VOD Review: The Neon Demon (2016)

"Nicolas Winding Refn is back on the right track."

(aka Evil Little Girls.)
Release Date: August 30.
Country: USA
Rating: R
Written by: Nicolas Winding Refn, Mary Laws, and Polly Stenham.
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn.
Starring: Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote, Abbey Lee, Keanu Reeves, and Christina Hendricks.

I really love Nicolas Winding Refn as a filmmaker. Drive is easily one of my favorite movies of the last 10 years; Valhalla Rising is a mesmerizing, haunting piece of work; and Bronson was just flat-out cool. Only God Forgives felt way too overindulgent and pretentious to me, as if Refn bought into his being hailed as a unique, visionary artist way too much. To me, he's a director like Terrence Malick in that he makes the kind of slow, atmospheric movies that he wants to, and he doesn't care if anyone likes them or not. He's got something to say, and he's going to say it exactly how he wants to.

That's both good and bad to me, as his movies are unique, visually stunning, and they most definitely push boundaries. They can also alienate viewers with their oddity, and above all else, the way that he uses sex and violence to get his point across. So, good and bad.

The Neon Demon is his most accessible film since Drive. It's also his most controversial, and depending on your taste in art, maybe even his best.

Nah, that's still Drive. 

Jesse is 16-years-old and gorgeous, and even though she's sweet, young, and naive, she moves to L.A. to pursue her dream of being a model. She signs with an agency who doesn't care that she's a parentless minor, and it's not long before she starts drawing the eye of everyone in the industry's hottest players, and lands a job. A job in which her naked body is painted up in gold by some skeezy photographer. 

SURE SHE'S ONLY 16, BUT IT'S ART.

Jesse makes quick friends with Ruby; the makeup artist with a heart of gold, who also happens to be a rapey pedophile who really, really wants to sex her up.  Ruby tries her best to help Jesse navigate the shark-infested waters of the modeling world, and to keep her safe from the likes of Gigi and Sarah, two fellow models who hate the fresh new face on the scene, and want to destroy her.

THIS BITCH RIGHT HERE...

As Jesse gets more and more popular, and her ego grows to match her profile, things become extremely dire for her; everyone either wants a piece of her, or wants to break her down. I won't say anything else about the plot here to avoid spoiling it for you, but suffice it to say that it's a model-eat-model world out there, and fresh young ingenues lie Jesse really don't stand a chance. Unless they're dangerous themselves...

DON'T ACCEPT THOSE FLOWERS!

The Neon Demon is a meditation of feminine beauty. Or maybe it's about how women can be so obsessive over their looks. Or maybe it's about empty, shallow people who have nothing to offer the world but their beauty, and how there are always people out there who are happy to exploit that beauty. It's also the story of a beautiful young girl who is hated by her peers, because she makes them feel less wanted. And cannibalism. Possibly witches.

It's basically about fucked up people.

This movie is not going to be for everybody, and if someone said to me "This movie was a piece of shit and I hated it!" I would completely understand. It's sleazy, disturbing, and at times it feels like little more than an excuse for Winding Refn to jerk himself off, both artistically, and literally. There's a subtle beauty to the film though, as Refn and crew don't waste one single shot, and they certainly take their time setting the tone with each scene. Subject matter aside, it's a truly gorgeous film to behold.

DEFINITELY GOT A SUSPIRIA VIBE FROM THIS ONE AT TIMES.

As far as the subject matter goes, it's definitely an examination of the psyches of gorgeous models, and those who surround them. The girls are messed up enough with their shallow, vapid, empty world views, and it's interesting to see how they chew up and spit out everyone around them in pursuit of fame and adoration. The people around them are just as debased; some want to exploit their beauty, and some want to possess it. Some want to rape it. It's a creepy world out there for beautiful girls, even if sometimes they are their own worst enemy.

We started this movie thinking that it was about Elle Fanning's character. She's sweet and naive, and we just knew that she was in trouble. Then after a while, it felt like it was all about Jena Malone, and her predatory motives and disturbing habits. Then we were pretty sure that it had been about Bella Heathcote and Abbey Lee's characters all along. The movie shifts gears, sometimes unexpectedly, and at the very least, that kept things fresh and unpredictable.

The cast all did a great job in this one, as the usually likable young lades who played the leads all managed to make us despise them equally. If there's one standout to us though, it's got to be Jena Malone. Her character arc surprised us, and she managed to skeeve us out in a way that we haven't been in a long time. She really committed to her role, and it shows.

ALSO, THIS BITCH RIGHT HERE...

As with most of Winding Refn's movies, The Neon Demon is an exercise in style over substance. There's plenty of substance to be had here too, but it took a backseat to the stylish visuals at many times throughout the movie.

AND THIS BITCH RIGHT HERE TOO... THEY'RE ALL CRAZY!

Jena Malone, WTF are you doing?!? I asked that question out loud twice during this one.

SCREAM RAPE AND THEN RUN, GIRL!

Cannibalism, scissor violence, knife violence, attempted rape, flowing vagina blood, and that whole eyeball thing... this movie has plenty of gore and violence throughout, even if some of it is implied, rather than shown.

I'VE NEVER SEEN RED SOAP BEFORE. NEAT.

Abbey Lee and Bella Heathcote take a shower together; Elle Fanning is sexually-charged; Jena Malone does her best to seduce, and almost rape, a 16-year-old girl; and then there's that other Jena Malone scene... This movie oozes sexuality and dysfunction, and some of it is downright horrific. 

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT FIRST DATE MOVIE.

The Neon Demon is a very artsy film, so that means that there's going to be some great dialogue, as well as some lines that feel pretentious as hell. In context with the scenes that they come from though, these are the lines that stood out to us.

• "I need to get her out of me!"
• "I'm a ghost."
• "Room 214, it must be seen."
• "She was right. I am dangerous."

SHE JUST LOOKS EVIL.

The Neon Demon is an interesting movie that we could have easily hated, but somehow got us to really like it. Whether you will like it or not really depends on how you feel about Arthouse films; this is definitely a Horror movie, but it's also a very nuanced and visually-charged movie.

Rent accordingly. 

B+

The Neon Demon is available now on VOD, and will hit Blu-ray & DVD on September 27th.

The Neon Demon showcases some gorgeous women, even if they are all up to some pretty horrendous things. They've even got their own Horror Hottie post which you can check out right over HERE.