31 Days of Horror- Day 16: The Neon Demon (2015)

(dir. Nicholas Winding Refn)

Amazon Studios/Broad Green Pictures/Scanbox Entertainment,The Jokers

Aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) encounters a world of lust, jealousy, and dark secrets within the modeling industry.

The Neon Demon won’t be for everyone. This statement could be said about every single one of Nicholas Winding Refn’s films. He is a filmmaker, who by design, goes against making films for everyone and seeks to find the artistry and meaning in alienation—the alienation of his characters and of himself as filmmaker. Jesse’s aspect of alienation is her beauty, a trait that pulls her into the modeling industry but also causes intense emotions, sometimes violently so, for those in her presence. Refn lingers on this beauty, not just the beauty of Jesse, but also the beauty of this neon world of seemingly perfect structures and dream-like spaces that are both inviting and menacing. It’s hard to argue against the claim that The Neon Demon is more style than substance, but oh, what delicious style it is. There’s a mesmerizing use of lights and a repeated triangle motif that acts of some kind of inverse-Trinity within the world of high-fashion, or a doorway to something wicked, ancient, and perceptively female.

Like much of Refn’s work outside of Drive, The Neon Demon isn’t particularly interested in plot-specifics, or creating a narrative that's simple to follow from point A to B. Instead there are flashes of heightened emotion that connect to actions that aren’t always what they seem. Jesse’s innocence is deceptive, though we’re not quite sure why, nor is Jesse herself. And the deception she’s pulled into by makeup artist Ruby (the excellent Jenna Malone) and a pair of models (Abby Lee and Bella Heathcote) is one of sexual menace but also an eerie lust for life, as if Jesse inhabits the space of both virgin and fountain of youth. While there’s very little overt horror throughout much of The Neon Demon, the last act takes a shocking turn that casts the entire movie in a new light-one that exists within some of our oldest horror mythos. At it’s core, The Neon Demon is a movie of vampires and witchcraft, figuratively through much of its runtime and literally in the film’s gut lurching conclusion. The message itself isn’t all that fascinating (beauty standards and industry menace have long been staples of horror) but what is fascinating is how Refn arrives there with this odd collection of images, alienated from any larger sense of story or aim. The Neon Demon is a triangular window into a world that only exists within the context of this film, making that its singularity all the more beautiful and haunting.

Scare Factor: 1/5 The Neon Demon probably won’t scare you, and its artistic attentions may come off as pretension, but the film looks and feels fascinating. It elicits, for me at least, an emotional response that isn’t easy to pinpoint but is nevertheless a refreshing one within my role as a spectator of the genre.