Love Lies Bleeding

The film opens in a grimy gym in 1989 where Lou Langdon cleans the toilets. A coworker named Daisy invites her to go out, but Lou declines and heads home alone. The scene establishes Lou's solitary, no-nonsense world.

Jackie, a homeless bodybuilder, is shown having sex with JJ, who promises her a job at his workplace. She is determined to reach Vegas and advance her career. The encounter introduces Jackie as tough, ambitious, and willing to take risks.

Lou visits her sister Beth to find her battered by JJ—arm in a sling and a black eye from JJ's violence. Lou worries about Beth remaining with her abusive husband, though Beth resists leaving. The scene flags the personal costs of violence in Lou's world.

Jackie starts at a shooting range where Lou's father, Lou Sr., re-enters the picture with his criminal history. Lou is wary of the man who shapes much of her past, and the encounter foreshadows dangerous entanglements to come.

Lou urges Jackie to start using steroids to boost her bodybuilding prospects, and the two grow closer, forming a romantic bond. Jackie ends up staying with Lou as their relationship deepens. The decision ties Jackie to Lou's dangerous world.

Jackie begins working more closely with Lou Sr., while Lou tries to keep some distance due to his criminal dealings. Loyalties blur as her personal and family ties pull her further into danger. The trio's web tightens around Lou.

Lou, Jackie, JJ, and Beth share a meal where Lou confronts JJ about the abuse. JJ deflects blame, citing past sexual encounters with Jackie, which inflames Lou. She voices a dangerous wish to see JJ dead.

Beth lies in a coma at the hospital from JJ's beating, while the steroids' effects begin to take a toll on Jackie as she prepares for a competition. The dual pressures push all characters toward crisis.

Jackie breaks into JJ's house and violently murders him, smashing his face against a table. Lou discovers the body and starts cleaning the crime scene to hide their involvement from authorities.

Lou and Jackie haul JJ's car and body to a ravine where Lou Sr. disposed of others, then ignite the car with a Molotov to erase evidence. Daisy almost stumbles on them but is diverted from discovering the crime.

Daisy later reveals she witnessed Lou and Jackie with JJ's car and uses that to force Lou into a relationship in order to avoid cops. Lou reluctantly acquiesces, keeping up appearances for now.

Jackie competes in the bodybuilding event, but steroids provoke hallucinogenic visions and a violent outburst against a rival. She is arrested, though Lou Sr. arranges a bail-out, keeping her close to his orbit.

Daisy tells Jackie that Lou no longer needs her and the relationship shifts. Lou Sr. supplies Jackie with a silenced pistol, signaling an attempt to control her and consolidate power.

Inside Lou Sr's manor, Jackie grows to a colossal size and pins him down, while Lou threatens him with a gun and ultimately allows the authorities to arrest him. The two women escape together, free from his grip.

Lou and Jackie drive off to start a new life, but Lou discovers Daisy is alive in the back seat. She strangles Daisy to silence the last threat, drags the body into a field, and shares a cigarette as they vanish into the unknown.