A curious blend of gruesome body horror and arthouse expressionism, Blood Shine offers an unexpected spin on the familiar tropes of the hostage thriller. It’s a film that risks alienating indie-cinephiles with its graphic violence and bloodletting, whilst disappointing horror hounds with its florid visual metaphors and abstract philosophising. But there’s a visceral intensity to the film which makes it a memorable watch.

Screenwriter Brighton West heads out on a distraction-free retreat to crank out the fourth instalment of a franchise he’s bored with. Captivated by an alluring young woman he spots nude bathing in a woodland stream, Brighton is abducted, drugged and held captive. But when Clara begins to torture Brighton, at the behest of a mysterious cult leader, things turn far darker. A twisted, dysfunctional dynamic develops between jailer and prisoner, based on the infliction and endurance of pain. (Viewers should be forewarned that Blood Shine contains extended depictions of self-harm).

Despite the sequences that invite you to flinch, what makes the movie hard to turn away from is the performance of Emily Bennett (co-writer and co-director) as Clara, who’s able to transform from ingénue to sadist to true believer in a heartbeat. She’s ably supported in what’s essentially a two-hander, by David Call as Brighton, a seedy script hack with delusions of his own importance, who’s shaken to the core by the trauma he endures. What Bennett and co-writer/director Justin Brooks want to say about the nature of light, faith and human existence may be profound, but it’s not immediately transparent. Yet this remains a film that’s both unsettling and horrifying, and which revels in its distinctive and disturbing aesthetic.

BLOOD SHINE has yet to secure a UK distribution deal