Screamfest 2024 Review: “Drained” – A Genre-Bending Horror!

Vampire folklore have grasped audiences for centuries from literature to cinema, maintaining common oral traditions associated with these fascinating creatures while using creative liberties to expand these conventions for the modern age. Whether it be tales of vampire-human romance, or blood sucking chaos and horror, the genre tends to create an atmosphere for each story to stick to. However, whether it be love or lust, one factor always seems to ring true, getting involved with vampires produce dire consequences.

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Drained, having premiered at the ScreamFest Film Festival in Hollywood, follows Thomas (Ruaridh Aldington) a man living with his mother (Angela Dixon) spending most days “working” on his art portfolio in his bedroom alone. When his mother starts dating John (Craig Conway), who moves in, Thomas gets kicked out of the house to find his own way in the world, starting with a job (hopefully).

At a local bar he meets a mysterious and alluring woman named Rhea (Madalina Bellariu Ion) whose power of seduction towards Thomas is so strong there is only one way to explain it: Rhea is a vampire. What could have been a script settling on a romance between Thomas and Rhea or a full blown horror, Peter Stylianou and Sean Cronin have developed a film that, when peeled back, examines one man’s difficulty finding his way in the real world, allowing his vulnerabilities to invite trouble.

Drained transforms the vampire genre through its examination of codependency and fear of the world outside home. When Thomas is forced to move out, get a job, and pay for his new flat, his anxiety spirals out of control, grabbing onto anything that will save him from his own inadequacies. When he meets Rhea, he is given an opportunity to secure a companion, even if that means he must give more than he is receiving.

Rhea’s constant feeding on Thomas willingly opens up the discussion by Stylianou and Cronin on the immense power and manipulation that is so easily utilized on vulnerable individuals. As Rhea becomes his own drug that allows him to feel needed and purposeful, he is unable to stop through his addiction that Rhea supplies him with, companionship.

Diving even deeper, Drained opens up the conversation on emotionally manipulative “romantic” relationships where one party is mistreated but feels like what they are being given is better than having nobody at all. It is a heavy subject matter that is able to be explored through a vampire story on the surface.

The script draws the audience into Thomas as a character, maintaining a sympathetic view of him while also evidently showing his need to mature and get on his feet. The film does a good job of teetering on this balance, where seeing Thomas as lazy or unmotivated as his only characteristics would have undermined the story at hand and made it difficult to empathize with him throughout the film. Instead, he is written in a way that digs into the fear of living in a world without support and comfortability. Thus, his draw toward Rhea becomes evident, even if he and the audience knows it will only come back to bite him in the end.

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This movie paints London as the perfect setting to host a vampire horror where the cloudy skies and rain soaked towns provide just enough darkness for Rhea but likely too much for someone like Thomas. The way it is filmed already depicts London as a dreary and inescapable reality, with its combination of somber score and neon club and dream sequences. Drained is an admirable addition to the genre, becoming more of an adult drama than a full blown horror, although its genre meshing of romance, drama, and horror as it pertains the film’s story elements make it an intriguing watch where its pacing and length allows each scene to play a substantial part in its larger message.

‘Drained’ Rating – 3.5/5

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