[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Neon Demon (2016)

I have a love/hate relationship with Nicolas Winding Refn. His films are the cinematic equivalent of a profiterole, gorgeous to look at but once you take a bite you realize there's little substance to them.

The Neon Demon is no different. It's visually stunning but the story is only slight, about a 16 year old girl (Elle Fanning) who goes to LA to become a model. She soon becomes friends with a couple of models and a stylist who will stop at nothing to achieve fame.

In some respects Refn's film is quite fetishistic (I love the opening scenes) and ends up transforming itself from a character study into something resembling a horror film with scenes of cannibalism and necrophilia during it's final 20 minutes.

Where it stumbles somewhat is in the middle third where in truth not an awful lot happens and the film is carried by Refn's excellent visuals rather than any sort of cohesive storyline. It's clear the world of modeling is a superficial place and Refn represents this well with what is a basically a superficial film. Interestingly The Neon Demon constantly reminded me of a couple of films i'd seen previously - the excellent indie horror Starry Eyes (2014) which is almost the same film and David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars (2014), both of which were a more satisfying movie experience with similar themes.

Having said all that i did enjoy The Neon Demon even if it didn't quite scale the heights i was hoping for.