Bled

Someone once told me,

a long long time ago...

immortality comes not without sacrifice.

The fountain of youth

is fed by the blood of the young.

And living forever leaves a trail of death

that haunts one's dreams...

including mine.

Temptation is the key.

Vanity played in its strongest suit...

lures those wanting more.

Beyond the dream's smoky veil...

nothing waits but teeth and blood.

Born of all the wrongs

that transcend centuries...

a beast walks

in the skin of man...

waiting to cross over...

to give us new life once more.

Please come to me.

- No! - Come to me.

No!

- Come to me. - No!

For something lives

within that dream.

Daughter or, like-?

- Hi, ladies. - Hello.

Huh, orgy.

- Love the dress. - Oh, thanks.

Ohhh...

who's that?

I don't know, but he's...

kind of sexy.

- Yeah, in a Euro kind of way. - Yeah.

I miss Euro.

- Mm. - Sai, you're terrible.

Yeah, well, I spent too long waiting

- for someone else to make the move. - I know.

He's just slow on the uptake.

I don't know what's taking him so long.

I've given him the opportunity.

- Hi, there. - Hi.

Hi.

Horrible art, isn't it?

I wouldn't go that far.

- Don't worry about it- - If you don't like it,

you're supposed to say it's interesting.

- I'm Eric. - Deanna.

- Very nice to meet you, Deanna. - Pleasure's all mine.

- Ladies. - Hey.

- How's it going? - Hey, Jono.

- Look who I found. - Hey, how are you?

Your paintings are beautiful. Really.

- Thank you. - Sai, darling,

I have someone you need to meet.

- Who? - He loves the derelict piece.

Really?

- We priced at $3,000. - What?!

- Shh. Come on, come on, come on. - What what?

- Come on. - Kerra.

Our resident genius.

She is. How are you doing?

How do you like the lofts?

All right- they're enough for me, you know.

I'm so proud of you.

- Are you? - Yes.

Without you, none of this could've happened.

So thank you.

I gotta go. Can you tell, uh, Sai,

that the art show was wonderful?

Yeah, man, no problem. Take care.

Thank you very much. See you later.

Do you have any idea how much you've grown?

Sai, you're a star.

- Oh, stop it. - Yes, you are.

Stop it.

Wait right here, I'll bring him back.

Okay.

Your use of dark, sensual imagery is a delight to the senses.

There you are. Sai, darling,

this is Mr. Renfield Lieb.

Mr. Lieb's from Hamburg...

Germany.

Among other places.

The pleasure is all mine.

Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lieb.

Renfield, please.

Renfield.

Get to know one another.

Sai, show Mr. Lieb "Phoenix. "

Enjoy.

You know what drives me insane?

Let's have it.

That the two of you have the perfect relationship

through the lens of that camera.

What do you mean?

Imagine if you actually put the camera down

and stopped with the artist's incessant need

to pine for that which we cannot have...

or don't deserve.

You're hot, Royce. Smarten up.

So tell me about this piece.

Well...

I paint from my dreams.

In this one I was frozen into the earth...

as natural metals infected my body.

As far as I could see,

trapped in the shell was...

desolation;

in the distance, burning alien cities

and the apocalyptic skies.

I felt

a sense of peace...

in the hopeless nature of it all.

The infection was comforting.

The metals became my skin and eventually

swallowed me whole.

I'll take it.

You really do capture the pleasure and corruption of spirit-

the downward spiral.

To fall into darkness is to be at peace with it.

That's what it means to me:

Transmutation.

I couldn't agree more.

Now he didn't-

Oh, you're being beckoned.

Oh my God, at the most inappropriate time.

Hold on. Don't move.

- I'll be right back. - Don't be long.

- Okay. - Okay.

Dude, I'm trying to get my rent paid. What?

Who's the creepshow?

So she digs the creepshow.

Get over it, Royce.

It's just Johnny Money.

So...

what brings you to LA?

My fascination with urban decay.

Then you've come to the right place.

True human nature is in the rot of society...

not in its achievements.

How long are you in town for?

Enough to get a taste

before I need to move on.

Restless spirit?

Incessantly.

Are these your most recent pieces?

No.

I have a series of works at my loft.

I could show you now if you like.

It breathes in you, doesn't it?

Lives in your heart.

Delivers you from reality to a world

where all is possible.

You feel so isolated.

All of your pieces-

it seems to me to be a reflection of your soul.

Beyond everything you are...

deep inside, you run lost in a world

where no one can find you.

No one else sees it...

for all they see is strength.

No pain.

No desperate sense of loss.

I'm sorry.

Don't be.

You're the only one who's ever really got it.

You deserve to delve

deep in the darkness of true passion.

There is a well of untapped beauty you have yet to create.

All around you is another world...

that is channeled through you and your work.

That, I also know.

Can I share something with you?

Something to inspire and tantalize your senses...

to open the gates to your true possibilities.

Okay.

Will you trust me, Sai?

I brought you here, didn't I?

Good.

A daring step to discover the true art inside you.

What is it?

It is called Strego-E-

a very rare bark from Eastern Europe.

Its sap gives vision to your true desires...

shape to your hidden passions.

It is very precious to me.

Many great artists used it to create their masterpieces.

The Nouveau movement:

Mucha, Klimt-

Beardsley especially used it-

to open their minds

and create such wonders of altered reality.

This gift I give to you.

You've put me in a group of greats.

I'm nowhere near them.

I believe you're a kindred soul to them, Sai.

You are just missing the thing that sets you free.

I don't offer this to just anyone.

This is as rare as the masterpiece