isn’t based on her ability to turn him through her bite, another shift in the vampire formula, but rather how each of them gets something from the other they can’t find elsewhere. For those of you who’ve been in toxic relationships where it has felt like you aren’t separate from your partner, that’s classic interdependence. While this isn’t always a negative, it often is because it minimizes an individual's agency by convincing them of their reliance on another. When Thomas tries to “quit” Rhea, he goes through the kind of withdrawals one experiencing substance abuse might, whereas Rhea is forced to feed on lesser-than-bloodlines to satiate her thirst. It makes for a fascinating relationship that mirrors many actual ones, minus the bloodsucking (we hope), and takes the overused trope of vampires standing in for addiction and expands the focus to show how abusive relationships play out where one person holds power over the other as a means to stifle them. The removal of the sexual element in their relationship makes this all the more clear in the narrative, as Thomas uses Rhea not for her body but rather to make him feel like he matters. Sadly, once Thomas realizes what that could mean it shifts the dynamic of their relationship.
We like to avoid spoilers in our reviews so we won’t go into details about how the third act plays out, but it certainly will go places you least expect and certainly not in the ways you’re imagining. “Drained” isn’t content on conforming to the likes of other vampire films by laying on gallons of fake blood, although there are certainly some gleefully gratuitous scenes, but instead shows how Rhea upends Thomas’ life entirely, doubling down on the toxicity of their relationship and in the process leaving Thomas to suffer the consequences. It leads to one of the few critiques we have about “Drained” in that it feels a bit scattered as it lunges toward the ending. Part of this could be due to the pacing and runtime which could’ve shaved off around 10 minutes, but also due to the lengths to which “Drained” goes to put Thomas through his paces. Those paces do feel a bit rushed in service of wrapping the film up, but in a way, it shares a lot in common with “Near Dark” in how it frames the human-vampire relationship, as well as the challenges that come from being immortal. Nevertheless, the captivating performances from Madalina and Ruaridh and their electrifying on-screen chemistry make for a great distraction against some of the draggier narrative bits which culminate in an extremely somber, but satisfying ending.
LAST RITES
“Drained” is a sexy and stylized addition to the vampire genre that toys with tired tropes while introducing new metaphors that serve to expand the utility of the sub-genre and those bloodsucking freaks we all love!
THE GORY DETAILS
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Where can you watch it?
DRAINED is Now Available Everywhere Movies Are Rented or Sold!
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