First Kill: Movie Review

So here’s what pulled me in…
I didn’t even plan to watch First Kill at first. Honestly, the title felt like just another supernatural drama with predictable tropes. But then I kept hearing whispers about it—the kind of whispers that sound like, “This isn’t what you think it is.” And the fact that it was mixing vampires, forbidden love, and generational duty? I thought, okay, let me give it a shot. Little did I know, I was about to fall down a rabbit hole of passion, betrayal, and blood that would leave me restless at night.

That first moment—when Juliette and Calliope’s worlds collide…
Juliette, the vampire trying so hard to live a normal life, pulled at something in me. She wasn’t the usual broody, heartless vampire we’ve seen a hundred times—she was awkward, vulnerable, almost soft. And then there’s Calliope, this fierce monster hunter raised to slay Juliette’s kind. When the two lock eyes, it’s not just attraction—it’s a collision course.

Watching them together felt like being in on a secret the world wasn’t ready for. I swear, I was holding my breath during their first kiss. That scene wasn’t just romance—it was rebellion, it was danger, it was the kind of moment that makes you remember your own first forbidden crush.

And the tension? My God.
Whenever they were together there weighed like a millstone upon you the burden of their families. On the one hand, it is the vampire legacy Juliette is born into her family literally preparing her to accept her bloodlust. And on the other side, there are the sharp-eyed monster-hunting clan that she is waiting to prove herself to, in terms of strength and weaponry. The show was such that it made me feel like I was situated between two storms and lightning is striking on both sides.

One dinner scene in particular has really stayed with me Juliette and her family attempt to be nice and Calliope and her family stare at them like they are wolves in sheep clothing. The furtive looks, the strained civilities, the under-pinning of any moment now, this table might turn into a riot--I was lapping it up. It did make me think of things in real life when two families or groups are fake friends and pretend to get along, but there is no other feeling with them but tension ready to pop.

The twists were cutting deeper.
The thing that truly shocked me was the fact that the show did not flinch when it came to betrayal. I say, love stories are beautiful but First Kill served as a reminder that love is painful also, particularly when there is divided loyalty. Then one minute I would be cheering Juliette and Calliope on to just take off and leave their families in the dust, and then one minute I would be like, OH NO You did NOT just do that to them.

It has this one heart stopping scene where Juliette is simply hungry and she ends up doing something even she could not have anticipated. The wearyness and the guilt in her eyes; the way Calliope felt her heart break in those few seconds; it was cruel. It got me thinking of how at times, we end up hurting those that we so much need to protect and we are not even aware of it until it is too late.

And the family drama? Whew.
Juliette’s mom was this perfect mix of elegance and menace—you could tell she loved her daughter, but her loyalty was first to the vampire legacy. Calliope’s family, on the other hand, reminded me of that unyielding kind of love—strict, disciplined, but suffocating. Watching Calliope try to balance her heart against her family’s expectations hit me harder than I expected. Haven’t we all been there in some way? Caught between what we want for ourselves and what the people we love demand of us?

What it did to me…
This is where I will be honest to you: the watching of First Kill pulled me back into the past when I had to choose between love and loyalty. The pain of knowing that you will damage someone no matter which decision you make. It brought me back to late-night fights, confessions confided in low tones, and times when a wordless moment speaks louder than words could ever do. And perhaps that is why this tale stuck with me--those were not the only vampires and hunters in it. It was concerning the universal, heart-racking fact that love never comes free of charge.

I was sitting there, and asking myself: suppose I had been Calliope, could I have killed the man I loved? And were I Juliette, Would I identify myself, with some one, to the exclusion of myself? Those are questions to which no element of fantasy can give pall. They are uncooked, humane and spooky.

The blood, the tears, the choices—they all stitched together into something more than a show. It became a mirror. A mirror to those moments in life where love feels both like salvation and destruction.

My reflection…
First Kill is not flawless but there are parts in which the story faltered in pace, or where the fantasy took over the essence of the story. The fact however is, that it did not have to be perfect. It had to be true. And in that haunting, passionate fashion, it was.

It took me back to the real meaning of being human, even in a world of monsters. That love is not tidy or comfortable- it is dirty, frightening, and at times destructive. But also it is worth fighting. And perhaps, just perhaps that is what makes us live.

Now, what would you do, you see,--suppose you were called upon to choose between family and love, between duty and your own hearts, what would you do? Since that is the question First Kill leaves burning in me and I can not stop thinking about it.

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