TASTE OF BLOOD

Less than a year ago- Allison, Claire’s closest friend, was sexually assaulted by Paul, a local musician. The cold indifference of their friend circle leaves Claire shattered and alone. Now as Allison settles into a new city and begins to forge a different life, Claire is left to confront the raw ache of loss and loneliness; haunted by the true meaning of a friendship that now feels irreparably broken.

Her fixation is relentless, manifesting in obsessive surveillance, longing, and a gradual disconnection from reality. What begins as observation turns into pursuit, culminating in a misguided attempt at connection built on multiple levels of misunderstanding.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

What interests me as a writer is how those on the periphery absorb trauma, how they reshape it to fit their own needs. I’m fascinated by the nature of crowd mentality—how it can become toxic, shaping narratives in ways that can undermine victims and obscure the truth. The collective need for certainty or spectacle often distorts reality, leaving those involved to navigate a landscape of doubt and projection. Claire is not seeking justice, nor is she searching for the truth. She is lost in the echoes of someone else’s pain, trying to locate herself within it—driven by a longing she cannot name and a guilt she cannot place.

I wanted to make a film about longing, misrecognition, and the instability of memory. Claire's story is not a resolution but a rupture, a moment in which obsession collides with reality, leaving her stranded in the aftermath, confronting a reality she no longer recognizes.

- Nathan Batt