By George & Josh Bate
There’s no place on the planet like Las Vegas. The American city aptly nicknamed Sin City has expanded over the last century into a tourism-driven metropolis in which any vice you can think of is within an arm’s reach. Casinos populate every street corner. Alcohol flows freely. And people from all around the world arrive to the Nevada desert to have the time of their lives. But underneath the glitz and glamour of Vegas is a far seedier, more harrowing underbelly. As beauty and over-indulgence are embraced, heartbreak, poverty, and broken dreams run rampant. It’s within this underbelly of Vegas that the new crime thriller He Bled Neon comes to life.
Making its world premiere at SXSW 2026, He Bled Neon stars Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, A Prayer Before Dawn) as Ethan, a young man living in Los Angeles and aspiring for a promotion in his soon-to-be father-in-law’s reality company. When news of his estranged brother Darren’s (Paul Wesley) death arrives, Ethan heads home to Las Vegas for the first time in years and reunites with his and Darren’s old friends Megan (Rita Ora), Prince (Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch), and Luis (Ismael Cruz Cordóva). Tensions are high among the old friends, especially following Ethan’s abrupt departure several years earlier, but they reluctantly come together to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding Darren’s death.
The HoloFiles recently had the opportunity to speak with He Bled Neon director Drew Kirsch about his new movie, its look at a less glamourous version of Vegas, what it was like to film in dangerous neighborhoods, assembling an impressive ensemble, how his work as a music video director informed the film, crafting raw action sequences, and more.
In his feature directorial debut, Kirsch strips Vegas of its glitz and glamour in favor of a decidedly grittier and grimier portrayal of Sin City. It’s through immersing the viewer in such an unsettling and seedy atmosphere that He Bled Neon triumphs most greatly, so much so that Vegas feels like a character unto itself in the film. Kirsch discussed the appeal of crafting a different kind of crime thriller with a Vegas setting. “I’ve been going to Vegas my whole life. I grew up in Nevada,” Kirsch explained. “Something that was really attractive to me was to explore off the strip. The movies that I grew up on are very Vegas gangster films. They focus on the strip or something along the strip itself, and they really show you the glamour of it all. So, when this was brought to me, that was the most attractive thing. At the beginning, [I] was like, ‘Wait, let’s shoot off the strip, a mile away.’”
The desire to capture Vegas’ seedy underbelly was partially influenced by Kirsch’s exposure to a specific area of Nevada. “I looked at and had been to an area in Las Vegas called Naked City, which is one of the more dangerous areas, which used to be an area for all the showgirls who lived in Las Vegas that’s where they would love,” Kirsch recalled. “It was a lovely place. They built these motels for them with pools and colorful walls and it was really warm and inviting. And now those pools are not filled with water anymore – they’re empty or they’re full of dirt. And those walls – they might still have the same paint, but it’s chipping. So there’s a ton of texture there. I was excited to bring that to life.”
Bringing the crime and poverty of Vegas to life meant that Kirsch and his crew had to film in some pretty unsettling neighborhoods. When asked whether he and the crew ever felt that they were in actual danger while filming, Kirsch replied, “Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. We shot a few things in some very rough areas. And the crew, not necessarily me all the time, but other people had to deal with people who see the cameras and Marshawn Lynch riding around on a BMX bike. They want to come say something, and that’s fine. But sometimes you’re in these areas where you get some rougher people.”
Kirsch mentions Marshawn Lynch, the NFL legend who has recently found success with a career in film, having starred in the likes of Bottoms and Love Hurts. Kirsch recalled his reaction to the football veteran also known as Beast Mode joining the cast. “At first, I was like, ‘Marshawn Lynch, the football player? What?’” Kirsch laughed. “And then I watched Bottoms and was like, ‘This guy is an incredible guy. He’s my favorite.’ The thing about that character Prince – he always had such a big physicality to the role. That’s how it was always supposed to be and you get a guy whose name is Beast Mode? It’s perfect.”
Kirsch recounted a funny story of when Lynch agreed to be in the film. “When I met with him on Zoom…He was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and eating them in two bites,” recalled Kirsch. “And he was just like, ‘Do I get to choose my gun?’ And like, ‘This is what I think about the character.’ He’s like, ‘Listen, I’ll do your movie, if you give me a three months heads up to do double days. And you tell me what I’m doing wrong, because you coach me – that’s how I made my success.’ And I was like, ‘This guy is a fucking bad ass.’”
Lynch is accompanied by an eclectic ensemble that includes Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole, music superstar Rita Ora, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power alum Ismael Cruz Cordóva. Cole headlines the movie as the young man drawn back into a life of crime to investigate the mysterious murder of his brother. “Joe came on first, and that was really exciting, because I’m a huge fan of A Prayer Before Dawn,” said Kirsch. “And then I’m also a fan of Gangs of London and I thought he just crushed that roll as well. I knew Joe was gonna go balls to the wall. I found these two images of Joe, one was an editorial magazine issue or photo where he had long hair more, probably around the Peaky Blinders time. And then there was another one where his head was kind of shaved, not [for] A Prayer Before Dawn, but he had shorter hair. And he looked really hard. I saw these two images and I was like, ‘Wait, this looks like a sweet, kind of innocent guy. And then this guy I’m a little intimidated by.’ I knew from a physicality stance that he could transform big time, which was important to me.”
Having played roles in the Fifty Shades of Grey and Fast & Furious franchises, Rita Ora once again pivots from music to film in He Bled Neon. Her character Megan has a long history with Ethan and his brother and finds herself grappling with conflicting feelings regarding Ethan’s return. “She had all these different ideas,” Kirsch explained. “She was so passionate about finding her character. Working with Rita was amazing.”
Ismael Cruz Cordóva, meanwhile, rounds out the motley crew of criminals, who once had ambitions to conquer Vegas’ criminal underworld. With bleached blonde hair and his characteristically piercing eyes, Cordóva plays a key role in the film and is arguably the standout of the impressive ensemble. “I had seen The Undoing and some other smaller parts he had done,” Kirsch stated. “His eyes were just piercing to me from the beginning. The look that he had when I met him on our first Zoom, he doesn’t really know this, but it was a little cold feeling at first. And I was like, ‘Man.’ And then it hit me. I was like, ‘Wait, [he’s] like Luis the character. It’s perfect.’ I can’t say any better things about him. He’s just such a great human being. Really kind, really passionate.”
Rounding out the cast is Lost star Josh Holloway, whose inclusion in the film excited Kirsch as he was a big fan of the hit ABC series. Kirsch was drawn to Holloway’s “Western twang,” which made him the perfect antagonist of the film.
It’s not exactly common for a first time filmmaker to work with such an accomplished cast. But Kirsch was thankful for the support and patient his cast afforded him. “I have a tremendous respect for all the actors,” Kirsch described. “They were very supportive of me being a first time filmmaker. Very kind. This wasn’t a glamorous shoot. People were breaking their back to make things happen. They were all invested into it. And I’m grateful for all that.”
Indeed, more than a few backs are broken in He Bled Neon. In addition to being a crime thriller and a whodunnit, the movie could also be characterized as an action movie of sorts. Throughout the film, Kirsch crafts a number of well-choregraphed and grounded combat sequences, with one in particular occurring in a pawn shop and involving a character named The Dentist standing out for its intensity and energy.
“It was really hard to do and scary to go into,” Kirsch discussed regarding his approach to crafting scrappier action scenes for the film. “But I knew that I wanted them to feel kind of scrappy, which help with not having any time to do them. I knew that it wasn’t going to be this super stylized, specific slow-motion punch or anything like that. I knew I wanted it to feel raw and kind of gritty like that and real. Luckily, that’s just how it coincidentally worked out, in terms of the scrappiness.”
While a newcomer to overseeing action sequences, Kirsch is no stranger to knowing the importance music plays in telling a story. He Bled Neon features a pulsating score from Grammy nominated musician ZHU, which allowed Kirsch to drop on his sensibilities as a prolific music video director (he helmed the video for Taylor Swift’s hit ‘You Need to Calm Down’) to cultivate an enthralling rhythm for his movie. “I think with everything narrative wise that I do there’s going to be some music influence behind it, just because that’s the path I came to get to this point,” Kirsch stated. “I just love music in film. It’s something I’ve always taken note of – the score and the music. When this was being crafted, I knew we were gonna have electronic heavy pulsing hitting [music]…I knew this was going to be a fast-paced, urgent, ‘find out what happened’ type of film and I wanted the soundtrack to complement that.”
Kirsch’s approach to music imbues his feature directorial debut with an intensity and energy that perfectly couples the seedy Las Vegas backdrop. With a stacked ensemble, nail-biting action, and a narrative that blends crime thriller and murder mystery, He Bled Neon is bound to leave an impression.
