The Neon Demon review

GamesRadar+ Verdict

A shallow, slow-burn horror that takes an age to get to the strong meat but looks good doing it.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s 10th feature might just be the Danish provocateur’s most outrageous yet. A horror movie set in the fashion world of Los Angeles, it features home invasion, vampirism and supermodel cannibals, the last of which would surely be a genre staple if they’d just do more than nibble at a hunk of flesh before returning to their salads. And if that’s not enough to whet your appetite or make you barf depending on your tastes, Refn chucks in some gorgeously lensed lesbian necrophilia.

Just turned 16, Jesse (Elle Fanning) is fresh off the bus and looking for work. Turns out her “deer in the headlights look” is coveted by an industry that spits women out at 21, and she’s soon being stripped naked and slathered in gold paint by a psycho photographer (Desmond Harrington) who looks set to stab her to death with his scalpel-sharp cheekbones at any moment. Jesse’s rise is stratospheric, leaving catty cat-walkers Gigi (Bella Heathcote) and Sarah (Abbey Lee) to accentuate their pouts as they eat her dust.

“Beauty isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,” says Alessandro Nivola (whose credit as Fashion Designer recalls Ryan Gosling’s as The Driver in Drive), and it’s a philosophy that Refn embraces. Thinner than a lettuce leaf and only half as nourishing, The Neon Demon says that our obsession with beauty is beastly – and that’s it.

But if it’s looks you’re after, this one’s a stunner, from the neon-drenched nightclubs and stroboscopic catwalks to the shimmering swimming pools and night-time skyscrapers that glitter like diamonds on crushed velvet. The camera tracks and prowls with exquisite precision. Dialogue is slowed to a seductive slur. And the urgent pulse of Cliff Martinez’s (Drive, Solaris, Traffic) electro score is the movie’s giddily exciting heartbeat.

Here, style is form: vivid and vapid. Perhaps it’s all part of Refn’s theme, his fabulously hollow movie reflecting a beautifully empty world. But even if it is, it makes for rather uninvolving and ultimately forgettable drama. What’s more, the designer DNA that The Neon Demon uses as its building blocks – The Wizard of Oz, Valley of the Dolls, Last Year at Marienbad, All About Eve, Persona, Blood and Black Lace, Mulholland Drive – only highlights shortcomings.

Still, there are tasty turns from (an underused) Keanu Reeves as Hank, a lecherous motel owner, and from Jena Malone as a make-up artist who, like everyone else, wants a piece of Jesse. And did we mention it’s funny? This last is crucial, because while The Neon Demon might not be as disturbing, scary or unpalatable as The Daily Mail or, indeed, Refn would have you believe, it does succeed as a horror-comedy: even the aforementioned lesbian necrophilia is, ahem, tongue in cheek, the laughs as black as blood in the moonlight.

More info

DirectorNicolas Winding Refn
StarringElle Fanning, Jena Malone, Keanu Reeves, Bella Heathcote, Christina Hendricks
Theatrical releaseJuly 8, 2016
More
Editor-at-Large, Total Film

Jamie Graham is the Editor-at-Large of Total Film magazine. You'll likely find them around these parts reviewing the biggest films on the planet and speaking to some of the biggest stars in the business – that's just what Jamie does. Jamie has also written for outlets like SFX and the Sunday Times Culture, and appeared on podcasts exploring the wondrous worlds of occult and horror. 

Latest in Action Movies
Avengers: Endgame
The Russo brothers reveal that Marvel has an ingenious way of working out which actors they can use for upcoming Avengers movies
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams dancing during the Netflix series, Wednesday.
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega denies rumors of big Marvel role after her disappointing MCU debut 12 years ago: “I count that and I move on”
Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again star Vincent D'Onofrio swiftly shoots down reports of his involvement in Spider-Man 4
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
The Russo brothers finally debunk that Avengers: Doomsday concept art leak: "Nothing spoiling in there"
Michael Fassbender as Magneto
Michael Fassbender recalls his "awful" Mad Max: Fury Road audition: "I couldn’t wait to get out of there"
Michael Fassbender in Black Bag
X-Men star Michael Fassbender says he auditioned for James Bond, but ended up suggesting they go for Daniel Craig: "I don't know why I was promoting him"
Latest in Reviews
HeroQuest box, models, tokens, board, and cards on a wooden table
HeroQuest review: "The grandaddy of dungeon crawlers"
A reviewer turning the modules of the Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot
Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot review: “Its novel concept of a spinning, modular design is hamstrung by its lack of options”
Razer USB 4 Dock in silver on a wooden desk
Razer USB 4 Dock review: "solid, reliable, and surprisingly well-priced"
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"