Drew Kirsch Makes a Bold First Impression With ‘He Bled Neon’ —SXSW

One of the best things about the SXSW Film & TV Festival is all of the debuts. This is the first sample of the creative vision of a writer or director. My first debut film of this year’s festival is Drew Kirsch’s He Bled Neon, a noir thriller with a ’90s vibe that introduces audiences to the gritty underbelly of Las Vegas. It’s a thriller saturated in heated neon tones, populated by an eclectic cast, and driven by a mysterious death.

When we see Las Vegas in a film, it usually surrounds characters rushing off to get married, losing it all gambling, or enjoying some of the other tourist attractions the city that never sleeps has to offer. Kirsch frames the audience for the film they’re about to see through introductory narration courtesy of Joe Cole, who plays the titular character, Ethan Beck. The film opens in a strip club, with Ethan narrating about the Vegas people normally see versus the version they see when they can’t leave: “When you’re born here, you don’t even see the lights anymore,” Ethan says. 

Ethan Beck is minutes away from the interview of a lifetime at his fiancée’s father’s prestigious real estate agency. This job will set him up for achieving the “good life” in Los Angeles. Right before going into the interview, he gets a text. His brother, Darren (Paul Wesley), is dead from an overdose. Ethan left his Las Vegas home after a high-profile murder and hasn’t been back since. He decides to skip his interview and head to Vegas. He makes an appearance at Darren’s funeral and then heads to a nursing home to visit his mother. Despite his absence, his mother has been well cared for by Darren, which leaves Ethan with a sense of shame for not sharing the burden with his brother. 

Ethan tries to be in and out of Vegas so he can quickly return to LA and start his new life. But he starts to linger as he reconnects with some of his old crew: Megan (Rita Ora), Luis (Ismael Cruz Cordova), and Prince (Marshawn Lynch). When Ethan discovers that Darren didn’t die from an overdose and was murdered, he refuses to leave until he can find out who killed his brother.

Kirsch’s direction quickly draws us into the unseen world of Vegas. Known for his music video direction, he leaves his stamp on the film’s visual style, with rhythmic shots that sync flawlessly with the film’s pulsating score. He and cinematographer Brett Pawlak craft a tone you can almost feel. As the film progresses and our characters delve deeper into the city’s grunge, you can almost feel the Vegas heat through the screen.

He Bled Neon carries a lot of action from minor punches in a wrestling ring to a full-out brawl in a dingy motel. There’s a clear unease in the film that signals Ethan’s transition back into who he used to be. The person Ethan was in LA begins to disappear the deeper he gets into solving the mystery, which shows his facade was just resting atop the surface of his Vegas roots.

There’s a clear tension in the film, but He Bled Neon prioritizes style over substance. The story is formulaic but not totally predictable. You aren’t entirely sure what the twist will be or who will make it to the end. With a cast this eclectic, I wish the script had fleshed out its characters more. Their past connection is never explained, so we never get a sense of who they are or who they were to each other. That backstory is glossed over in favor of solving the mystery. But because we don’t spend enough time there, the stakes never feel as high as they should. When something happens to one of them, there’s no real emotion in our reaction. We should be equally invested in these characters as we are in the crime. The indie project still succeeds in other areas, but this lack of depth leaves you wanting.

He Bled Neon is a bold debut that’ll make you think about your favorite throwback thrillers from earlier eras. The narrative isn’t as tight as those classics, but the film is visually striking and gives you another chance to watch Marshawn Lynch on screen. It’s worth your time, and I’m excited to see what Kirsch does next. Above all, He Bled Neon suggests you can never truly outrun your past. No matter how far you go, home never really leaves you.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars