Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: Bliss is a Vampire Fever Dream You Need to See

REVIEW: Bliss is a Vampire Fever Dream You Need to See

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez01/31/20203 Mins ReadUpdated:04/09/2023
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Bliss - But Why Tho (1)

Bliss, directed by Joe Begos, came out last year and made many top horror lists. Sadly, I missed this train on the first go-around, but I rectified that when it came to Shudder. Describing Bliss just doesn’t do it justice, but I’m going to try.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Bliss centers its story around a brilliant painter named Dezzy (Dora Madison) who is in the midst of an incurable creative block that she can’t shake. But this creative block is the worst she’s ever had in her life and in turn she sets on a path to doing whatever she can to complete her masterpiece. Drugs, orgies, and rock’ roll, she begins spiraling into a hallucinatory hellscape that peels back layers of Los Angeles to reveal a magical, sleazy, and bloody city beneath it. As she begins down this path, Dezzy craves more and more until the blood lust consumes her. This is a vampire story and one we haven’t seen before.

While the film is bathed in reds, pinks, and purples that make it magical, it’s also dirty. It’s raw and gritty and during some moments it feels too real to keep watching. The line between the way that Begos shoots the film, which feels like I’m looking directly into Dezzy’s life, and the way he builds a hallucinatory fever dream is extremely thin. Propelled by drugs, Dezzy’s life turns into a fantasy of distortion. Through the pounding bass, the camera moves around and round as our lead spirals; so do we. As the blood takes hold, Dezzy loses it. As Dezzy continually loses herself, her masterpiece starts to take shape more and more which does nothing but drive her even deeper into her vampiric hole.

Bliss - But Why Tho (1)

Every color choice is a beautiful one. When we first realize what’s happening to Dezzy and we see the first kill, the bright red blood highlights the moment in a black and white background. And from that point, Bliss pounds its way forward, covered in blood and magic with enough sex that brings to life a punk vampire story that is exactly what the genre needed.

Bliss embraces a pulp and 70s style in a contemporary setting. The sex scenes, the blood, the music, it all feels like an art film straight from that time. And while I don’t care much about Dezzy, I’m pulled into the larger story, the whole story, and the film’s breathtaking visuals. There were moments when I thought it may come close to replicating parts of The Devil’s Candy, large canvas, a painter descending into madness, but this is so much more.

Madison’s performance as Dezzy starts off as frustratingly awkward and her lines don’t land with emotion. But after about 15-minutes, it takes off like a rocket. When Dezzy begins to lose her hold on everything is when Madison’s manic and terrifying performance morphs into a gorgeous portrait of a desperate woman. Her one goal was to paint and then it turns into something else entirely as she attacks even those close to her.

When Dezzy lets loose, the bodies drop and the action picks up with gore-filled moments that get your adrenaline pumping. I won’t say much more about the film because it’s one you have to let sink in visually. But to put it simply, Bliss is a lot to watch. With disorienting camera work set to synth and punk, it would have been easy for the film to lose itself in aesthetics, but it doesn’t. There is no film like it now and it’s time for all vampire-lovers and horror fans to embrace Bliss. 

Bliss is streaming now exclusively on Shudder.

Bliss
  • 9/10
    Rating - 9/10
9/10

TL;DR

…Bliss is a lot to watch. With disorienting camera work set to synth and punk, it would have been easy for the film to lose itself in aesthetics, but it doesn’t. There is no film like it now and it’s time for all vampire-lovers and horror fans to embrace Bliss. 

  • Grab a Shudder Subscription With Our Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Picard,’ Episode 2 – Maps and Legends
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Star Wars Adventures,’ Issue #30
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here